<p>A strong model of culture should capture both the structured and negotiated elements of cultural meaning, allowing for the fluidity of social action and the agency of social actors. Although cultural meanings often reproduce societal structures, supporting stability and consensus, culture is constitutive of and not merely produced by structural arrangements. It is therefore essential to establish clear mechanisms which guide how individuals interpret social events and apply cultural meanings in making sense of the social world. As such, this dissertation focuses on the model of culture forwarded by affect control theory, a sociological theory linking culturally shared meaning with identity, behavior, and emotion in interpersonal interaction (for reviews, see Heise 2007; Robinson and Smith-Lovin 2006). </p><p>While many theories have attempted to deal with components of the cultural model separately, affect control theory provides a unifying multi-level framework, which rectifies many shortcomings of earlier models by simultaneously accounting for individual cognition and emotion, situational and institutional context, and cultural meaning. The dissertation begins by introducing affect control theory, which considers cultural meanings to be societally bound, based on consensual and widely shared sentiments, and stable over long periods of time. We advocate several refinements to the theory's assumptions about culture, proposing that cultural sentiments are dynamic and structurally contingent, and that mechanisms operating within social networks serve as important sources of meaning consensus and change.</p><p>The remainder of the dissertation presents empirical evidence in support of our propositions. First, we draw upon primary survey data to show how social position and patterns of social connectedness relate to inculcation into the dominant culture and commonality with the affective meanings of others. Respondents' demographics, social position, social connectedness, network composition, and experiences in close relationships are explored as predictors of inculcation and commonality in meaning. Second, through an experimental study, we explore social influence processes as a mechanism of cultural consensus and change. Analyses examine both conditionally manipulated features of the group structure and respondents' emergent assessments of social influence as predictors of change in task-related attitudes and affective meanings. </p><p>Our results identify structural sources of normative differentiation and consensus, and introduce social networks methodologies as a means of elaborating affect control theory's explanatory model. More broadly, the findings generated by this project contribute to an ongoing academic discussion on the origins of cultural content, exploring the complex and dynamic relationship between patterns of social interaction and cultural affective meaning. We close by introducing research in progress, which examines predictors of clustering in affective meaning and explores how values, self, and identity condition the effects of social influence on decision-making.</p> / Dissertation

Previous research suggests that the amount of food that women eat may fluctuate depending on their impression-management motivation; however, the results do not provide direct evidence supporting such an explanation. That is, no studies conducted to date have actually manipulated impression-management motivation and measured its effects on eating behavior. The present program of research aimed to confirm that eating behavior in women does, in fact, change as a result of impression-management motivation. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 tested this by manipulating impression-management motivation via direct and explicit instructions. Experiment 3 was also designed to investigate how impression-management motivation might affect eating in situations in which females are eating with a friend (as opposed to a stranger). The results demonstrate that women motivated to make a good impression on a male stranger (Experiments 1 & 2) and a female stranger (Experiments 2 & 3) eat less than do those for whom the desire to make a positive impression has been disrupted. The results also confirm previous findings showing that women eat less when eating with a male stranger than when eating with a female stranger (Experiments 1 & 2). The findings from Experiment 3 suggest that there may be a different pattern of eating associated with impression-management motivation when women eat with female friends; it was found that participants ate more with a friend when they were motivated to make a good impression compared to when this motive was not present. These results may be explained by impression-management theory, in combination with notions about the complexity of female friendships and female-female competition surrounding eating, dieting, weight, and appearance.

Previous research suggests that the amount of food that women eat may fluctuate depending on their impression-management motivation; however, the results do not provide direct evidence supporting such an explanation. That is, no studies conducted to date have actually manipulated impression-management motivation and measured its effects on eating behavior. The present program of research aimed to confirm that eating behavior in women does, in fact, change as a result of impression-management motivation. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 tested this by manipulating impression-management motivation via direct and explicit instructions. Experiment 3 was also designed to investigate how impression-management motivation might affect eating in situations in which females are eating with a friend (as opposed to a stranger). The results demonstrate that women motivated to make a good impression on a male stranger (Experiments 1 & 2) and a female stranger (Experiments 2 & 3) eat less than do those for whom the desire to make a positive impression has been disrupted. The results also confirm previous findings showing that women eat less when eating with a male stranger than when eating with a female stranger (Experiments 1 & 2). The findings from Experiment 3 suggest that there may be a different pattern of eating associated with impression-management motivation when women eat with female friends; it was found that participants ate more with a friend when they were motivated to make a good impression compared to when this motive was not present. These results may be explained by impression-management theory, in combination with notions about the complexity of female friendships and female-female competition surrounding eating, dieting, weight, and appearance.

This dissertation research is focused on how we, as researchers, ‘influence’ others researchers. In particular, I am concerned with the notion of what constitutes the ‘influence’ of a scholar and how ‘influence’ is conferred upon scholars. This research is concerned with the construct called ‘scholarly influence’. Scholarly influence is of interest because a clear “theory of scholarly influence” does not yet exist. Rather a number of surrogate measures or concepts that are variable are used to evaluate the value of one’s academic work. ‘Scholarly influence’ is broken down into ‘ideational influence’ or the influence that one has through publication and the uptake of the ideas presented in the publication, and ‘social influence’ or the influence that one has through working with other researchers. Finally through the use of the definition of ‘scholarly influence’ this dissertation tries to commence a definition of ‘quality’ in scholarly work.

In the early 2000s when several Central and East European countries (CEECs) negotiated their accession to the European Union (EU), they introduced foreign aid policy despite most of them being aid recipient countries at the time. This thesis seeks to explain the evolution of foreign aid policy in two Central and Eastern European countries that took divergent paths in adopting the policy, Slovenia and Latvia. While Slovenia evolved into a relatively active donor country among the CEECs, Latvia’s aid policy developed relatively slowly and aid allocations were smaller. The thesis approaches this subject from the perspective of the ‘Europeanisation East’ literature that seeks to explain policy adoption in the CEECs in terms of EU influence. The literature is divided on how to explain the policy adoption processes in the CEECs. Rationalists, on the one hand, stress the role played by external incentives, in particular the conditions the EU imposed on the CEECs for them to be admitted to the EU, known as EU conditionality. Rationalists also note the role of domestic veto players who can delay or even stop adoption of the policy if it incurs high adoption costs upon them. Constructivists, on the other hand, explain policy adoption in terms of identification and social influence, policy resonance, or the presence of influential norm entrepreneurs. In an important study, Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier (2005) concluded that most of the policy adoption processes can be explained by the overwhelming influence of EU conditionality, thus downplaying constructivist explanations. This thesis examines whether their finding can be applied to the adoption of foreign aid policy in the preaccession period (1998-2004). It focuses on the role of EU as well as domestic factors in the policy adoption processes. It then explores what factors account for further developments in the policy adoption processes in the period after the CEECs acceded to the EU (2004-2010). The empirical basis of this study consists of a series of interviews with policy makers and civil society representatives in the two countries. The findings in these interviews have been checked against and triangulated with an encompassing examination of policy documents and archival material. The main findings about the pre-accession period indicate that EU conditionality indeed played an important role in foreign aid policy adoption, but so did identification and social influence. Hence policy adoption costs and the efforts of veto players could not delay policy adoption. In the post-accession period, it is argued here, the further policy adoption processes can largely be explained by identification and social influence. Nevertheless, veto players and adoption costs, as well as policy resonance, did emerge as constraining factors in the policy processes. All in all, the thesis argues that the policy adoption processes can be explained best by a combination of both Constructivist and Rationalist theories and that role of domestic factors should not be neglected in research into EU influence on the new member states.

som individen tror uppskattas i det sociala sammanhanget, så den får fram rätt framtoning? Frågor av denna karaktär har varit med att bygga upp denna uppsats och drivit oss att ta reda på mer. Ovanstående är temat som denna uppsats behandlar och utreder. I fokus står det mellanmänskliga mötet som sker under anställningsintervjun och hur intrycksstyrning används. För kandidaten och för rekryteraren är anställningsintervjun ett tillfälle då de båda i de flesta fall vill framstå i så god dager som möjligt. Intrycksstyrning är en metod för att skapa och förstärka intryck med hjälp av olika taktiker. Vi har med utgångspunkt i den symboliska interaktionismen hämtat både kunskap och inspiration och överfört dem till anställningsintervjun som är en del av rekryteringsprocessen. Symbolisk interaktionism fokuserar på kommunikation mellan människor och det område som vi studerat närmare. Vi har intervjuat tre rekryterare och tre kandidater som är anställda på Skol- och barnomsorgsförvaltningen inom Växjö kommun. Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att få en ökad förståelse och kunskap för hur människor agerar under anställningsintervjun. Vi har bland annat kommit fram till att parterna vill se intervjun som ett samtal istället för ett stelt förhör eller ett tillgjort skådespel. Vi har även kommit fram till att individerna vill agera mänskligt och tillåtas ha fel och brister istället för att ge sken och uppfattas som perfekta. Det har visat sig att det inte enbart är positivt att visa sina goda sidor och agera som en reklamkampanj. Det som framkom var att överdrivna förmågor förr eller senare kommer fram, därför är det av vikt att ha en allmänkunskap som gör det enklare att genomskåda intrycksstyrningen. / Should an individual expose his true personality, express his emotions, reveal his inner-self and disclose exactly how he feels or should the individual assess the social environment and act according to what the individual deems to be the most acceptable behaviour in the social context, and so project the right impression? Questions like this have helped us to put together this essay and have motivated us to find out more. The above is the theme this paper deals with and investigates. Its focus is on the interpersonal interaction that takes place during a job interview and how impression management is used. For the candidate and the recruiter a job interview is a time when both want to appear in as good a light as possible. Impression Management is a method to create and reinforce an impression by using different tactics. We have, from theoretical starting points of symbolic interaction, obtained both knowledge and inspiration and transferred them to the job interview as part of the recruitment process. We have interviewed three recruiters and three candidates who are employed at Växjö municipality’s School and Child Care Administration. The aim of this thesis has been to achieve a better understanding and knowledge of how people inter-act during an employment interview. We have drawn the conclusion that both parties want to see the interview as a conversation instead of a rigid interrogation or play-acting. We also found that the two participants want to appear humane and accept faults and shortcomings instead of giving the impression of being perfect. It is not considered positive to only show their good sides as in an advertising campaign. What emerged was that exaggerated capabilities sooner or later are exposed. It is therefore important to have a general knowledge that makes it easier to expose impression management.

Because of the popularity of the 3G mobile technology and the development of digital broadcasting technologies, the mobile television (TV) has become a potential killer application within the telecom industry. This research examines mobile user¡¦s intention to use and the use behavior of mobile TV. The theory underlying the study is the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) that takes performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating condition as independent factors and the intention and behavior of usage as dependent variables. Two online surveys were conducted to evaluate the theory. The result from the first survey shows that the performance expectancy, the effort expectancy and the social influence factors have significant influences on the mobile TV user¡¦s intention toward using mobile TV services. The facilitating condition has a positive significant relationship with the usage behavior. The result different from the previous studies is no significant relationship between the intention and use behavior. However, the follow-up survey conducted a year later shows that the facilitating condition and intension to use have positive significant impacts on the use behavior. This study can help firms to better understand the factors that affect the intention and behavior of using mobile TV.

The invention of personal computers (PCs) brings a lot of convenience for many people¡¦s life. For a PC, its essential core is the operation system (OS) which is the most basic as well as important information system (IS). Because operation system is a requisite for each PC, many software companies have striven to develop and promote their own OSs. As well known, Microsoft is the most powerful company of OS and it dominated the market in the world. Microsoft is keeping designing new PC¡¦s OSs and promoting them with all its strength. It develops new version OS to fit the trade of information technology standard and users¡¦ requirements in specific product life cycle. In past, when Microsoft announced new OS version, they are quickly accepted and replaced to old ones. However, there is a strange situation for its latest OS Win 7 recently. Win 7 isn¡¦t quickly accepted to replace old version OS Win XP. The number of PC users whose platform is Win XP is still very large, and most of them have little willing to upgrade. It is a big problem for an OS company. However, this is also an interesting phenomenon and worth studying in academic. The issue is: why users would not like to upgrade a newer and more effective OS? This study focuses on the issue and tries to discover factors affecting upgrading intention and behavior. According to related research and actual observation, several critical constructs are applied such as switching costs, product qualities of relative advantages and over performance, and compatibilities. Moreover, environment factors like social influence and after-sales services expectations, and fashion effects. Demographic variables are included into the research model at the same time. Hypotheses are proposed after reviewing related studies and empirical survey. To verify this model and prove these hypotheses, PLS is applied to analyze and explain the result. On the other hand, discriminant analysis is also used to view the Win XP group and Win 7 group. The key discriminant function is made to distinguish and forecast these two kinds of groups. This study empirically validated and confirmed our research model by PLS and discriminant analysis. Furthermore, the relationships of factors those affecting upgrading intentions and behavior are verified and integrated. The findings are able to support OS suppliers to actually implement their product design. In academic, this study complement the field of IS switching about vertical upgrade to certain IS.

The present study aimed to integrate situational and dispositional perspectives on the investigation of unethical and dishonest behavior through an experimental and a correlational study. More explicitly, the current study explored the effects of state self-control and social influence on cheating, and investigated the trait self control and conformity as predictors of academic dishonesty. Two preliminary studies were conducted. First, a pilot study with 230 undergraduate students was conducted to assess the reliability of the Turkish versions of the four scales intended to measure the constructs of interest. All four scales were found to have sufficient reliabilities. A second preliminary study was conducted to observe and to ameliorate the effects of two manipulations constructed for the main study, namely the rewriting task (depletory versus neutral) and the norm induction (deciding to cheat, not to cheat or to meet with a friend after the study). The main study was conducted with 87 undergraduate students. Correlational results underlined the importance of low self-control and high susceptibility to social influence as predictors of past behavior of academic dishonesty. Experimental results revealed that first, groups

With the ubiquity of broadband, wireless and mobile networking and the diversity of user-driven social networks and social channels, we are entering an information age where people and vehicles are connected at all times, and information and influence are diffused continuously through not only traditional authoritative media such as news papers, TV and radio broadcasting, but also user-driven new channels for disseminating information and diffusing influence. Social network users and mobile travelers can influence and be influenced by the social and spatial connectivity that they share through an impressive array of social and spatial channels, ranging from friendship, activity, professional or social groups to spatial, location-aware, and mobility aware events. In this dissertation research, we argue that spatial alarms and activity-based social networks are two fundamentally new types of information and influence diffusion channels. Such new channels have the potential of enriching our professional experiences and our personal life quality in many unprecedented ways. For instance, spatial alarms enable people to share their experiences or disseminate certain points of interest by leaving location-dependent greetings, tips or graffiti and location dependent tour guide to their friends, colleagues and family members. Through social networks, people can influence their friends and colleagues by the activities they have engaged, such as reviews and blogs on certain events or products. More interestingly, the power of such spatial and social diffusion of information and influence can go far beyond our physical reach. People can utilize user-generated social and spatial channels as effective means to disseminate information and propagate influence to a much wider and possibly unknown range of audiences and recipients at any time and in any location. A fundamental challenge in embracing such new and exciting ways of information diffusion is to develop effective and scalable models and algorithms as enabling technology and building blocks. This dissertation research is dedicated towards this ultimate objective with three novel and unique contributions. First, we develop an activity driven and self-configurable social influence model and a suite of computational algorithms to compute and rank social network nodes in terms of activity-based influence diffusion over social network topologies. By activity driven we mean that the real impact of social influence and the speed of such influence propagation should be computed based on the type, the amount and the time window of the activities performed by a social network node in addition to its social connectivity (social network topology). By self-configurable we mean that the diffusion efficiency and effectiveness are dynamically adapted based on the settings and tunings of multiple spatial and social parameters such as diffusion context, diffusion location, diffusion rate, diffusion energy (heat), diffusion coverage and diffusion incentives (e.g., reward points), to name a few. We evaluate our approach through datasets collected from Facebook, Epinions, and DBLP datasets. Our experimental results show that our activity based social influence model outperforms existing topology-based social influence model in terms of effectiveness and quality with respect to influence ranking and influence coverage computation. Second, we further enhance our activity based social influence model along two dimensions. At first, we use a probabilistic diffusion model to capture the intrinsic properties of social influence such that nodes in a social network may have the choice of whether to participate in a social influence propagation process. We examine threshold based approach and independent probabilistic cascade based approach to determine whether a node is active or inactive in each round of influence diffusion. Secondly, we introduce incentives using multi-scale reward points, which are popularly used in many business settings. We then examine the effectiveness of reward points based incentives in stimulating the diffusion of social influences. We show that given a set of incentives, some active nodes may become more active whereas some inactive nodes may become active. Such dynamics changes the composition of the top-k influential nodes computed by activity-based social influence model. We make several interesting observations: First, popular users who are high degree nodes and have many friends are not necessarily influential in terms of spawning new activities or spreading ideas and information. Second, most influential users are more active in terms of their participation in the social activities and interactions with their friends in the social network. Third, multi-scale reward points based incentives can be effective to both inactive nodes and active nodes. Third, we introduce spatial alarms as the basic building blocks for location-dependent information sharing and influence diffusion. People can share and disseminate their location based experiences and points of interest to their friends and colleagues in the form of spatial alarms. Spatial alarms are triggered and delivered to the intended subscribers only when the subscribers move into the designated geographical vicinity of the spatial alarms, enabling delivering and sharing of relevant information and experience at the right location and the right time with the right subscribers. We studied how to use locality filters and subscriber filers to enhance the spatial alarm processing using traditional spatial indexing techniques. In addition, we develop a fast spatial alarm indexing structure and algorithms, called Mondrian Tree, and demonstrate that the Mondrian tree enabled spatial alarm system can significantly outperform existing spatial indexing based solutions such as R-tree, $k$-d tree, Quadtree. This dissertation consists of six chapters. The first chapter introduces the research hypothesis. We describe our activity-based social influence model in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 presents the probabilistic social influence model powered with rewards incentives. We introduce spatial alarms and the basic system architecture for spatial alarm processing in Chapter 4. We describe the design of our Mondrian tree index of spatial alarms and alarm free regions in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6 we conclude the dissertation with a summary of the unique research contributions and a list of open issues closely relevant to the research problems and solution approaches presented in this dissertation.