Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Advertised Exclusivity On Consumer Behavior, Danny Clyde Upshaw Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Retailers routinely counter price competition by matching or beating competitors' prices. However, in addition to offering price-matching guarantees many retailers are increasingly adopting a differentiation or product assortment strategy of using "advertised retailer exclusive products" (AREPs) that are not directly comparable to competitor offerings. Such goods may offer added utilitarian and hedonic benefits to the consumer. With this tactic, products are advertised and labeled as "exclusive," but the nature of the exclusivity may range no further than an exclusive label to more pronounced differences, such as unique or additional features. However, the effectiveness of such tactics at: (1) decreasing search …

The Impact Of Stereotype Threat On High School Females' Math Performance: Moderators And An Intervention, Jacqueline Hebert Ball

Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, there has been a significant gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers (Beede et al., 2011; National Science Foundation, 2009), which has been attributed to females' lack of interest and pursuit of careers in these fields (Singletary et al., 2009). In the past, the lack of female participation in these careers was explained by a difference in natural abilities in these areas, especially in mathematics (Benbow & Stanley, 1983); however, research has shown that females are capable of performing just as well as males in the same age group in math (Smith & White, 2002; Spencer …

Instructional Leadership Practices Of Louisiana Elementary And Middle School Principals, Michael Ramon Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations

For principals in Louisiana, instructional leadership, in theory and practice, informs the foundation of ways they are trained and evaluated as school leaders. Identifying the specific instructional leadership practices that are tied to gains in student achievement has become critical for principals, and more importantly for their students. The focus of this research is in the area of principals' instructional leadership practices and student achievement in two northwestern Louisiana school districts. Such a study is important in order to provide effective training and development to Louisiana principals.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between teachers' perceptions …

Effects Of Gender Bias And Gender Inversion Stereotypes On Assessment Of Personality Traits And Diagnosis Of Personality Disorders, Beatrice Charmaine Mosier

Doctoral Dissertations

Past research has shown the results of gender and gender role biases on the diagnostic decision-making process, particularly with regard to personality disorders. This bias has implications for homosexual individuals, as they often are viewed as displaying traits of opposite sex individuals. With regard to personality assessment, current research continuously supports a more dimensional conceptualization of personality pathology. In the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a hybrid model of personality assessment, which utilizes both categorical methods and dimensional approaches, has been added as an alternative model. The study explored the effects of …

Modeling Profile-Attribute Disclosure In Online Social Networks From A Game Theoretic Perspective, Jundong Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

Privacy settings are a crucial part of any online social network as users are confronted with determining which and how many profile attributes to disclose. Revealing more attributes increases users chances of finding friends and yet leaves users more vulnerable to dangers such as identity theft. In this dissertation, we consider the problem of finding the optimal strategy for the disclosure of user attributes in social networks from a game-theoretic perspective.

We model the privacy settings' dynamics of social networks with three game-theoretic approaches. In a two-user game, each user selects an ideal number of attributes to disclose to each …

May I Help You? How Stereotypes And Innuendoes Influence Service Encounters, Lauren Michelle Brewer

Doctoral Dissertations

"You only get one chance to make a good first impression." The dissertation focuses on marketing agents; among the most visible is the "service provider." Previous research establishes the important role of cognitive social schemata in determining the way consumers react to different types of marketing agents, including service providers. In the literature review, a classification schema is developed for service provider stereotypes derived from theory using social stereotypes. The development of the Service Provider Perception Framework (SPPF) creates a classification for the individual service provider along two main dimensions: competence and affect.

In services design (particularly situations involving a …

Sales Performance And Intuition – The Role Of Gut Feelings, David Locander

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation extends the dual theory of salesperson information processing by examining the relationship between salespersons' emotional intelligence (EI) and their preference for and use of decision-making styles (intuition and/or deliberation) in the selling process. This dissertation contains two studies, Study 1 employs a descriptive research design and Study 2 uses experimental manipulations to investigate the role that intuition and deliberation play within the sales process. Data for both studies come from a sample derived from a national online panel of business to business salespeople.

Study 1, using a survey approach, assesses two competing models and one post hoc model …

The Effect Of Hearing Aid Program On The Perceived Sound Quality Of Music, Kalyn Kennedy Bradford

Doctoral Dissertations

Hearing loss affects many aspects of people's lives, including both communication and their ability to enjoy music. Currently, however, there is very little research on patient perception of music through hearing aids; therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the perceived listener satisfaction for music between a standard music program and the commonly used option for programming hearing aids (i.e., an automatic program). Data was collected using fifteen participants with symmetrical mild to moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss with normal to near normal low frequency hearing. Participants were asked to listen to a …

The Functional Approach To Creating The Self, Obinna O. Obilo

Doctoral Dissertations

Studying consumers is at the heart of the sub-discipline of consumer behavior; to truly understand the core of said consumers however, the marketing literature has focused on studying the self. The extant literature has discussed the self from several conceptual view points. As such, this study provides a rich theoretical review reaching back into the 19th century literature and extending into more recent developments related to cognitive social psychology. James' (1890) global tripartite model of the self is adopted, and the various avenues by which consumers create their `selves' are then explored, with particular focus on James' material self (bodily …

The Effect Of Physical Activity On Fourth-Grade Students' Reading Achievement In One Elementary School, Donna Lynn Bush

Doctoral Dissertations

There is a critical need to improve students' reading and comprehending ability. In 2011, Louisiana's students scored well below the national average in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Research suggests there is a connection between physical activity and students' ability to focus and comprehend during reading class, therefore improving reading comprehension. However, many school districts are cutting back physical activity time in favor of more academic time.

The purpose of this 12-week study was to examine the effect of physical activity on fourth-grade students' achievement in reading. A quasi-experimental design was used to study 108 fourth-grade …

Pay Communication: An Overview, Scale Development, And Analysis Of Its Influence On Workplace Deviance, Shelly A. Marasi

Doctoral Dissertations

Pay communication is an important yet complex organizational practice that assists organizations in achieving their compensation systems' goals and objectives (Gely and Bierman 2003). However, the management literature has neglected the pay communication concept, resulting in a scarce and undeveloped knowledge base on pay secrecy and pay openness. Given this opportunity, this dissertation focuses on pay communication and its influence on employee behaviors.

Chapter 2 presents an overview of the pay communication literature in the management discipline. A broader analysis of pay secrecy practices is provided since it is the practice primarily focused on in the pay communication literature, including …