What Makes Student’s Click: An Investigation on Student Consumer Decisions from Karachi.

In Pakistan’s most sectors of the economy, it can be seen that companies, FMCG’s and other conglomerates are now in the gradual generalization of their brands and are now even more reluctant to use them in the local context while planning on growing to other frontiers. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of market reputation, brand value, promotions and customer reviews on purchase decisions of students when they are opting for a brand on the basis of its image, attributes, likeability Information was collected from students of 5 universities in Karachi via the use of Quota sampling. Utilizing this approach, a Questionnaires based on likert scale (1-5) was floated. After conducting exploratory factor analysis for validity, Cronbach’s alpha for reliability of the constructs, multiple linear regression and partial correlation was used to test the stated hypotheses, it was seen that mainstream concept of marketing and advertising, Customer reviews and a brand’s market reputation  purchasing a brand have now become a significant predictor on the purchase of the brand.  Since marketing and promotions are now regular techniques, customers are now aware of this and tend to go for brands they consider are higher in value to them rather than cheap promotions to sell a product. Keywords: Brand Value, Materialism, Regret, Skepticism towards Advertising, Purchase Decision

Usefulness of an Expanded Health Belief Model With Added Constructs (Self-Efficacy And Ecological System Measures) in Modeling Compliance With Healthy Lifestyle Recommendations in Women With a Recent History of Gestational Diabetes

Problem Statement: Gestational diabetes (GDM) has been reported to affect as many as 18% of all pregnancies in the U.S. This diagnosis is costly and presents health risks to both baby and mother. The main risk to the mother with a history of GDM is her increased risk for diabetes which has been estimated at 35% to 60% in the following 10 to 20 years; more recent studies report a 7 to 8 times occurrence in the following 3 to 6 years. It is recommended that lifestyle efforts of eating healthfully and exercise can reduce this risk Methods: Subjects (n=153) from a diabetes in pregnancy clinic with a recent history of GDM completed a mailed 115-question survey (10 completed by phone). Questions assessed diet and exercise behavior, health beliefs, self-efficacy, environmental support, diabetes-related variables, and socio-demographics. Five multivariate logistic regression models were used to test the utility of the Health Belief Model with added constructs in predicting diet and exercise behavior. The models consisted of varying combinations of health beliefs, self-efficacy and environmental factors. Results: Healthy eating was analyzed in four models, but none were significant. High calorie food/beverage intake was analyzed in four models, all were significant (p \u3c .01). Exercising ≥ 30 min three days or more weekly was analyzed in five models, all were significant (p \u3c .01). Exercising to a sweat three days or more weekly was analyzed in five models and all were significant (p \u3c .01); the two models assessing health beliefs, self-efficacy, and environmental support showed the most strength of prediction of all the models studied. Benefits exceed barriers and self-efficacy showed the highest prediction across all the models studied. Conclusions: By utilizing an Expanded Health Belief Model with the added constructs, self-efficacy and diabetes-related (family history of diabetes, diagnosed with diabetes) and specific ecological/environmental (social/community support) cues to action, we were able to improve prediction of compliance with healthy lifestyle recommendations in women with a recent history of GDM

Routes of the Uruk Expansion

The late fourth millennium B.C. of Mesopotamia is best known for an expansion of material culture from Southern Mesopotamia known as the Uruk Expansion or Uruk Phenomenon. The precise nature of this expansion remains unknown, but at its core it evidences unprecedented levels of interregional interaction whether in the form of colonies, trade diasporas, or otherwise. This thesis uses quantitative route analysis to examine the hollow ways across the North Jazira region of northern Mesopotamia before, during, and after the Uruk Expansion in the late fourth millennium B.C. to learn more about the phenomenon. To accomplish this, new methodologies were required. A bottom up method for reconstructing land cover was developed and the first velocity-based terrain coefficients were calculated to factor both land cover and slope into the route models. Additionally, the first quantitative method for directly comparing route models to preserved routes was developed to statistically assess the significance of three physical route choice variables: easiest, fastest, and shortest. First, it is statistically proven that, for the North Jazira, physical variables did not play a major role in route choice, highlighting the importance of cultural variables. Second, it is shown that the routes evidence the formation of polities starting in the late fourth millennium. Thirdly, it is demonstrated that the Uruk Expansion was a disruptive force that broke down previous east-west dynamics, spatially polarizing the population. Furthermore, when east-west movement resumes in the early third millennium B.C., the region remains divided in two distinct sub-regions. Finally, the poor performance of route models based on physical variables frequently used for predicting route locations has implications for the usefulness of this practice, particularly in areas with flatter terrain. What was important to other cultures cannot be assumed, but must be based on evidence from the cultures themselves

Cluster requiem and the rise of cumulative growth theory

Industry cluster theory has been the predominant model guiding economic development policy throughout the world for nearly two decades. As appealing as the cluster approach has been to regional scientists and policy makers it suffers from a number of theoretical and empirical shortcomings, including an inability to explain economic dispersion and the presence of high-growing firms that thrive in non-clustered industries and locations. This dissertation tracks the growth and survival of a cohort of more than 300,000 establishments operating in Pennsylvania during the 1997-2007 period. It reveals that firm characteristics are 10-times more powerful than industry and cluster characteristics, and 50-times more powerful than location characteristics, in explaining and predicting establishment-level growth and survival. It also finds a Power Law is present in the distribution of establishment growth, indicating that a sub- set of businesses systematically accumulate a disproportionate share of employment growth. Roughly 1% of establishments created 169% of all net new jobs added in the state over a ten- year period. Growth is further concentrated among businesses that are able to sustain growth over multiple years. This suggests that the principal driver of regional growth is cumulative firm growth – the accumulation of a disproportionate amount of growth among a small number of firms through sustained expansion over multiple years. I conclude that the path to building better theory and more effective development policies is one that explicitly links regional growth to the growth of firms. Such an approach should focus on endogenous firm dynamics rather than exogenous heuristics such as industry and location

The Self-Delegation False Alarm: Analyzing Auer Deference’s Effect on Agency Rules

Auer deference holds that reviewing courts should defer to agen­cies when the latter interpret their own preexisting regulations. This doc­trine relieves pressure on agencies to undergo costly notice-and-com­ment rulemaking each time interpretation of existing regulations is neces­sary. But according to some leading scholars and jurists, the doc­trine actually encourages agencies to promulgate vague rules in the first instance, augmenting agency power and violating core separation of pow­ers norms in the process. The claim that Auer perversely encourages agencies to “self-delegate”—that is, to create vague rules that can later be informally interpreted by agencies with latitude due to judicial defer­ence—has helped to persuade the Supreme Court to take up this term the question of whether to overturn the doctrine. Yet, surprisingly, the self-delega­tion thesis has never been tested. This Article scrutinizes the thesis empirically, using an original and extensive dataset of the texts of federal rules from 1982 to 2016. My lin­guistic analysis reveals that agencies did not measurably increase the vagueness of their writing in response to Auer. If anything, rule writ­ing arguably became more specific over time, at least by one measure, despite Auer’s increasing prominence. These findings run against common wisdom, but they should not be at all surprising. The self-delegation thesis depends on a model of agency behavior that is inconsistent with what is known about the insti­tutional pressures and cognitive horizons that cause agencies to pur­sue clarity in rule writing. By revealing the failures of theoretical predictions about Auer, this Article more generally draws attention to the need to test behavioral theories of administrative law against empiri­cal reality before unsettling settled law

Mental models of eco-driving: The measurement and activation of drivers’ knowledge and skills

Eco-driving has the potential to reduce fuel consumption and therefore emissions considerably. Previous research suggests that drivers already possess a certain level of eco-driving capability, which they do not practise in their everyday lives. The studies reported in this thesis are based on a mental models approach, which enabled an in-depth exploration of eco-driving knowledge and skills and broadened the understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms. This thesis describes two driving simulator experiments aiming to measure, activate and ultimately interrupt eco-driving mental models in a variety of scenarios, relevant for safe and eco-driving. The studies used simple driving task instructions, text message interventions as well as a workload task. Changes in the participants’ behaviour and thoughts were analysed with a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The results suggest that drivers have mental models of eco-driving on several levels, ranging from knowledge and strategies to tactics in specific situations to automated behaviour. However, in the first experiment they did not use them when they were instructed to ‘Drive normally’. In the second study text message primes and advice provided over two weeks were not able to replicate the effect of experimental instructions given directly before driving. Behavioural changes following these instructions were abandoned when performing a workload task, and not resumed afterwards. Future research needs to consider alternative methods to prompt drivers to use their existing eco-driving knowledge and skills. Studies with a larger number of participants, and in real-world settings can then validate findings. It is suggested to expand the mental models approach into other fields such as sustainable transport in general

The Self-Delegation False Alarm: Analyzing \u3ci\u3eAuer\u3c/i\u3e Deference\u27s Effect on Agency Rules

Auer deference holds that reviewing courts should defer to agencies when the latter interpret their own preexisting regulations. This doctrine relieves pressure on agencies to undergo costly notice-and-comment rulemaking each time interpretation of existing regulations is necessary. But according to some leading scholars and jurists, the doctrine actually encourages agencies to promulgate vague rules in the first instance, augmenting agency power and violating core separation of powers norms in the process. The claim that Auer perversely encourages agencies to “self-delegate”—that is, to create vague rules that can later be informally interpreted by agencies with latitude due to judicial deference—has helped to persuade the Supreme Court to take up this term the question of whether to overturn the doctrine. Yet, surprisingly, the self-delegation thesis has never been tested. This Article scrutinizes the thesis empirically, using an original and extensive dataset of the texts of federal rules from 1982 to 2016. My linguistic analysis reveals that agencies did not measurably increase the vagueness of their writing in response to Auer. If anything, rule writing arguably became more specific over time, at least by one measure, despite Auer’s increasing prominence. These findings run against common wisdom, but they should not be at all surprising. The self-delegation thesis depends on a model of agency behavior that is inconsistent with what is known about the institutional pressures and cognitive horizons that cause agencies to pursue clarity in rule writing. By revealing the failures of theoretical predictions about Auer, this Article more generally draws attention to the need to test behavioral theories of administrative law against empirical reality before unsettling settled law

Instrumentation strategies and instrument mixes for long term climate policy

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)European Union FP7 ENV.2012.6.1-4: Exploiting the full potential of economic instruments to achieve the EU’s key greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets for 2030 and 2050 under grant agreement n° 308680Industrial Ecolog