Personalizing online reviews for better customer decision making

Online consumer reviews have become an important source of information for understanding markets and customer preferences. When making purchase decisions, customers increasingly rely on user-generated online reviews; some even consider the information in online reviews more credible and trustworthy than information provided by vendors. Many studies have revealed that online reviews influence demand and sales. Others have shown the possibility of identifying customer interest in product attributes. However, little work has been done to address customer and review diversity in the process of examining reviews. This research intends to answer the research question: how can we solve the problem of customer and review diversity in the context of online reviews to recommend useful reviews based on customer preferences and improve product recommendation? Our approach to the question is through personalization. Similar to other personalization research, we use an attribute-based model to represent products and customer preferences. Unlike existing personalization research that uses a set of pre-defined product attributes, we explore the possibility of a data-driven approach for identifying more comprehensive product attributes from online reviews to model products and customer preferences. Specifically, we introduce a new topic model for product attribute identification and sentiment analysis. By differentiating word co-occurrences at the sentence level from at the document level, the model better identifies interpretable topics. The use of an inference network with shared structure enables the model to predict product attribute ratings accurately. Based on this topic model, we develop attribute-based representations of products, reviews and customer preferences and use them to construct the personalization of online reviews. We examine personalization from the lens of consumer search theory and human information processing theory and test the hypotheses with an experiment. The personalization of online reviews can 1) recommend products matching customer's preferences; 2) improve custom's intention towards recommended products; 3) best distinguish recommended products from products that do not match customer's preferences; and 4) reduce decision effort

Client Feedback: An Input for the Accountability Process of Family Service Agency Lincoln, Nebraska, 1979

The purpose of this research is to include the feedback of clients in the process of evaluating the accountability of the counseling program at Family Service Agency of Lincoln, Nebraska. It is the assertion of this researcher that the very act of seeking clients’ perception of services constitutes part of being accountable for services. Such client data, combined with assessments of cost effectiveness and outcomes, comprise the fundamental elements of the accountability process. This research distinguishes among these elements, and is primarily interested in clients\u27 perception of change and satisfaction with service

Liquid decision making

In today’s business world, decisions have to be made on different levels, including strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Decisions on the strategic level are characterized by their complexity, longevity and impact. Such decisions can benefit from the participation of a large, diverse group of people as they contribute different background knowledge, perspectives, and evaluation criteria. Typically, such decisions need to be considered over a prolonged period of time as opinions may need to be formed or may change due to the availability of new information. The goal of people in group decision making situations is typically to achieve good decisions. A mechanism is thus desirable that is capable of addressing the aforementioned challenges and of producing a good decision. For this work, a decision is thought to be good if it is predominantly based on the sincere opinions of the participants. In this thesis, we investigate the market metaphor as a promising approach for group decision making. Markets are attributed with the capability of gathering and aggregating assessments from people in a single indicator, the price. They allow for a continued participation over a prolonged time, reversibility of one’s market position by repeated trading, and the usage of individual evaluation criteria. For investigating the application of the market metaphor to decision making, we develop LDM, a market-based approach for group decision making. There, we represent a pending decision as a market and the decision options as stocks. Participants then buy shares of their favored stocks and sell shares of the stocks they dislike. High demand leads to price increase whereas low prices are the result of low demand. The most favored decision options can be identified from the ranking of the stocks according to their prices. To support the achievement of a good decision, we model the market behavior of participants, devise design principles, identify suitable application scenarios, and determine appropriate functionalities for a market software. We furthermore devise the concept of market perturbations for uncovering the trading intentions of participants. We furthermore implement a web-based software prototype of LDM. It provides functionalities for decision making, market trading, user handling, information exchange, and market perturbations. Participants there trade their favored stocks using virtual play money. We test the LDM approach and its software prototype in an EU-funded project, in a lab study, in the selection of research proposals, and in a university seminar for scenario building.Entscheidungen müssen in Unternehmen auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen getroffen werden. Besonders strategische Entscheidungen sind oft komplex, langwierig und haben weitreichende Auswirkungen. Die Beteiligung einer großen, heterogenen Personengruppe kann solche Entscheidungen begünstigen, da sie unterschiedliches Hintergrundwissen sowie verschiedene Perspektiven und Bewertungskriterien beisteuern. Oft werden solche Entscheidungen über einen längeren Zeitraum getroffen, da die Beteiligten sich ihre Meinungen erst bilden müssen, oder diese sich durch neue Informationen ändern. Um dabei gute Entscheidungen zu treffen, sollte ein Ansatz dazu unter den geschilderten Umständen ein gutes Ergebnis liefern können. Als gutes Ergebnis wird in dieser Arbeit eine Entscheidung angesehen, die hauptsächlich auf der ehrlichen Meinung der Teilnehmer beruht. In dieser Arbeit untersuchen wir die Marktmetapher als vielversprechenden Ansatz für die Entscheidungsfindung. Märkten wird die Fähigkeit zugeschrieben, Informationen von verschiedenen Personen in einem einzigen Indikator, dem Preis, aggregieren zu können. Sie ermöglichen dabei eine kontinuierliche Teilnahme über einen längeren Zeitraum, eine Änderung der Meinung durch wiederholtes Handeln sowie die Anwendung von individuellen Bewertungskriterien. Für unsere Untersuchung entwickeln wir LDM, einen marktbasierten Ansatz für die Entscheidungsfindung in Gruppen. Eine anstehende Entscheidung wird darin als Markt repräsentiert und die Entscheidungsoptionen als Aktien. Die Teilnehmer kaufen Anteile ihrer favorisierten Aktien und verkaufen die Anderen mittels virtuellem Spielgeld. Eine hohe Nachfrage führt zu hohen Preisen, niedrige Nachfrage zu niedrigen Preisen. Aus der Rangfolge der Aktien nach ihren Preisen kann dann die bevorzugteste Entscheidungsoption identifiziert werden. Um eine gute Entscheidung mittels \acl{LDM} zu erreichen, erstellen wir ein Verhaltensmodell der Teilnehmer, Entwurfsprinzipien, geeignete Einsatzszenarien und geeignete Funktionalitäten für eine Software. Außerdem entwickeln wir das Konzept der Marktstörungen um Handelsintentionen der Teilnehmer in Erfahrung zu bringen. Diese Aspekte setzen wir in einer webbasierten Software um, die Funktionalitäten zur Entscheidungsfindung, zum Handeln, zur Nutzerverwaltung, zum Informationsaustausch und für Marktstörungen enthält. LDM sowie die Sofware testen wir erfolgreich in einem EU-Projekt, in einer Laborstudie, bei der Auswahl von Forschungsvorhaben und in einem Universitätsseminar zu Szenarioentwicklung

The survival of the kindest: a theoretical review and empirical investigation of explanations to the evolution of human altruism

Charles Darwin was concerned that his entire theory of evolution by natural selection might be negated by a phenomenon prevalent in a variety of species including humans; namely altruism. If natural selection really favored the survival of the fittest, how could a strategy so irrational as to sacrifice oneself for the well-being of unrelated others survive? A number of scientists have contributed valuable theories to elucidate the �paradox of altruism�. However, in spite of the merits of these theories, there is still dissension about the origins of some particular oddities in the altruistic tendencies of humans, namely why humans act selflessly even when they are unobserved and when they are benefiting a stranger whom they will never meet again. The present doctoral thesis sheds light on answers to the question how human altruism, with all its specific features, could evolve. In the first part, both prominent (e.g., kin selection, reciprocal altruism, etc.) and less recognized theories on the evolution of altruism (e.g., green-beard altruism, the theory of the extended phenotype, etc.) are reviewed. Based on an integrative overview, it is analyzed how much of the altruism puzzle has been solved yet and which specific phenomena are still open to conjecture. With the aim of adding new insights to the issue, the second part of this work presents three empirical studies that investigate in how far prosociality might have been favored (1) by processes of assortation, i.e. the grouping of altruists, and (2) by mating strategies. Indeed, assortation may be invoked as an explanation for the evolution of altruism, if the selfish advantage of egoistic individuals is out-competed by benefits of mutually cooperating altruists. However, to make assortation work as a driver of the evolution of altruism, two prerequisites have to be fulfilled: first, individuals have to be able to distinguish altruists from egoists, and second, altruists have to elect like-minded individuals for mutual cooperation. The first study investigates whether humans are really able to identify altruists based on first impression. To test this, judges watched 20-second silent video clips of unknown target persons and were asked to estimate the behavior of these target persons in a dictator game, which measures prosociality. Estimates were significantly better than chance indicating that humans can identify the altruistic dispositions of unknown persons. The second study investigates whether individuals, in genuine groups, can identify the altruistic tendencies of their daily interaction partners. It further examines whether prosociality influences the formation of friendships in such that individuals assort themselves along the dimension of altruism. Students of six secondary school classes played an anonymous dictator game that functioned as a measure of altruism. Afterwards and unannounced, the students had to estimate their classmates� decisions and did so better than chance. Sociometry revealed that altruists were friends with more altruistic persons than were egoists. The results thus confirm the existence of the two prerequisites for the evolution of altruism through assortation: the predictability of altruistic behavior and the association of altruists. However, although the theory of assortation may explain the evolution of altruism in general, it does not explain the occurrence of inter-individual differences in altruism. The third study deals exactly with this matter. It investigates whether different levels of prosociality might have evolved as a result of different mating strategies, namely inter-individual variations in the propensity to engage in either short-term mating or long-term mating. Specifically, it assumes that prosociality is a necessity for acquiring a long-term partner, especially if an individual has to compensate for deficits in physical attractiveness. To find out whether this idea is true, the study tested whether individuals look out for different levels of prosociality depending on whether they are searching for a short-term mate or a long-term mate. Judges watched short video-clips of target persons and received additional information on the targets� prosociality. Judges were then asked to rate each of the target persons with regard to their desirability as a short-term and long-term mate. While prosociality was a significant predictor for long-term desirability, it was irrelevant when subjects chose a short-term mate. The results suggest that although altruism is costly, at least for some individuals it might be a wretched necessity to obtain access to mates and to reproduce. In the general discussion, the results of all three studies are consolidated. Conclusions are drawn as to the consequences of these findings for the study of human altruism. Finally, directions for future research are presented

Investigating the potential of 3D visualisation to enhance stakeholder engagement in natural flood management

i Abstract There have been several recent high-profile flood events in the UK, such as the July 2007 events where significant flooding occurred across much of the UK following a prolonged period of rainfall. One approach to reducing flood risk that has received considerable recent interest is Natural Flood Management (NFM), which aims to work with nature alongside other measures. Incorporating multiple NFM interventions over a wide area, this is also thought to offer additional benefits for water quality and biodiversity. Using the River Isbourne catchment in Gloucestershire as a case study, this thesis examines the potential of 3D landscape visualisation for enhancing the communication of complex spatial information to educate people about, and generate interest in, a proposed NFM project that is being implemented in the area. Early stakeholder engagement is key to the success of a catchment scale project such as the Isbourne, with a variety of interests and stakeholders to consider. A Google Earth virtual globe tour approach is investigated, based on the findings of previous research that have identified the benefits of the technology for enhancing the communication of digital spatial data. This thesis describes the design process and the techniques of Keyhole MarkUp Language (KML) scripting used to build an effective 3D landscape visualisation for online distribution to a public audience. Collaborating with a local catchment group to identify key information requirements, an animated, interactive Google Earth tour was created utilising open geospatial data. End user evaluation, undertaken in both a workshop and an online setting, provided feedback on the developed visualisation in terms of its usability and how effective it was for communicating complex spatial data to generate an interest in this NFM project. The results indicate that the virtual globe tour was easy to use and, although some information is more difficult to convey and there are limitations to the data, it was a helpful tool for educating and engaging users in the NFM approach

Interactions of technology and society: Impacts of improved airtransport. A study of airports at the grass roots

The feasibility of applying a particular conception of technology and social change to specific examples of technological development was investigated. The social and economic effects of improved airport capabilities on rural communities were examined. Factors which led to the successful implementation of a plan to construct sixty small airports in Ohio are explored and implications derived for forming public policies, evaluating air transportation development, and assessing technology

Aspects Of The English Working Class Viewed From The Working Men's Club

Working Men's Club were part of the Victorian reform ideology, An attempt, when Mechanics' Institutes failed to cope with, at worst a seriously threatening, at best an inconveniently fractious social group. Quickly taken over by the working class from the early patronage of their 'betters'; overturning the temperance based educative functions, the clubs became an important element in the working-class culture which arose in response to the poverty, subordination, degradation and indignity visited on the working class by industrial capitalism. This culture was, apart from the odd outburst, a passive culture. It was different from the surrounding bourgeoise culture having resisted attempts at its improvement by the middle classes, but it was by no means threatening. Working-class culture emphasised collectivism and solidarity, a sharing and co-operative coping with the uncertainties of capitalism. This was reflected in the Working Men's Club. These became the expression of solidaristic collectivism in the local community. Rooted in locality, clubs became the focus of much working-class leisure. Never seriously political, they avoided association with any political party and concentrated on pleasure. As the working class changed, in the context of the 'welfare state', higher wages and improved work conditions, so too did the clubs. Increasingly the working class abandoned the soliderism of former years and took to itself the individualistic values of the market place. Only that which was bought has value, people were to be judged by their possessions rather than on the basis of wider more human considerations. Working Men's Clubs aptly reflect these changes. No longer places for coping with the common predicament they have become stages for the display of the new values of consumption A true reflection of the market place

Relationship of Locus of Control and Other Personality Characteristics in Enuretics

Past research concerning the personality construct of enuretic children has demonstrated conflicting results. During recent years, the concept of internal versus external locus of control has been used in extensive research dealing with personality and behavioral characteristics of various populations. However, there had not been a study involving locus of control among enuretics. One purpose of the present study was to identify locus of control and other personality and behavioral characteristics among both enuretic and normal (non-enuretic) children and their mothers. Another objective was to determine valuable predictors for locus of control in enuretics, locus of control in mothers of enuretics and the condition of enuresis. Finally, among the enuretic population, there was an attempt to recognize specific types of mother-child pairs. The study involved 36 Caucasian middle class families, consisting of 18 enuretic children and their mothers and 18 normal children and mothers. The enuretic group was obtained and identified through another project carried on at the University. Organic abnormalities involved with enuresis were controlled for. Control group subjects (non-enuretic mother-child pairs) were matched to the enuretic group on the variables of age, sex, number of children in the family and the mother\u27s age. Both groups received the following locus of control and personality test devices: Children Nowicki-Strickland Internal External (I-E) Control Scale or the Preschool and Primary Nowicki-Strickland I-E Control Scale, Adult Nowicki-Strickland I-E Control Scale, Mother Child Relationship Evaluation, Child Behavior Rating Scale and Walker Problem Behavior Identification Checklist (WPBIC). Data was subjected to an extensive statistical analyses involving group comparisons; discriminate analysis; multiple regressions and a canotical correlation. A significant difference (p \u3c.05) was found in regards to the mother\u27s locus of control in which the enuretic\u27s mothers scored more internally than the control group mothers. Also, the enuretic group was seen as having more behavior problems than the non-enuretic group as evidenced by a significantly (p \u3c.001) higher Total score on the WPBIC, especially in respect to the Immaturity (p \u3c.05) and Acting-out (p \u3c.01) scales. The following set of variables significantly (p \u3c.01) discriminated the enuretic from non-enuretic group; acting-out, locus of control of mother, immaturity, mother\u27s overprotection, withdrawal, mother\u27s acceptance, self adjustment, physical adjustment, mother\u27s rejection, distractibility, mother\u27s overindulgence and home adjustment. The following combination of scores from test subscales were the most predictive of frequency of bedwetting: Acting out, Adult Locus of Control, Disturbed Peer Relations, Home Adjustment, Acceptance and Rejection. The test subscales and demographic data most predictive of the enuretic mother\u27s locus of control score were as follows: Childrens Locus of Control, Distractibility, Acceptance, Social Adjustment, Self Adjustment and Age of the enuretic child. The following test subscales and demographic data most predictive of the child\u27s locus of control score were: Overindulgence, Rejection, Disturbed Peer Relations, Age of the child, School Adjustment and Physical Adjustment. Also, the findings identified two significant (p \u3c.001, p \u3c.01) types of enuretic children and their mothers. Enuretic children from the first type were seen as strong in self adjustment, weak in social adjustment, and tended not to act out or be immature. The mothers of these children tended to be nonrejecting; but overindulgent. Enuretic children of the second type were strong in school adjustment, internally controlled and tended not to act out; but were weak in social adjustment and had disturbed peer relations. The mothers of these children tended not to be overprotective, but were low in acceptance. Though the findings need to be further validated, the results seem to indicate there are differences between enuretics and non-enuretics and that some of this may be influenced by the behaviors and attitudes (especially along the dimension of acceptance and rejection) of the mother. The importance of locus of control was seen in the final results of every major hypotheses except one

Relationship of Locus of Control and Other Personality Characteristics in Enuretics

Past research concerning the personality construct of enuretic children has demonstrated conflicting results. During recent years, the concept of internal versus external locus of control has been used in extensive research dealing with personality and behavioral characteristics of various populations. However, there had not been a study involving locus of control among enuretics. One purpose of the present study was to identify locus of control and other personality and behavioral characteristics among both enuretic and normal (non-enuretic) children and their mothers. Another objective was to determine valuable predictors for locus of control in enuretics, locus of control in mothers of enuretics and the condition of enuresis. Finally, among the enuretic population, there was an attempt to recognize specific types of mother-child pairs. The study involved 36 Caucasian middle class families, consisting of 18 enuretic children and their mothers and 18 normal children and mothers. The enuretic group was obtained and identified through another project carried on at the University. Organic abnormalities involved with enuresis were controlled for. Control group subjects (non-enuretic mother-child pairs) were matched to the enuretic group on the variables of age, sex, number of children in the family and the mother\u27s age. Both groups received the following locus of control and personality test devices: Children Nowicki-Strickland Internal External (I-E) Control Scale or the Preschool and Primary Nowicki-Strickland I-E Control Scale, Adult Nowicki-Strickland I-E Control Scale, Mother Child Relationship Evaluation, Child Behavior Rating Scale and Walker Problem Behavior Identification Checklist (WPBIC). Data was subjected to an extensive statistical analyses involving group comparisons; discriminate analysis; multiple regressions and a canotical correlation. A significant difference (p \u3c.05) was found in regards to the mother\u27s locus of control in which the enuretic\u27s mothers scored more internally than the control group mothers. Also, the enuretic group was seen as having more behavior problems than the non-enuretic group as evidenced by a significantly (p \u3c.001) higher Total score on the WPBIC, especially in respect to the Immaturity (p \u3c.05) and Acting-out (p \u3c.01) scales. The following set of variables significantly (p \u3c.01) discriminated the enuretic from non-enuretic group; acting-out, locus of control of mother, immaturity, mother\u27s overprotection, withdrawal, mother\u27s acceptance, self adjustment, physical adjustment, mother\u27s rejection, distractibility, mother\u27s overindulgence and home adjustment. The following combination of scores from test subscales were the most predictive of frequency of bedwetting: Acting out, Adult Locus of Control, Disturbed Peer Relations, Home Adjustment, Acceptance and Rejection. The test subscales and demographic data most predictive of the enuretic mother\u27s locus of control score were as follows: Childrens Locus of Control, Distractibility, Acceptance, Social Adjustment, Self Adjustment and Age of the enuretic child. The following test subscales and demographic data most predictive of the child\u27s locus of control score were: Overindulgence, Rejection, Disturbed Peer Relations, Age of the child, School Adjustment and Physical Adjustment. Also, the findings identified two significant (p \u3c.001, p \u3c.01) types of enuretic children and their mothers. Enuretic children from the first type were seen as strong in self adjustment, weak in social adjustment, and tended not to act out or be immature. The mothers of these children tended to be nonrejecting; but overindulgent. Enuretic children of the second type were strong in school adjustment, internally controlled and tended not to act out; but were weak in social adjustment and had disturbed peer relations. The mothers of these children tended not to be overprotective, but were low in acceptance. Though the findings need to be further validated, the results seem to indicate there are differences between enuretics and non-enuretics and that some of this may be influenced by the behaviors and attitudes (especially along the dimension of acceptance and rejection) of the mother. The importance of locus of control was seen in the final results of every major hypotheses except one