Factors associated with mobile health information seeking among Singaporean women

This study examined effects of age and social psychological factors on women’s willingness to be mobile health information seekers. A national survey of 1,878 Singaporean women was conducted to obtain information on women’s mobile phone usage, experiences of health information seeking, and appraisals of using mobile phones to seek health information. Results showed that young, middle-aged, and older women exhibited distinct mobile phone usage behaviors, health information-seeking patterns, and assessments of mobile health information seeking. Factors that accounted for their mobile information-seeking intention also varied. Data reported in this study provide insights into mobile health interventions in the future

An interaction model for online communities of interest

The Internet has become a venue for people with the same interests to form a community where they can interact, exchange ideas and information and publish relevant materials. Not all communities, however, become successful, as there are members who are contented in just lurking and refuse to participate. This study aims to present a model that explains people\u27s behavior in participating in online communities of interest. The components of the model were derived from a review of literature regarding online communities, in general. The review conducted paved the way to the development of a new model of interaction in OLC\u27s of interest. This model illustrates three stages that consumers are involved in OLC. The initial stage is motivation which is initiated by needs and perceptions of OLC participation. The second part of the model shows that trust, sense of identity, sense of community, and interaction quality are the most influential social variables while site management, security, usability, and reliability are the significant technical variables. If active participation had been achieved in an OLC, promotion of the activity may be done by members and increase loyalty to the community. Aside from loyalty social capital may be formed and business communities can earn profit

Mobile phone design and it\u27s impact on customer\u27s affective experience: Two country comparison

Affective product design is a new area of interest in the human factor field. Products are known to elicit emotional responses from consumers. However, it is not known if emotion is elicited by product attributes because previous research have not established the relationship between physical attribute and emotion. This study aims to predict emotional responses from product design attributes and relate these emotional responses to consumer\u27s intention to buy the product. A field study was conducted in two countries, namely; Singapore and Philippines. Emotional responses to mobile phone design were compared and results suggest that different product attributes elicit emotions for the two countries suggesting uniqueness in preferences. Pre-purchase affect is also a significant predictor of purchase intention. Product designers can benefit from this study by identifying product characteristics that they should focus on to enhance affect and purchase intention

Predicting affect from phone features using discriminant analysis

There are many products that may be studied for their potential to engender emotion but this study focused on the design characteristics of cellular phones. This study aims to identify which features of a cellular phone are capable of discriminating the intensity of emotional experience during the evaluation process. Consumers can either experience intense positive or negative emotion or not be emotionally affected by the features of the product. Forty two subjects voluntarily participated in a field survey conducted in selected shopping malls in the Philippines. A questionnaire was designed to gather data during the field study. The first part of the questionnaire inquired about the type and intensity of pre-purchase affect that subjects felt while examining the product that attracted their attention during the shopping process. Data gathered from field survey imply that dimensinal features of cellular phones such as width, height to width ratio, and size of navigation button are good discriminating variables. Phones with smaller widths and smaller navigation buttons can evoke intense positive emotion. Keywords: affective product design, discriminant analysis, cellular phone desig

Structural analysis of affect in the pre-purchase context

Previous studies on consumption related affect did not identify specific components in the pre-purchase context. This article reviewed theoretical bases of affect and its relationship to product judgment and determined the components and structure of pre-purchase affect. Field studies were conducted to gather an initial list of affect experienced before purchasing high-involvement products. An initial list of 94 pre-purchase affect was identified and trimmed down to 18 after further statistical analysis. A second study was conducted to determine the structure of the pre-purchase emotion set (PES) derived from the first study. Multidimensional scaling was used and four clusters of emotion were found labeled satisfaction, positive enthusiasm, optimism, and amazement. The same results were found using factor analysis. It was proposed that pre-purchase affect experience followed the human information processing model. © 2010 De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

The marketing implications of affective product design

Emotions are compelling human experiences and product designers can take advantage of this by conceptualizing emotion-engendering products that sell well in the market. This study hypothesized that product attributes influence users emotions and that the relationship is moderated by the adherence of these product attributes to purchase criteria. It was further hypothesized that the emotional experience of the user influences purchase intention. A laboratory study was conducted to validate the hypotheses using mobile phones as test products. Sixty-two participants were asked to assess eight phones from a display of 10 phones and indicate their emotional experiences after assessment. Results suggest that some product attributes can cause intense emotional experience. The affect in designing products that convey users\u27 personalities. Keywords: Affective product design; Product design; Multilevel modelling, Phone desig

Culture and communication in the Philippine aviation industry

This study aims to characterize the communication patterns of Filipino pilots in the cockpit and assess its adherence to CRM principles of assertiveness, openness, conflict resolution, and communication effectiveness. A survey was administered to 88 participants who are mostly captains and first officers. Filipino captains and first officers generally have the same attitude that corresponds to the principles learned in CRM training on communication and coordination. However, a detailed comparison of the groups\u27 responses showed significant differences in terms of assertiveness, openness, and communication effectiveness. Captains are more articulate in expressing concerns than first officers. However, in terms dealing with crewmembers, first officers are more cautious in phrasing things. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007

Development of a conceptual model of product emotion in the pre-purchase context

A conceptual model of product emotion was developed considering the pre-purchase context. The main proposition of this model is that affect generated in the pre-purchase context is a result of product evaluation using consumer-generated criteria. The process starts when a consumer becomes interested in the distinctive, integrative and interactive features of a product. A survey was conducted to determine the criteria used by consumers when buying clothes, watches, and electronic products. A total of 34 criteria were identified in the process. These 34 criteria were personality, aesthetics, design/fitting, function, brand, durability, quality features, material and expected life. Affect is the pre-purchase context was determined by conducting a field survey where consumers, were asked about the emotions they experienced before purchasing. Pre-purchase affect is dominated by positive feelings. Only 5 emotions can be classified as negative while the rest indicate cheerfulness, enthusiasm and hopefullness. The result of the multidimensional scaling showed that pre-purchase affect has several dimensions

Integrating pre-purchase affect in product concept development

The pre-purchase Affect Model (PAM) was developed. It predicts how product criteria for purchase may engender affect. A field survey was conducted to determine what criteria consumers use to purchase electronic products and items of clothing. A total of 23 and 21 criteria were identified for buying clothing and electronic products, respectively. There were 11 types of criteria for clothes and nine for electronic products. The criteria were compared with the product attributes. If there was a match pre-purchase affect resulted. The use of the model will help define design attributes that are capable of eliciting affect. Keywords: product design, affective product design, modellin