Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-06-16T21:15:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Viegas Rodrigues.pdf: 1163684 bytes, checksum: 71d37115db9e647b4ddc1e42b8011e46 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-16T21:15:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gustavo Viegas Rodrigues.pdf: 1163684 bytes, checksum: 71d37115db9e647b4ddc1e42b8011e46 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-13 / This work has investigated the interaction between two word-of-mouth’s-source-related factors with products’ purchase intention, either hedonic or utilitarian products. The interaction between communication source’s expertise and social ties with the receptor of the communication and product type was analyzed using an experiment. The results allow for the conclusion that, regardless of product type, only the recommendation given by an expert is capable of increasing the receptor’s purchase intention. The same does not apply if the person whom recommends has a stronger (or weaker) social tie with the one receiving the recommendation. This study’s contribution may support marketing managers to rethink their word-of-mouth communication strategies, focusing on experts; and it may help academics, by offering another evidence that expertise is the most relevant factor in that kind of communication. / Este trabalho investigou a interação de dois fatores ligados ao emissor de comunicação boca-a-boca com a intenção de se comprar produtos, sejam eles hedônicos ou utilitários. A interação entre expertise e o laço social da fonte da comunicação com o receptor da recomendação do produto e o tipo do produto foi analisada por meio de experimentos. Os resultados permitem concluir que, independentemente do tipo de produto, apenas a recomendação vinda de um expert tem capacidade de aumentar a intenção de compra de quem recebe a recomendação. O mesmo não acontece se a pessoa que recomenda tem um laço social mais forte com quem recebeu a recomendação. A contribuição deste estudo auxilia gestores de marketing a repensarem suas estratégias de comunicação boca-a-boca, enfocando-as nos experts; e auxilia acadêmicos ao oferecer mais uma evidência de que expertise é o fator mais importante nesse tipo de comunicação.

Thesis advisor: Betty Leask / Universities around the world are increasingly adopting internationalization strategies, which call attention to intentionality in using the curriculum and strategic regional networks as ways to achieve university agendas. Internationalization of the curriculum (IoC) endeavors are typically led by a select group of individuals within a single university, and often struggle to gain diverse wide-spread support within the university community (Leask, 2013). However, university networks, which demand interconnectivity, have been argued to “constitute the core of internationalisation,” and present varied academic opportunities for engagement that expand channels of information sharing and knowledge creation (de Wit & Callan, 1995, p.89). Therefore, university networks have unexplored potential in providing unique learning opportunities for member institutions’ faculty and staff in internationalizing their curricula, while advancing their institution’s internationalization agenda. Through a framework of network theories, professional learning theory, and an internationalization of the curriculum conceptual framework, this study investigated faculty and staff engagement with one network, and how their engagement has influenced conceptualizations of internationalization of the curriculum. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with fourteen members of faculty and staff from two of five universities in a European university network, the results demonstrate that this network supports faculty and staff in contextualizing and conceptualizing internationalization. The analysis points to the differences in conceptualizations of IoC, depending on the level of faculty and staff engagement with the network. The diverse representation of faculty and staff at network events created significant interactions where individuals were able to validate and share their experiences and expertise related to internationalizing curriculum, as well as critically examine their own approaches and university policies. Faculty and staff engagement with the network resulted in mature conceptualizations of internationalizing curriculum, and contributed to a greater adaptability to working in changing, intercultural environments. The study suggests that engagement in this network is conducive to the internationalization of one’s academic Self, and to fostering a greater sense of regional camaraderie (Sanderson, 2008). Finally, the results of this study demonstrate one university network’s ability to engage an increasing mass of reflective faculty and staff that are aware of internationalization and its implications for their learning environments. The contributions of this study are significant for university leaders, scholars, and practitioners, and especially those working in the nuanced intersection of internationalizing curricula and university networks. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

As scholarly institutions enter a new era of hyper-competition, seeking innovative ways to engage with student populations has become central to social media marketing efforts. Developing strategies and tactics to interact with existing student populations presents new challenges for marketing departments, as well as the stakeholders who are often asked to provide user-generated content. Strong ties among stakeholder relationships can enhance communication with effective outcomes; however, it is the weak ties that may have the most impact. This study draws on existing literature regarding Strength of Weak Ties Theory and faculty and student surveys in East Tennessee State University’s Clemmer College were conducted, to explore how ethos, pathos, logos, and Kairos can be leveraged in earned, owned, and shared media. This data is then used to inform future marketing campaigns that use professor-student engagement.

This paper analyzes the Spain’s immigrants’ integration policy with the aim to reveal Spain’s national approach model using path dependence as a theory to search for the consistent and stable constraining or motivating ideas that dictate the direction of Spain’s immigrants’ integration policy. This paper finds out that the public philosophy of Spain is premised on historical ties, the interest is motivated by shared culture and the problem definition is framed based on the country of origin of the immigrants. However, these ideas make Spain’s immigrants’ policy to be restrictive or liberal to some group of immigrants depending on their country of origin. Immigrants from Third country nationals consisting of Latin- America, Andorra, the Philippines, Guinea Equatorial, Portugal and the Sephardic Jews who have had historical experience acquire Spanish Nationality faster than the other immigrants from third country nationals composed mainly of Morocco, Africa and Asia because of the way laws regulating immigrants acquisition of Spanish nationality is designed.

This thesis explores the puzzling subnational variation of policymaking for the online ride-hailing industry (ORS) in China. Chengdu and Jinan are two similar cities on many economic and political levels. They are both capital cities of their provinces, new first-tier cities in terms of their economic size and both have a large population. Yet, they adopted significantly different ORS policies. This thesis asks why two similar cities in China have diverging policy outcomes. Using a method of difference (MOD) strategy to compare these two similar cases with diverging outcomes, the thesis evaluates three potential explanations. They are as follows: (1) historical legacies and political communities, (2) the cadre evaluation system (CES), and (3) government-business relationships. Using a historical institutionalism theoretical framework with comparative capitalism and economic sociology roots, this thesis finds that a mixture of CES incentives and government business relationship patterns has had a determining impact on diverging outcomes in Jinan and Chengdu. There have been two phases of ORS policymaking in China until now. In phase 1, Chengdu had a laxer ORS policy than Jinan. A comparison of historical legacies and political communities tells us that Chengdu has been a more market-oriented city than Jinan. More importantly, Jinan’s government had a more intimate relationship with local taxi agencies, which proved to be the major cause of subnational differences. In phase 2, Chengdu’s ORS policy was found to be more stringent than Jinan’s. In this case, the significant variable leading to Chengdu’s tightened policy was the target-setting of the cadre evaluation system (CES). The CES specifically required Chengdu’s government to ban non-green vehicles from the ORS market while Jinan did not encounter the same requirement. Moreover, Jinan can exclude non-green vehicles from its environmental protection plan while Chengdu cannot. This thesis observes a structural distortion caused by the CES. Throughout the two phases of ORS policymaking, both governments play a consistently dominant role. However, the government-business relationship remains flexible. If the relationship is viewed as an institution, it is composed of informal procedures, conventions, and orders where actors accommodate each other. The largest privately-owned ORS enterprise, Didi, has declared that their preferences are taken into consideration by the government. Some questions remain as to how the government processes those preferences and how much importance it attaches to them, but this illustrates the mutual accommodation of the government and an enterprise within an informal institution. By some unwritten but conventional procedures, they coordinate with each other. This thesis furthers the study of the government-business relationship in China. It not only unearths the institutional factors of subnational variation for ORS policymaking, but also verifies the presence of institutional flexibility in China. This thesis is an important addition to the literature on government-business ties in China because it does beyond the study of rent-seeking to evaluate the multifaceted ways in which the Chinese government can build relationships with enterprises.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Relationships among neighbors contribute to the well-being and outcomes of all who live within a neighborhood. Existing literature provides us with a wealth of information on individual seniors’ isolation but does not seem to consider how neighborhood factors add to the attachment of seniors. Given the increasing number of seniors in our society who have the ability to remain living in their neighborhoods as they age, this study focuses on understanding neighborhood attachment to seniors living in the community. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on the potential impact that senior attachment could have on youth as one subset life stage who reside in a neighborhood. This thesis describes the characteristics of neighborhoods that foster low, normal, and high levels of senior attachment in urban areas and explores the relationship this attachment has to neighborhood youth outcomes. This research opens the door for other scholars to begin to place greater emphasis on the understanding of neighborhood dynamics, intergenerational ties to seniors, and the well being of residents across the life course.

"Outdoor Education" and German Scout-Type Youth Organizations in the Czech Lands Title: "Outdoor Education" and German Scout-Type Youth Organizations in the Czech Lands Abstract: The thesis deals with the formation and history of German youth organizations in the Czech Lands. It especially covers those organizations that either directly referred to the Scout movement originating in the UK or US, or at least adopted the fundamental educational methods and principles of working with the youth which were typical for these movements. These organizations marked a revolutionary change in the approach to youth and their education. Such a change was possible thanks to a series of philosophical, pedagogical and political transformations in the society. Scout movements were especially built on the modern philosophical theories based on the ideas of American and German philosophers. However, the roots of this approach to nature and to human education can be traced to the early modern era, when the first modern approaches to teaching appeared and were generally applied under the changing economic and social environment of a modern society. In addition to philosophy, the movement was also influenced by a number of other social, political, ideological and cultural phenomena. The origins of these organizations can be seen...

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