The traditional type of marketing is more directed towards big customer segments in specified areas. Due to technological improvement marketing has evolved into an extreme form of segmentation where marketing target the individual consumer based on their personal needs and preferences. This has led to a discussion of whether personalized marketing is something that create privacy concerns or benefits in the eyes of the consumer.     The purpose of this thesis is to explore the consumer perception of personalized marketing and how the perception affects the purchase decision-making process.   A conceptual framework was developed based on earlier research within personalized marketing. A qualitative method with an abductive approach has been used. Our primary data was collected through 8 different semi-structured interviews and consisted of men and women in the age span of 40-59 years’ old who had engaged in e-commerce at least once during the last six months.   Our empirical data has been analyzed out of the literature review, which founds the basis for our findings. Our findings show that the consumer perception of personalized marketing affect the consumer decision-making process in varying ways. A positive perception of the personalized marketing makes the consumer more susceptible to it, which further impacts the different stages in the process.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Deborah Canter / Junehee Kwon / Foodborne illnesses are a challenge, especially in ethnic restaurants partly because of differences in food handling practices and ethnic cultures. Chinese restaurants, representing the largest number of ethnic restaurants in the U.S., have unique food safety challenges. This study investigated variables including Chinese cultural values (CCVs) that influence U.S. Chinese restaurateurs’ behavioral intention regarding food safety training. The qualitative study, individual interviews with 20 Chinese restaurateurs, found 17 major CCVs that are important to participants. Most participants felt satisfied with previous health inspections, but several expressed difficulty with understanding health inspectors’ instructions and the reports. A limited number of participants provided food safety training mainly because it was required by law. Lack of money, time, labor, energy, and perceived needs for food safety training were major obstacles to providing food safety training in Chinese restaurants. The quantitative study assessed behavioral intention to provide food safety training and the influencing factors including CCVs using the instrument developed based on the qualitative study. Sample included 500 Chinese restaurateurs across the U.S., and 261 provided usable data. Among 17 CCVs, respondents perceived “courtesy” (6.95±0.24), “respect” (6.87±0.47), and “harmony” (6.85±0.41) as most important. The opinions of customers (5.74±1.71), family members (5.73±1.60), and business partners (5.49±1.57) were considered most important. Barriers to providing food safety training included employees’ physical exhaustion (5.89±1.58), employees’ learning capabilities (4.80±1.97), and financial resources (4.56±2.19). Of five CCV factors identified, CCVs pertaining to customer relations (β=0.133, p<.05) and interpersonal relations (β=0.320, p<.001) were significantly associated with behavioral intention to provide food safety training. Additional factors influencing food safety training intention were, personal influence (Fchange=3.98, p<.05), perceived barriers (Fchange=6.42, p<.05), and past experiences (Fchange=21.78, p<.001). Among participants, the males (t =2.97, p<.05) valued customer relations, whereas the females (t =5.52, p<.001) valued interpersonal relations. Chinese restaurateurs with bachelor’s degrees or higher (F=5.905, p<.01) had greater intentions to provide food safety training than others. Manual-based food safety training (6.17±1.23) in Chinese (6.13±1.33) was preferred by the respondents. Future research should evaluate if recommendations from this study have positive influences on food safety training at Chinese restaurants.

I Remember…, a series of drawings, is based on personal social experiences starting from the age of thirteen. This series begins with a memory of the first time I had to speak to a room full of people and the unexpected events of that followed. My own relationship with one of the primary subjects, the chair refers to memories of being raised in a home where certain furnishings were “off-limits.” Even more important is the presence of a cryptic narrative, fractured and dreamlike, similar to the style of writing created by Alain Robbe-Grillet. It has been a lifetime goal to create drawings that are interactive with the viewer. The baroque embellished chairs and piano provide a point of departure encouraging contemplative involvement by the viewer conceptually through imagery and physically through scale. Also, showing multiple viewpoints of the object simultaneously creates an atmosphere that is dreamlike and ghostly.

I dagsläget finns en stor mängd byggnader i Sverige där fasaden består av puts direkt anliggande mot antingen lättbetong eller tegel. Dessa fasader kan skapa problem för brukaren p.g.a. fukttransport via putsen direkt in i konstruktionen. Problemen som kan uppstå som följd av dessa konstruktioner är inte bara estetiska utan kan även påverka inomhusmiljön. Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka om det gick att med ny teknik visa de resultat som framkommit från erfarenheter från praktiskt arbete samt undersöka hur en renovering påverkar de fasader som består av puts direkt mot lättbetong eller tegel. Arbetet har utförts med hjälp av simuleringsprogrammet Wufi Pro för att sedan analyserats med hänsyn till fukttransporter och vatteninnehåll. Resultaten som framkommit påvisar en förhöjd risk för problem med de ursprungliga fasaderna samt slutsatsen att en renovering enligt ett av de två förslagen är att föredra. / Today there’s a great deal of buildings in Sweden where the facade is constructed by plaster directly connected to either aerated concrete or masonry brick. These facades could create problems for the user on accord of the moisture transport via the plaster directly into the construction. The problems that could follow these types of facades aren’t just esthetical but could also affect the indoor environment. The purpose with this study was to examine if it would be possible using today’s technology to show the results coming from past experiences by practical work, and at the same time examine how a remodel affects the facades that consists of plaster directly on aerated concrete or masonry brick. The work has been conducted with the simulation program Wufi Pro, later to be analyzed  according to moisture transport and water content. The results that came from this has shown an increased risk for problems with the original facades and at the same time that a remodel according to one of the two proposed remodel ways to prefer.