DO I DESERVE TO SPEND? SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SPENDING PLEASURE

Despite evidence of people posting their consumption experience on online social networks to fulfill the needs of social support, a systemic understanding of how social support obtained via online social networks affects post-consumption behaviors related to spending remains elusive. This dissertation aims to answer the question of how social support via online social networks affects consumer’s post-consumption behavior by investigating in what form and from whom consumers obtain online social support. To do so, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine how online social support from others influences perceptions of deservingness which then influences spending pleasure. This dissertation focuses on two types of social support sources, social support from friends and social support from the firm. In addition, this dissertation examines the role of relational factors (e.g., tie-strength with Facebook friends and relationship strength with firm) and a situational factor (e.g., social support aimed at others) that may influence the impact of social support on spending pleasure. This dissertation consists of two studies. In Study 1, a 2 (Social support; low vs. high) x 2 (Tie strength: strong vs. weak) x 2 (Self-construal: independent vs. interdependent) quasi-experimental between-subjects design is utilized, self-construal serving as a measured factor. A 2 (Social support; present vs. absent) x 2 (Relationship strength: strong vs. weak) x 2 (Social support aimed at others: present vs. absent) between-subjects factorial experiment is used for study 2. Across two studies, this research provides evidence that social support gained through online social networks influences consumers’ spending pleasure through perceptions of their own deservingness. More specifically, when people obtain social support from others on their consumption related post, they feel more deserving which then enhances their spending pleasure from that consumption. Notably, this study reveals that people obtain social support in online social networks through receiving ‘Likes’ and ‘Comments’ on their post. Furthermore, this result advances our knowledge of online social networks by demonstrating that not only the social networks friends but also firms can be social support sources by actively responding to customers’ post. In addition, this study also explores boundary conditions for when online social support is more effective on spending pleasure. The findings from two studies address the benefit to the service industry by understanding how social support can enhance spending pleasure. In addition, this dissertation may broaden the social support literature by highlighting the function of like and Comments, a new form of social support that are provided in the context of online social networks

Speech Enhancement for Virtual Meetings on Cellular Networks

We study speech enhancement using deep learning (DL) for virtual meetings on cellular devices, where transmitted speech has background noise and transmission loss that affects speech quality. Since the Deep Noise Suppression (DNS) Challenge dataset does not contain practical disturbance, we collect a transmitted DNS (t-DNS) dataset using Zoom Meetings over T-Mobile network. We select two baseline models: Demucs and FullSubNet. The Demucs is an end-to-end model that takes time-domain inputs and outputs time-domain denoised speech, and the FullSubNet takes time-frequency-domain inputs and outputs the energy ratio of the target speech in the inputs. The goal of this project is to enhance the speech transmitted over the cellular networks using deep learning models

Ethnic dissimilarity predicts belonging motive frustration and reduced organizational attachment

Some empirical studies show negative consequences of being demographically different from one’s group, but the underlying psychological mechanisms are not well understood. To address this gap, we investigated the role of the belonging and distinctiveness motives in individuals’ experiences of being ethnically dissimilar from their group. We propose that ethnic dissimilarity satisfies group members’ need for distinctiveness whereas it frustrates members’ need for belonging, and this frustration reduces their organizational attachment. An experimental study showed that ethnic dissimilarity led to heightened arousal of the belonging motive, indicating that this motive was frustrated. In a naturalistic study of real-life student groups, ethnic dissimilarity was associated with frustrated belonging, which in turn was associated with reduced organizational attachment. This paper contributes to the literature on demographic dissimilarity in groups by closely examining the effect of demographic dissimilarity on group members’ fundamental motives and reactions to group membership

Impact of the WHO “best buys” for alcohol policy on consumption and health in the Baltic countries and Poland 2000–2020

Funding Information: Funding: Research reported in this publication was in part supported by the (U.S.) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant number 1R01AA028224 . This research was conducted as part of the project ‘Evaluation of the impact of alcohol control policies on morbidity and mortality in Lithuania and other Baltic states’ and we would like to thank the whole team for their input to wider discussions in generating the research reported in this paper. Content is the responsibility of the authors and does not reflect official positions of the NIAAA or the NIH. Publisher Copyright: © 2023Alcohol use is a major risk factor for burden of disease. This narrative review aims to document the effects of major alcohol control policies, in particular taxation increases and availability restrictions in the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) between 2000 and 2020. These measures have been successful in curbing alcohol sales, in general without increasing consumption of alcoholic beverages from unrecorded sources; although for more recent changes this may have been partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, findings from time-series analyses suggest improved health, measured as reductions in all-cause and alcohol-attributable mortality, as well as narrowing absolute mortality inequalities between lower and higher educated groups. For most outcomes, there were sex differences observed, with alcohol control policies more strongly affecting males. In contrast to this successful path, alcohol control policies were mostly dismantled in the neighbouring country of Poland, resulting in a rising death toll due to liver cirrhosis and other alcohol-attributable deaths. The natural experiment in this region of high-income European countries with high consumption levels highlights the importance of effective alcohol control policies for improving population health.Peer reviewe

Friends or foes? Stereotyping and competitive interaction within minority duos

This dissertation investigates under what conditions demographic minority members in a work group develop competitive interactions with one another. Departing from the extant research's focus on minority-majority interactions, I examine interactions between minorities, by focusing on female duos, or two women working in a work group with more than two men. My central proposition is that when a focal female is stereotyped based on gender, the focal female develops a competitive orientation and engages in unfavorable behaviors toward the other female. I propose that this competitive interaction represents the focal female's strategy to enhance her status level over the same-category female member. From both experimental and MBA survey studies, I find that when a focal female is stereotyped, either by male members or by herself, she heightens competitive orientation toward the other female (Studies 1 and 2; Field Study Phases 2 and 3). Consequently, the competitive orientation resulting from stereotyping leads to the focal female's inhibition of friendship (Field Study Phase 2) and social undermining toward the other female (Field Study Phase 3). Although stereotyping heightens the focal female's competitive orientation toward her male members as well (Studies 1 and 2; Field Study Phases 2 and 3), the competitive orientation toward the male members does not lead to the focal female's inhibition of friendship and social undermining toward the male members (Field Study Phases 2 and 3). The main contributions of this research are 1) providing a systematic theoretical and empirical examination of minority interactions within groups, 2) identifying a condition - i.e., stereotyping - that provokes competitive minority interactions, and 3) demonstrating an underexamined social consequences of stereotyping - i.e., competitive attitudes and behaviors toward ingroup members. This research highlights that minority interactions can significantly impact minorities' experiences within work groups. Ultimately, this dissertation enhances our understanding of microdynamics within demographically diverse work groups

Becoming cynical and depersonalized: The impact of customer incivility, frequency and coworker support on employee job performance

Customers are increasingly uncivil to employees and research is needed that examines customer incivility, frequency, emotion regulation, coworker support and their effects on employee cynicism, depersonalization, and job performance. To address these gaps, Study 1 uses the qualitative research method critical incident technique to content analyze employee perceptions of uncivil customers and the effects employee actions on perceptions and behaviors. Based on the results, Study 2 tests a 2 (coworker support: high vs. low) x 2 (frequency: high vs. low) x 2 (emotion regulation: high vs. low) quasi between-subjects experimental design. The results showed that frequency of dealing with uncivil customers and emotional support from coworkers interactively affect employee’s job attitude and job performance. The research builds upon the incivility, cynicism, depersonalization, coworker support and job performance literature research and provides important managerial implications for actions service firms can take to minimize the negative effects

Does self‐verifying behavior in job interviews help secure job offers, even if it reveals negative information about the self?

Although research demonstrates that self‐verification striving can have positive outcomes in the hiring process, it remains unclear how this drive to present oneself authentically manifests in candidates’ behavior during job interviews. We examine whether self‐verifying behavior, including revelation of negative information about the self, is related to success in job interviews. Study 1 showed that self‐verification striving among 112 MBA students predicted their self‐verifying behavior during mock job interviews, which in turn led to success in converting interviews into actual offers 6 months later. Using a sample of 102 recent job seekers, Study 2 showed that self‐verification striving was associated with the extent to which candidates disclosed negative information about themselves during real job interviews, ultimately predicting their interview success

Context Dependent Memory in the Wilds

Memory retrieval is influenced by both prior and current experiences. The various factors (e.g., frequency, recency, or similarity) may interfere during retrieval due to prior experiences, while the context-dependent memory effect may enhance based on present experiences. Most memory research has been limited to controlled laboratory settings, but this study aims to examine memory retrieval in a more natural setting by using a GPS application (e.g., Traccar Client) to track participants’ daily GPS locations every 60 seconds for 5 weeks. Participants were then asked to recall their locations at a specific time, choosing from all locations visited in the previous 4 weeks. Results demonstrated the existence of the context-dependent memory effect in real-world settings, with more frequent or recent visits leading to increased correct responses. This study is the first to use the current methodology to study the context-dependent memory effect and to measure an individual’s genuine memories in a more ecologically valid way