Master of Science

thesisGrandparents of grandchildren with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remain an under researched population. This research provides grandparents a voice concerning the experience of their grandchildren with ASD in workshops that taught them the use of the 3D Google SketchUp™ software. The workshops focused on the computer strengths of the participating children. Six grandparents participated in two focus groups. Videotapes from the focus groups were transcribed verbatim and coded. Two key themes were identified from the data: reframing expectations and building communication bridges through shared interests. Grandparents perceived that their grandchildren learned technological skills and had a positive experience, which gave them hope for future educational and employment opportunities for these grandchildren. The grandparents perceived that the shared interests in the computer program augmented communication opportunities between themselves and their grandchildren, and with other grandparents of children with ASD. This paper addresses the challenges children with ASD and their families experience and explores from the grandparent’s viewpoint the potential benefits of social engagement around technology

How to make complexity look simple? Conveying ecosystems restoration complexity for socio-economic research and public engagement

Ecosystems degradation represents one of the major global challenges at the present time, threating people’s livelihoods and well-being worldwide. Ecosystem restoration therefore seems no longer an option, but an imperative. Restoration challenges are such that a dialogue has begun on the need to re-shape restoration as a science. A critical aspect of that reshaping process is the acceptance that restoration science and practice needs to be coupled with socio-economic research and public engagement. This inescapably means conveying complex ecosystem’s information in a way that is accessible to the wider public. In this paper we take up this challenge with the ultimate aim of contributing to making a step change in science’s contribution to ecosystems restoration practice. Using peatlands as a paradigmatically complex ecosystem, we put in place a transdisciplinary process to articulate a description of the processes and outcomes of restoration that can be understood widely by the public. We provide evidence of the usefulness of the process and tools in addressing four key challenges relevant to restoration of any complex ecosystem: (1) how to represent restoration outcomes; (2) how to establish a restoration reference; (3) how to cope with varying restoration time-lags and (4) how to define spatial units for restoration. This evidence includes the way the process resulted in the creation of materials that are now being used by restoration practitioners for communication with the public and in other research contexts. Our main contribution is of an epistemological nature: while ecosystem services-based approaches have enhanced the integration of academic disciplines and non-specialist knowledge, this has so far only followed one direction (from the biophysical underpinning to the description of ecosystem services and their appreciation by the public). We propose that it is the mix of approaches and epistemological directions (including from the public to the biophysical parameters) what will make a definitive contribution to restoration practice

L'adaptation stratégique des vendeurs aux situations de vente

International audienceCet article examine comment les vendeurs interprètent et réagissent aux situations de vente qu'ils rencontrent. Le domaine considéré est celui de la vente au détail de vêtements pour femmes. Une recherche qualitative a permis dans un premier temps d'identifier trois dimensions qui définissent les situations de vente dans ce domaine, soit le type de processus d'achat, le type de besoin et la sociabilité de la cliente. Par la suite, des vendeuses choisies sur la base d'un échantillonnage de convenance ont réagi à différents scénarios présentant des situations de vente variant systématiquement au regard des trois dimensions. Les résultats indiquent que les vendeuses ajustent leurs stratégies de vente selon la situation. De plus, il appert que les stratégies envisagées par les vendeuses très performantes ne sont pas toujours les mêmes que celles des vendeuses moins performantes. Des comparaisons sont faites avec les résultats d'une recherche similaire dans un domaine très différent, soit celui de la vente d'assurance-vie

The sponsorship-advertising interface: Is less better for sponsors?

Purpose: The objective of this article is to explore the general idea that there is a limit to the extent to which consumers make goodwill assumptions when sponsorship is used in combination with advertising. Design/methodology/approach: An experiment was conducted where the number of different sponsorship activities by the same sponsor (i.e. one or two) in a sport event was varied in the context of an ongoing advertising campaign. Findings: The results show that when brand advertising is used during a sport event, it is more beneficial for the brand to either be the official sponsor of the event or to be the official provider of products that are integrated in the event than to apply these two sponsorship strategies at the same time. Research limitations/implications: Future studies should be conducted with representative samples of consumers and a larger array of sponsored entities such as different sports events, art events, athletes, and cultural organizations. In addition, these studies should incorporate the measurement of consumers' inferences during exposure to marketing communication stimuli. Originality/value: The study is the first to explore the sponsorship-advertising interface in order to provide insights on the conditions under which the combination of these two forms of marketing communication will lead to optimal benefits in terms of brand equity. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Social Networks and Credit Card Overspending Among Young Adult Consumers

Research that has looked at the reasons why young individuals overspend using their credit cards has not paid attention to the perceptions that they have about important others' credit card debt, their expectations as to how much to spend when they consume in the presence of them, and how the strength of the social relationships within their social network potentially influences the extent to which they overspend using their credit cards. A survey of 225 US university students composing a culturally diverse sample revealed that these social norms and network variables have interactive effects on credit card overspending. Specifically, the results show that the perceptions that young adult consumers have about important others' credit card debt impact their overspending using credit cards when they feel that they are expected to consume at the same level as important others in shared experiences, and when they are strongly connected to these individuals. Copyright 2012 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

Voluntary simplicity and life satisfaction: Exploring the mediating role of consumption desires

The research presented in this article investigates the relationship between adopting voluntary simplicity as a lifestyle and life satisfaction. More precisely, it seeks to understand the role that consumption desires and relative wealth play in the context of this relationship. A survey was conducted among a Canadian sample of 344 simplifiers and 267 non-simplifiers. A statistically significant positive relationship was observed between the adoption of voluntary simplicity and a measure of satisfaction with life. This research has also established that it is partially through one's control of consumption desires that simplifiers achieve a higher level of life satisfaction. However, this was shown to be the case only among consumers with limited financial resources. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The complementarity factor in the leveraging of sponsorship

© International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship. All rights reserved, The complementarity factor stipulates that a sponsorship leveraging strategy can lead to suboptimal consumer responses unless advertising complements, rather than reinforces, the nature of the event-sponsor relationship. Study 1 showed that the best strategy when the sponsor is an official product provider for the event is to leverage the sponsorship through advertisements that emphasise its overall image and value as opposed to its products. However, the reverse is true when the sponsor is an official event partner, where a product-oriented sponsorship leveraging yields the best outcomes. Study 2 replicated the complementarity factor effect using a different event and different set of stimulus brands. It showed that consumer attributions, with respect to the sponsor’s motivations, are the key mediating psychological mechanism

Power imbalance issues in athlete sponsorship versus endorsement in the context of a scandal

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contrast athlete endorsement vs athlete sponsorship from a power imbalance perspective when a scandal strikes the athlete. Design/methodology/approach: A first study was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 252 adult consumers where the type of brand-athlete relationship (endorsement or sponsorship) and the level of congruence between the two entities (low or high) were manipulated in a mixed experimental design. A second study with a probabilistic sample of 118 adult consumers was conducted to demonstrate that consumers perceive that the balance of power between the brand and the athlete is not the same in endorsement and sponsorship situations. Findings: The results of the first study showed that when an athlete is in the midst of a scandal, the negative impact on the associated brand is stronger in the case of an endorsement than in the case of a sponsorship. However, this occurs only when the brand-athlete relationship is congruent. The results of the second study showed that the athlete's power relative to the brand is greater in an endorsement than in a sponsorship context. Research limitations/implications: The findings suggest that a company that worries about the possibility that the athlete with whom it wants to build a relationship be eventually associated with some negative event (e.g. a scandal) should consider sponsorship rather than endorsement as a strategy. Originality/value: This study is the first to compare the athlete endorsement and sponsorship strategies in general and the first to put forward the notion of power imbalance in brand-athlete partnerships, its impact on how the two entities are represented in consumers' memory networks and the consequences on brand attitude when the athlete is associated with a negative event. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited