Study-Abroad Students Aid Grassroots Development

Criticism targeted at top-down development efforts along with the call for grass-roots development and a focus on women (Kaiser, 2012; Sen & Grown, 2001; United States Agency for International Development [USAID], 2018), set the stage for this experiment in curriculum design. The goal of this presentation is to describe how university-level study abroad programs at the graduate level in entrepreneurship with a focus on service learning can help empower poor rural women in their quest to increase economic independence as well as social equity. Other objectives include delineating how such programs can improve student learning and help students attain specific learning outcomes as well as benefiting the College and the University with positive publicity. Finally, we will make a case that universities can impact positively sustainable economic development in emerging markets if they are willing and able to make a commitment to a specific geographic area. References Kaiser, S. (2012). Development approaches: “Bottom-up” vs “top-down.” Retrieved April 29, 2019, from https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-252290 Sen, G., & Grown, C. (1987), Development, crises, and alternative visions: Third World women’s perspectives. New York, NY: New Feminist Library. USAID (2018). Gender equality and women’s empowerment. Retrieved July 1, 2019, from https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/gender-equality-and-womens-empowermen

The effects of source and product characteristics on persuasion.

The purpose of this research was to test the product and endorser feature congruence hypothesis. Thus, it was tested whether matching source expertise with credence attribute claims and source experience with experience attributes claims has a positive effect on consumers\u27 cognitive responses as well as their attitudes toward the endorser and the ad. These effects were investigated for the following reasons: First, source expertise appears to have a significant impact on persuasion (McGuire 1969) and is distinguishable from source experience (Jacoby, Troutman, Kuss and Mazursky 1986). Thus, these constructs may have differential effects on persuasion. Second, credence and experience attributes might differentially affect consumer skepticism (Darby and Karni 1973). Third, Darby and Karni\u27s (1973) classification in combination with the match-up hypothesis (Forkan 1980) can be used to explain under what product attribute conditions an individual should be likely to prefer information supplied by either an expert or an experienced source. The resulting hypotheses were tested in a laboratory setting. The experimental design was a 2x2x2 between-subjects, crossed factorial design. The three factors included source expertise (high/low), source experience (high/low), and product attribute claims (experience/credence). Thus, eight different treatments (i.e., radio ads endorsing a hospital) were developed. The results indicate that while all source and product attribute claim manipulations were successful, only one of the initial hypotheses can be supported. Specifically, a source high in expertise as compared to one low in expertise appears to lead to positive attitudes toward the endorser and the ad. The following reasons might account for the unexpected results: First, some of the respondents\u27 cognitive responses suggest that they might have been under the impression that, due to quality controls performed by federal agencies, there is little variation in the quality of patient care provided by hospitals. Second, it appears that source experience is perceived to be more ambiguous and difficult to evaluate. Third, the majority of the sample was very young (20 to 26 years of age) . For such a vital group, the choice of a hospital might not be very important

The effects of source and product characteristics on persuasion.

The purpose of this research was to test the product and endorser feature congruence hypothesis. Thus, it was tested whether matching source expertise with credence attribute claims and source experience with experience attributes claims has a positive effect on consumers\u27 cognitive responses as well as their attitudes toward the endorser and the ad. These effects were investigated for the following reasons: First, source expertise appears to have a significant impact on persuasion (McGuire 1969) and is distinguishable from source experience (Jacoby, Troutman, Kuss and Mazursky 1986). Thus, these constructs may have differential effects on persuasion. Second, credence and experience attributes might differentially affect consumer skepticism (Darby and Karni 1973). Third, Darby and Karni\u27s (1973) classification in combination with the match-up hypothesis (Forkan 1980) can be used to explain under what product attribute conditions an individual should be likely to prefer information supplied by either an expert or an experienced source. The resulting hypotheses were tested in a laboratory setting. The experimental design was a 2x2x2 between-subjects, crossed factorial design. The three factors included source expertise (high/low), source experience (high/low), and product attribute claims (experience/credence). Thus, eight different treatments (i.e., radio ads endorsing a hospital) were developed. The results indicate that while all source and product attribute claim manipulations were successful, only one of the initial hypotheses can be supported. Specifically, a source high in expertise as compared to one low in expertise appears to lead to positive attitudes toward the endorser and the ad. The following reasons might account for the unexpected results: First, some of the respondents\u27 cognitive responses suggest that they might have been under the impression that, due to quality controls performed by federal agencies, there is little variation in the quality of patient care provided by hospitals. Second, it appears that source experience is perceived to be more ambiguous and difficult to evaluate. Third, the majority of the sample was very young (20 to 26 years of age) . For such a vital group, the choice of a hospital might not be very important

Developing inventories for satisfaction and Likert scales in a service environment.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to produce up-to-date inventories for satisfaction and Likert scales that contain commonly used scale point descriptors and their respective mean scale values and standard deviations. Design/methodology/approach – All data were collected online using the SSI Survey Spot Panel. This panel is national (USA) in scope. Thirty-nine satisfaction items and 19 agreement items were tested on a random sample consisting of individuals 21-65 years old. Findings – The mean value and the standard deviation were calculated for each of these descriptors. Even though only six of the items that had been tested by Jones and Thurstone (1955) were included in the list of satisfaction scale descriptors, the semantic meanings of those six have changed very little over the years. Research limitations/implications – One limitation might be that scale point descriptor inventories developed within the context of health insurance might not be valid in other service contexts. Practical implications – Since the present study focuses on Likert and satisfaction scales which are frequently used in service environments, the major contribution of this study is to provide services marketers with quantitative measurement of the meanings of commonly used scale point descriptors. This permits the development of successive and/or equal interval scales and thus aids in the analyses of data sets. It will thus help service marketers to develop questionnaires that more accurately reflect actual consumer satisfaction and opinions. Originality/value – The development of up-to-date inventories for satisfaction and Likert scales

Patient/enrollee satisfaction with healthcare and health plan

The findings of the present study show that healthier patients, older patients, males, those with a lower level of education, those who perceive system performance to be high and those with lower levels of system usage are more satisfied with both their healthcare and health plan than their opposite counterparts. Regarding the incremental effects of these variables, the most striking finding is the strong, pivotal role of physicians in influencing patient satisfaction with healthcare. In regard to satisfaction with health plan, the extent of the problems that members have had with their health plan has by far the largest statistical influence on their satisfaction with that plan. The effects of other independent variables including the three demographic variables, self-stated health status, number of visits to doctor\u27s office or clinic, and issues related to access, though significant, show relatively small statistical influences on overall satisfaction the healthcare and health plan