This study aimed to examine relative effect of perceived expressed emotion of schizophrenic patients and their caregivers&rsquo / expressed emotion on the symptom severity and quality of life at the framework of Vulnerability-Stress Model. Before the main study, for evaluating the psychometric properties of the Perceived Expressed Emotion Scale (PEES) a pilot study was conducted with the seventy five patients. Results of the pilot study provided support for the reliability and validity of PEES that had two factors, namely, criticism/hostility and emotional over-involvement. The main study was conducted at two stages. At time one assessment, one hundred and sixteen patients were administered PEES, Positive and Negative Symptom Scale for schizophrenia (PANSS), WHO&rsquo / s Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF), and open ended questions to explore the views about their illness. Their caregivers were administered Expressed Emotion Scale (EES). After six month follow up, time two assessment was conducted 103 patients remained on the study using PANSS and WHOQOL-BREF. In order to test the main hypothesis of the study a series of repeated ANOVA analyses were conducted. The results revealed that patients&rsquo / perceived expressed emotion was a more robust component on quality of life and symptom severity than caregivers&rsquo / expressed emotion. It was found that patients&rsquo / perceived criticism/hostility was a toxic element on positive and negative symptoms, and total scores of PANSS, whereas patients&rsquo / perceived emotional over-involvement had a protector effect on social and environmental domain of standardized culture of WHOQOL-BREF. It was seen that symptom severity evaluated using PANSS improved from time one assessment to time two assessment. After discussing the findings in the framework of the literature, the limitations and the clinical implications of the results and directions for future studies were suggested.

Online group-buying means that a crowd of consumers combine with each other and massively purchase a certain object, and therefore can attain to a lower price(Kauffman et al. 2002). In group-buying transaction model, consumers usually recognized the risks specially. Therefore, the feedback mechanisms were used to reduce the risks and increase the trust. In general electronic shopping, many past studies especially explore the use of feedback mechanisms(Dellarocas 2003; Singh et al. 1991). However, there are few studies about the effect of feedback mechanisms on online group-buying. Compare to general electronic shopping, shopping in group-buying will include more uncertainty and risk. Thus, this study will use experimental methodology to explore the feedback mechanisms that how to impact the behavior of group-buying consumers with forum and rating feedback mechanisms. Our study mainly explores whether the feedback mechanisms affect the consumers¡¦ trust in seller¡¦s credibility and perceived risk in group-buying, and whether the intention to join group-buying is influenced by the trust in seller¡¦s credibility and perceived risk. The study shows that the online group-buying consumer behavior is influenced by the feedback mechanisms exactly. The ratings affect consumers¡¦ perceived financial risk, perceived time risk and perceived psychological risk. The forum affect consumer¡¦s psychological risk perceived, and the experience of the initiator who initiates group-buying also affect the consumer¡¦s time risk perceived. The intention to join group-buying is influenced by the trust in seller¡¦s credibility and perceived risk.

This research looks into the emerging trend of circular economy which is fairly young, but have still gotten a lot of recognition in the past few years. The purpose of the research was to identify bridging activities between circular business models and customer perceived value. This gap creates a great opportunity to find correlations between these areas to hopefully construct the missing bridge to connect the phenomena. A case study was applied on an organisation having a circular business model, where its customer network was used to collect data. Two types of data collection methods were used: (1)Quantitative data collection from potential customers using a questionnaire;and (2) Qualitative data collection from existing customers with semistructured interviews. The collected data was later analysed by connecting it to existing theory of customer perceived value. The data was categorised, ranked and later inserted in a contemporary matrix created by the authors, called the Business Model Matrix. The whole research was lastly presented as a conceptual model with the intent to generalize the methodology so it could be applied on other organisations. The model consists of five steps: (1) Research, (2) Data collection, (3) Translation, (4) Business Model Matrix and (5) Adaption.The authors conclude this research with: (1) It is difficult to quantify and make sense of value; (2) Standardised measurements for value has to be defined; and (3) Even though it might be difficult to interpret the business model matrix result, it might give a good overview of what the customers likes which can increase competitiveness in the long-term. Suggested future research lies in standardising value and looking into perceived value from other actors rather than customers as well.

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ABSTRACT Date: 2024 Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Tatiana Bernard, Alexia; Parvin, Maryam; Ram, Mahabad Title: Beyond the Click: Unveiling the Influence of AI Personalization on E-commerce Impulse Buys Supervisor: Emre Yildiz Keywords: AI personalized recommendations, impulsive buying behavior, perceived value, perceived scarcity, perceived positive emotions. Research question: How does AI-powered personalized product recommendations influence impulsive buying behavior in e-commerce, potentially mediated by underlying psychological mechanisms? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the link between AI-powered personalized product recommendations and consumers’ impulsive buying on e-commerce platforms. The research explores how these personalized recommendations might influence customers towards impulsive purchases through perceived value, scarcity, and positive emotions as mediating factors. Method: This study utilized a quantitative research methodology, employing online surveys to collect data from active online shoppers. To ensure a comprehensive sample, both convenience and purposive sampling techniques were implemented, aiming to represent a broad spectrum of online shopping behaviors. Conclusion: This study reveals that AI-powered personalized product recommendations significantly influence impulsive buying behaviors on e-commerce platforms. By examining the mediating effects of perceived value, scarcity, and positive emotions, the research highlights how personalized recommendations can drive impulsive purchases. The findings underscore the importance of sophisticated recommendation systems in enhancing consumer engagement and satisfaction while raising important ethical considerations about consumer manipulation and long-term satisfaction. This study provides valuable insights for businesses looking to balance effective marketing strategies with ethical consumer practices.

The positive contribution of high growth small businesses to the economic growth of countries is derived from a body of knowledge in the entrepreneurship domain. Small business growth could be sustained by a better understanding of entrepreneurial orientation. This study is based on the evaluation of entrepreneurial orientation of small businesses in the formal sector with specific reference to businesses in the Gauteng Province. The objective of the study is to analyse entrepreneurial orientation and perceived business success in small and medium-sized enterprises in Gauteng, with the focus on providing recommendations to enhance entrepreneurial activity in small and medium-sized enterprises. A literature review was conducted to explore entrepreneurial orientation and its perceived business success in small enterprises. The five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and the two variables measuring perceived business success were explored. A questionnaire constructed by Lotz (2009) was used to measure entrepreneurial orientation variables and perceived business success variables. A target group of 60 business owners was identified and questionnaires were distributed to them. A total of 42 questionnaires were returned but only 38 were deemed usable for the study. The validity of each variable was individually determined by the calculation of the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Conclusions and recommendations for possible action steps to enhance entrepreneurial orientation were made, based on the empirical data obtained. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The positive contribution of high growth small businesses to the economic growth of countries is derived from a body of knowledge in the entrepreneurship domain. Small business growth could be sustained by a better understanding of entrepreneurial orientation. This study is based on the evaluation of entrepreneurial orientation of small businesses in the formal sector with specific reference to businesses in the Gauteng Province. The objective of the study is to analyse entrepreneurial orientation and perceived business success in small and medium-sized enterprises in Gauteng, with the focus on providing recommendations to enhance entrepreneurial activity in small and medium-sized enterprises. A literature review was conducted to explore entrepreneurial orientation and its perceived business success in small enterprises. The five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and the two variables measuring perceived business success were explored. A questionnaire constructed by Lotz (2009) was used to measure entrepreneurial orientation variables and perceived business success variables. A target group of 60 business owners was identified and questionnaires were distributed to them. A total of 42 questionnaires were returned but only 38 were deemed usable for the study. The validity of each variable was individually determined by the calculation of the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Conclusions and recommendations for possible action steps to enhance entrepreneurial orientation were made, based on the empirical data obtained. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Although several studies have characterized common and unique neural circuitry associated with social and non-social emotions, none to date have attempted to differentiate between social emotions that occur in very different contexts. Grieving the death of a loved one and being a target of perceived discrimination may implicate potentially distinct social processes (e.g., attachment versus affiliation). When examined separately, prior neuroimaging research has shown that both grief and perceived discrimination involved diffuse brain regions implicated variously in social stress processing and emotion, however no studies to date have directly compared these experiences. In the present study, we examined neural correlates of grief and perceived discrimination among South Asian women (n = 10), using an idiographic emotional imagery task. Grief-related imagery elicited activation in the precuneus, midbrain, dorsal striatum, and thalamocingulate regions, consistent with previous neuroimaging studies of grief and attachment. Participants showed greater activation in the anterior cingulate, hippocampus, occipital cortex, and cerebellum during Grief relative to Discrimination. We observed dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) activation in Discrimination>Neutral, which may reflect greater self-regulatory effort involved in coping with discrimination experiences. Greater temporal pole and amygdala activation in the Discrimination condition were associated with greater lifetime perceived discrimination, poorer self-reported physical health, and more depressive symptoms. Results of this pilot study suggest that there are observable differences in the brain response to these two types of social stressors, suggesting future directions for a more fine-grained view of the mechanisms through which the social environment may influence health and well-being.

Este artículo presenta un estudio acerca del riesgo percibido en el sector de la construcción. El estudio se realizó a partir del análisis de cuestionarios provenientes de una muestra de trabajadores de la construcción del sur de España. Se presenta el perfil del riesgo percibido obtenido según los enfoques del llamado paradigma psicométrico a través de atributos cualitativos y se analizan los resultados. El atributo relativo a como el trabajo afecta a la salud a largo plazo es el más puntuado. Lo cual representa una novedad con respecto a otros estudios previos. A su vez se analizan mediante un análisis de la varianza (ANOVA) los efectos de la variable sociodemográfica oficio con respecto a los distintos atributos del riesgo percibido del cuestionario. Se presentan las diferencias obtenidas entre el grupo de albañiles y estructuristas. / This article presents a study of the perceived risk in the construction sector. The study was conducted from the analysis of questionnaires from several samples of construction workers from southern Spain. We report the perceived risk profile obtained from the psychometric paradigm through qualitative attributes and then we analyze the results. Stands out the attribute regarding how work affects our own long-term health. This represents something new with respect to previous studies. Also analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) the effects of socio-demographic variable craft with respect to the different attributes of the perceived risk of the questionnaire. It presents the differences obtained between the group of masons and framers.

irgarzon@ugr.es / This paper addresses the question of how construction workers perceive occupational risks. It is a question that has not been addressed in scientific research. Specifically, we answer the following research questions: what is the perception of risk of construction workers?; what aspects of risk significantly influence the formation of the overall perception of risk?; are there sociodemographic variables that help to understand the perception of risk of construction workers? and if this were the case, then what are these variables and how do they influence them?. Ultimately, it examines the profile of perceived risk, its relation to the delay of consequences and the influence of socio-demographic variables. Respondents filled out a questionnaire in the presence of the survey-taker. The questionnaire was based on the psychometric paradigm, and was comprised of: (a) nine questions, each exploring a perceived risk attribute or dimension rated on a Likert 7-point scale, (b) a question on global risk perception, and (c) categorical questions about socio-demographic issues. The survey was conducted in the city of Granada (Spain). A profile of the construction workers’ perceived risk was obtained. Answers to each attribute were above the neutral line (scores above four). The profile shows the risk dimension with the highest score was the delayed consequences of exposure to risk conditions, a dimension that can be related to ergonomics and occupational hygiene. This is a new outcome since traditionally this dimension was given a lower score in the worker’s perception. A simple linear regression showed global risk may be explained in terms of the delayed consequences dimension (R2=0.29). Finally, a variance analysis (ANOVA) and several t-tests explored the relationship between this dimension and the sample’s socio-demographic variables. To conclude, the delay of consequences is the risk dimension workers perceived as the most critical in their daily chores. In addition, this risk dimension is decisive in creating a high global risk perception. Parenthood, a higher worker category and training are the only socio-demographic variables having an impact on this dimension of perceived risk. Hence, there is a direct relationship between these two variables.