2,056 research outputs found
Influence of Preachingâs Rhetorical Appeal on Evangelical Listenersâ Motivation
Preaching is a form of rhetorical narratology aimed at persuading its audience via sermons to experience a renewal of the mind and the transformation of their life. While previous research established the fact that listeners comprehend sermons through their rhetorical appeal, it has been unclear how this has motivated evangelical listeners to act. The purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to explore how the rhetorical appeal of preaching influences evangelical listenersâ motivation at evangelical churches in Savannah, Georgia. A comprehensive approach to exploring a sermonâs rhetorical appeal was utilized by focusing jointly on individual perception and social context. The Narrative Transportation Theory served as the theoretical framework, and 34 participants from six churches were interviewed to reach saturation. The findings showed that the rhetorical appeal embedded in preaching, plus its narrative essence, influences evangelical listener motivation. In addition, listeners subconsciously understand that aspects of rhetoric and narrative work together in sermons to influence their motivation. This study specifically identified three themes, seven categories, 13 conditions, and 32 codes relevant for rhetorical appeal to be effective and to help motivation occur. The three themes of Relatability, Applicability, and Engagement were aligned with Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, and then integrated with Environmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral functions, to create the Sermon Listener Motivation Triangle. This studyâs corroboration of preachingâs collaborative nature between the perfectly divine and the imperfectly human is shared in hopes of helping speakers prepare scripturally authentic sermons and communicate in engaging ways that inspire change
Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law
This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (âAIâ) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics â and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the CatĂłlica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Texture of Everyday Life: Carceral Realism and Abolitionist Speculation
Exploring the ways in which prisons shape the subjectivity of free-world thinkers, and the ways that subjectivity is expressed in literary texts, this dissertation develops the concept of carceral realism: a cognitive and literary mode that represents prisons and police as the only possible response to social disorder. As this dissertation illustrates, this form of consciousness is experienced as racial paranoia, and it is expressed literary texts, which reflect and help to reify it. Through this process of cultural reification, carceral realism increasingly insists on itself as the only possible mode of thinking. As I argue, however, carceral realism actually stands in a dialectical relationship to abolitionist speculation, or, the active imagining of a world without prisons and police and/or the conditions necessary to actualize such a world. In much the same way that carceral realism embeds itself in realist literary forms, abolitionist speculation plays a constitutive role in the utopian literary tradition.
In order to elaborate these concepts, this dissertation begins with a meta-consideration of how cultural productions by incarcerated people are typically framed. Building upon the work of scholars and incarcerated authorsâ own interventions in questions of consciousness, authorship, textual production, and study, this chapter contrasts that typical frame with a method of abolitionist reading. Chapter two applies this methodology to Edward Bunkerâs 1977 novel The Animal Factory and Claudia Rankineâs 2010 poem Citizen in order to develop the concept of carceral realism and demonstrate how it has developed from the 1970s to the present. In order to lay out the historical foundations of the modern prison, chapter three looks back to the late 18th century and situates the emergence of the penitentiary within debates regarding race, citizenship, and state power. Returning to the 1970s, chapter four investigates the role universities have played in the formation of carceral realism and the complex relationship Chicanos and Asian Americans have to prisons and police by analogizing the institutionalization of prison literary study to the formation of ethnic studies. Chapter five draws this project to a conclusion by developing the concept of abolitionist speculation, or the active imagining of a world without prisons or the police and/or the conditions necessary to realize such a world, which I identify as both a constitutive generic feature of utopian literature and something that exceeds literature altogether. In doing so, this dissertation establishes an ongoing historical relationship between social reproduction of prisons and literary forms that cuts across time, geography, race, gender, and genre
Strategies Hotel Leaders Use to Improve Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a significant factor that drives performance and productivity in many organizations. Hotel leaders are typically concerned with the negative impact of disengaged employees, which reduces profitability. Grounded in Herzbergâs two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies hotel leaders use to improve employee engagement. The participants were five hotel leaders in Jamaica who have successfully implemented strategies to improve employee engagement. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of organizational documents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and five themes emerged: staff engagement, communication, rewards and recognition, employee training and development, and continuous improvements of the staff work environment. A key recommendation for hotel leaders is implementing staff engagement activities to enhance job satisfaction, which may lead to improved employee engagement. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase productivity and profitability, which could lead to additional jobs for members of the local communities
Barriers to and Opportunities for Intergovernmental Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
Federalism can exacerbate tensions around the uneven geographical distribution of natural resources. Related conflicts recur in Canada, a federal state with an uneven distribution of petroleum products across its provinces and territories. A salient example of intergovernmental conflict over petroleum products is the dispute over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. This research examines the conflict among the Governments of Canada, British Columbia, and Alberta around Trans Mountain, focusing on the barriers to intergovernmental conflict resolution and mitigation in Canada and the requirements any policy options must fulfill to overcome these barriers. A mainly qualitative approach addresses these issues. Specifically, this research combines global energy governance and John L. Campbellâs typology of ideas to create a new approach. Campbell is more central to this research. This approach is applied to a secondary statistical analysis of public opinion polling, a thematic analysis of key actorsâ public documents, and an analysis of interviews I conducted with key actors.
This research finds that together, competitive federalism and the joint decision trap prevent conflict resolution. Accordingly, this research produces a list of barriers to resolving this intergovernmental conflict and requirements for mitigating this conflict. By identifying these requirements, I create and apply an original approach that future studies can use to test the likelihood of success for policy options to mitigate similar intergovernmental conflicts over natural resources. This researchâs evaluation of potential mitigation tools suggests that 1) federal and provincial teams dedicated to large projects help bureaucrats complete these projects; 2) policies protecting the environment decrease tensions among actors; and 3) leveraging communication through partisan affiliations decreases tension
2017 GREAT Day Program
SUNY Geneseoâs Eleventh Annual GREAT Day.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/program-2007/1011/thumbnail.jp
Desired sensory branding strategies in-store versus online: the skincare industry
Modern shoppers are inundated with purchasing options in every product category, with thousands of brands competing for their patronage. It has therefore become increasingly important for organisations to differentiate product offerings in the market if they want to be competitive. It has further been highlighted that an individualâs experience of a brand is of paramount importance, as it is directly linked to brand loyalty. A vehicle for creating memorable brand experiences is the utilisation of multi-sensory experiences or sensory branding. Within the context of traditional or in-store shopping, sensory branding encompasses the use of visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile and gustatory stimuli to adjust consumer purchasing behaviour. However, more and more consumers are opting for online shopping, spurred on by the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and are no less demanding of brands online than they would be in-store. The cosmetics and personal care industry is one of the more predominant gainers from e-commerce. The skincare industry exhibited one of the largest growth rates from 2019 â 2025 and had an estimated market value of 788.4 million by 2027 (Statista 2023). With reference to in-store shopping for skincare products, sensory marketing strategies have been known to be heavily relied on. Therefore, with consumers moving towards online shopping, it is essential for skincare businesses to consider how to deliver sensory experiences online as well as in-store. Whilst the importance of the use of sensory branding and marketing in the skincare industry is notable, both in-store and online, it was established that while there is research available on sensory branding, there is very limited academic research on digital sensory branding and the sensory branding of v skincare products. Moreover, to the researcherâs knowledge, no academic literature specifically investigates the digital sensory branding of skincare brands. Therefore, this study will contribute not only by adding academic research to the topic being investigated but also through rreccomendations made based on the outcomes of this study to skincare brands in South Africa. From the comprehensive literature review, a conceptual model was constructed to investigate the relationship between traditional and digital sensory branding strategies (independent variables) and brand loyalty (dependent variable). Two sets of hypotheses were formulated relating to the identified variables of this study and the empirical research conducted was utilised to deduce whether these hypotheses should be rejected or supported. To conduct the empirical research needed for this study, certain research methodology was employed. This study made use of a positivistic paradigm and a quantitative approach. The target population of this study constituted consumers who had purchased skincare products in-store as well as online and, as no true sample frame existed, respondents were selected through the use of non-probability sampling, more specifically, convenience sampling. To collect the data, an online survey was used, with the specific data collection instrument being a web-based self-administered questionnaire, which was distributed via social media platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as via email. Section A of the questionnaire focused on the demographic details of the respondents, while Section B â Section F related to the variables of the study. A total of 372 potential respondents started the questionnaire, however only 321 questionnaires were deemed usable after the data had been coded and cleaned, indicating a response rate of 86.3%. This study made use of both descriptive (measures of central tendency as well as standard deviation and skewness) and inferential (SEM Models, Primary Models, Pearsonâs correlation coefficients, Chi-Square test of Association, ANOVAs and Welch Robust test, Tukey test and Games Howell Test as well as Cohenâs d) statistics to interpret the data, which was graphically illustrated. vi The empirical investigation conducted in this study between the variables and sub-variables revealed that significant relationships exist between traditional sensory branding strategies (traditional olfactory and tactile stimuli) and digital sensory branding strategies (digital visual, olfactory and tactile stimuli) and brand loyalty, with refence to the skincare industry. It was further notable that, with specific reference to the skincare industry, the sense of sight, smell and touch are key factors for sensory branding, whereas auditory stimuli were found to only be useful when used in unison with the other senses. Moreover, with reference to in-store shopping, it was deduced that consumers shop for skincare mostly via retail outlets, which could lead to sensory overload. Furthermore, the results of this study suggest that younger consumers are price sensitive. Based on the pertinent empirical results, and corresponding literature findings, of this study, recommendations were provided to businesses operating in the skincare industry. With reference to in-store trading, it was recommended that because skincare is mostly sold via retail outlets, the brand itself does not have control over all sensory stimuli to which the consumer is exposed. As a result, consumers may be subject to sensory overload and skincare brands should keep their sensory branding in-store simple. Moreover, skincare brands could make use of an in-store aesthetician or beautician, which would facilitate consumer-product interaction. With regards to online trading, a recommendation for skincare brands would be to use moving images or GIFs, which will allow the consumer to more easily imagine the feel of the product. Moreover, skincare brands can make use of brand ambassadors to create âunboxingâ videos, which will convey more clearly the sensory information of the product and instil confidence in consumers. Reccomendations were also made with reference to the financial state of consumers, as the financial position of the respondents could influence their decision making. The limitations of this study comprised the availability of reliable existing sources to support the study as the concept of digital sensory branding is still relatively new and, due to the study being focused on the skincare industry, taste stimuli were excluded as they were found to have no relevance. Finally, vii based on all the literature findings and empirical results, recommendations for future areas of study were made. This study provides evidence that both traditional and digital sensory branding strategies have an influence on, or relationship with, brand loyalty. Through this study, the importance of sensory branding, with specific reference to the skincare industry, is brought to light. Furthermore, skincare brands can utilise the information provided to improve the experience of their consumers when shopping in-store, as well as online, thereby increasing their base of brand loyal consumers.Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, 202
Reducing Library Anxiety in the Information Seeking Behavior Of First Year College Students
This study explored the use of interactive technology to reduce library anxiety in the information seeking behavior of first year students enrolled in a historically Black college or university. Based on the research focus, the following questions were formulated: What are the determinants for reducing library anxiety in first year college studentsâ information seeking behavior? Related questions were formatted to test the hypotheses and for data collection:
(1) Can interactive applications included as part of the information retrieval process decrease library anxiety?
(2) Can familiarity, as measured by a pre and post survey, decrease library anxiety? Interactive applications may include virtual and augmented reality, online chat, games and artificial intelligence technology. These are relatively new forms of technology used in education, and research indicates that these technologies promote immersive experiences that can contribute to learning. The research hypothesized that these technologies may also increase familiarity of the library and the related resources, which may reduce library anxiety. This research may provide vital information to higher education administrators and librarians to ensure that all students receive adequate resources to find information needed for their classes and that barriers that prevent progress in studentâs education are removed.
Keywords: information seeking behavior, library anxiety, virtual reality, augmented realit
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