How perfectionism traits affect the willingness to offer positive word-of-mouth in face-to-face contexts : the mediating role of perceived social risk

Doutoramento em GestãoDespite extensive research on word-of-mouth, research on individual differences in the propensity to share word-of-mouth is limited. The purpose of this study is to explore whether perceived social risk mediates the relationship between perfectionism traits and willingness to offer positive word-of-mouth. A sample of 599 Portuguese individuals was recruited, and the hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling. We found that people with a tendency to be undecided in relation to uncertainty about doing the right thing (that is to say, a large degree of doubts about actions), who believe that it is important for others to be perfect (that is to say, a large degree in other-oriented perfectionism), and who avoid situations where they have to admit or discuss possible mistakes or failures with others (that is to say, a large degree of nondisclosure of imperfection) have a lower propensity to offer positive word-of-mouth due to a higher perception of social risk. However, and in contrast with what we had hypothesised, perceived social risk was not found to be a significant mediator between concern over mistakes, self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, and positive word-of-mouth. The results are invariant across gender. The findings suggest that fear of negative evaluations could decrease the willingness to offer positive word-of-mouth for specific types of perfectionist traits. This hypothesis has never been considered and explored in the word-of-mouth literature.Apesar da extensa investigação sobre word-of-mouth, investigação sobre diferenças individuais na propensão a partilhar word-of-mouth é limitada. O objetivo deste estudo é explorar se o risco social percebido medeia a relação entre os traços de perfeccionismo e a vontade de fazer word-of-mouth positivo. Uma amostra de 599 indivíduos portugueses foi recrutada e as hipóteses foram testadas através de modelagem de equações estruturais. Descobrimos que pessoas com tendência a serem indecisas relativamente à incerteza de fazer a coisa certa (ou seja, com um elevado grau de dúvidas sobre as suas ações), que acreditam que é importante que os outros sejam perfeitos (ou seja, com um elevado grau de orientação para os outros), e que evitam situações em que tenham que admitir ou discutir possíveis erros ou falhas com outros (ou seja, com um elevado grau de não divulgação de imperfeições) têm menor propensão a fazer word-of-mouth positivo devido a uma maior percepção de risco social. No entanto, e contrariamente ao que tínhamos hipotizado, o risco social percebido não foi considerado um mediador significativo entre a a preocupação com os erros, perfeccionismo auto-orientado, perfeccionismo socialmente prescrito, e o word-of-mouth positivo. Os resultados são invariáveis entre os sexos. As descobertas sugerem que o medo de avaliações negativas pode diminuir a disposição de fazer word-of-mouth positivo para tipos específicos de traços perfeccionistas. Esta hipótese nunca foi considerada e explorada na literatura do word-of-mouth.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Student biocuration projects as a learning environment [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Bioinformatics is becoming an essential tool for the majority of biological and biomedical researchers. Although bioinformatics data is exploited by academic and industrial researchers, limited focus is on teaching this area to undergraduates, postgraduates and senior scientists. Many scientists are developing their own expertise without formal training and often without appreciating the source of the data they are reliant upon. Some universities do provide courses on a variety of bioinformatics resources and tools, a few also provide biocuration projects, during which students submit data to annotation resources. Methods: To assess the usefulness and enjoyability of annotation projects a survey was sent to University College London (UCL) students who have undertaken Gene Ontology biocuration projects. Results: Analysis of survey responses suggest that these projects provide students with an opportunity not only to learn about bioinformatics resources but also to improve their literature analysis, presentation and writing skills. Conclusion: Biocuration student projects provide valuable annotations as well as enabling students to develop a variety of skills relevant to their future careers. It is also hoped that, as future scientists, these students will critically assess their own manuscripts and ensure that these are written with the biocurators of the future in min

Desenvolvimento do método de extração em solução hexânica e identificação dos compostos do óleo de Melaleuca alternifolia.

Melaleuca alternifolia belongs to Myrtaceae family, subfamily Leptospermoideaei , which occurs mainly in Australia , being commonly k nown as "tea tree" . Most studies regarding the M.alternifolia oil are related to its antimicrobial, antiinflammat ory, antiviral and anticancer activities. The knowledge about plan t chemical constituents is important to discover the true value of herbal medi cines and to evaluate its toxicity. The improvement of methodologies and findings in or der to contribute to essential oil quality control has great value. The detection of s ubstances in the M. alternifolia essential oil was performed using gas chromatograph y (GC). Comparing whit the concentration data from FERQUIMA company, and with the international standard ISO 4730, the main compounds kept their concentration n ear the stipulated.A Melaleuca alternifolia pertence à família Myrtaceae , subfamília Leptospermoideaei , que ocorre principalmente na Austrália, é comumente conhecida como “ tea tree ”. A maior parte dos estudos com o óleo da M.alternifolia estão relacionados com sua atividade antimicrobiana, anti-inflamatória, antivi ral e anticancerígena. O conhecimento dos constituintes químicos das plantas é importante para descoberta do real valor dos fitoterápicos de uso popular, ass im como também para testar sua toxicidade. São de grande valor o aperfeiçoamento e descobertas de metodologias que contribuam com aspectos de controle de qualidad e dos óleos essenciais. Neste trabalho utilizou-se o método de extração líquido-l íquido, também conhecido como extração por solvente ou partição, em solução hexân ica. A detecção de substâncias no óleo essencial da M. alternifolia (FERQUIMA) foi realizada através da técnica de cromatografia gasosa (CG). Comparando com a ficha t écnica da empresa FERQUIMA, e com a norma internacional ISO 4730, os principais compostos mantiveram suas concentrações bem próximas das esti puladas em relação às concentrações encontradas neste trabalho

The “Questionnaire of the difference Imaginary Baby vs. Real Baby”: a new instrument for the evaluation of differences between prenatal and postnatal maternal perceptions after delivery

Introducción: El bebé imaginario y el bebé real son conceptos importantes para la comprensión tanto de la vida psíquica de la mujer embarazada como de las nuevas madres. Objetivo: Presentar un nuevo instrumento psicométrico para la evaluación de la diferencia entre el bebé imaginario y el bebé real en los primeros días después del parto. Método: Generación de 30 elementos sobre la diferencia entre el bebé imaginario y el bebé real relacionados con las cinco áreas principales de la vida de los recién nacidos: alimentación, sueño, interacción, características del bebé y temperamento. Participantes: el "Cuestionario de la diferencia Imaginario bebé vs. Real bebé" (QDIBRB) fue aplicada a una muestra (n = 190) de madres recientes del Dr. Alfredo da Costa de Lisboa. Resultados: Tras una serie de análisis factoriales, rotación Equamax con extracción forzada a 4 factores que explican el 52,7% de la varianza total) proporcionaron 3 factores sobre las diferencias entre la salud materna prenatal y postnatal y percepciones sobre las siguientes áreas: F1 - bebés' expresiones emocionales positivas (α = .881), F2 - temores maternos relacionados con bebés' significado conductual (α = .850) y F3 - bebés' comportamiento atractivo (α = .783). Para la escala completa es excelente la consistencia interna (α = .921). Conclusión: La QDIBRB parece ser capaz de evaluar las diferencias entre el bebe imaginario y el bebé real de manera psicométrica. Se necesitan investigaciones futuras para demostrar si los datos recopilados con QDIBRB son útiles en el mundo de la psicología perinatal.INTRODUCTION: Fantasmatic baby, imaginary baby and the real baby are important concepts for the understanding of the psychological life of pregnant women as of newly mothers. GOAL: To present a new psychometric instrument for the assessment of the difference between imaginary baby and real baby by the first days after delivery. METHOD: Generation of 30 items about the difference between imaginary baby and real baby related to five main areas of newborns’ life: feeding, sleeping, interaction, baby characteristics and temperament. PARTICIPANTS: The “Questionnaire of the Difference Imaginary Baby vs. Real Baby” (QDIBRB) was applied to a sample (N = 190) of newly mothers at Maternidade Dr. Alfredo da Costa in Lisbon. RESULTS: After a series of factorial analysis, Equamax rotation with extraction forced to 4 factors (explaining 52.7% of total variance) provided 3 factors about differences between maternal prenatal and postnatal perceptions on the following areas: F1 - babies’ positive emotional expressions (α = .881), F2 - maternal fears related with babies’ behavioral meaning (α = .850) and F3 - babies’ appealing behavior (α = .783). For the complete scale internal consistency is excellent (α = .921). CONCLUSION: The QDIBRB seems to be able to assess differences between the imaginary baby and the real baby in a psychometric way. Future research is needed to show if data collected with QDIBRB are useful in the world of perinatal psychology.peerReviewe

Modelos Híbridos Aplicados à Construção de Índice de Classificação de Níveis de Risco de Fogo no Brasil

Fire has always exerted a great attraction on humans. Fires generally provide social and environmental impacts at the places where they occur. Several Brazilian localities, especially in the driest months of the year, are more susceptible to this phenomenon. In this paper, an index able of classifying levels of fire risk in areas geographically located in Brazil. This paper presents an index capable of classifying fire risk levels elaborated from neuro-fuzzy systems. Data from the municipality of Sorocaba were used to test the proposed models. The results obtained by this index are promising, reaching values of mean absolute error below 3% when applied in the prediction of the risk of fire for the maximum period of up to 3 days. The proposed index can be used as a tool to support and assist various research agencies or institutes that need to identify the possibility of burning, corroborating the measures to reduce atmospheric emitters and meeting Goal 15 of Agenda 30 as defined by the UN in 2015, which aims to stimulate conservation actions and the recovery and sustainable use of ecosystems.O fogo sempre exerceu grande atração sobre os seres humanos. As queimadas, de maneira geral, proporcionam impactos sociais e ambientais nos locais onde ocorrem. Diversas localidades brasileiras, especialmente nos meses mais secos do ano, estão mais suscetíveis a esse fenômeno. O estudo e o monitoramento do risco do fogo são uma poderosa ferramenta adotada no mapeamento e sensoriamento de áreas afetadas ao longo do território brasileiro e em outras partes do mundo. Este trabalho apresenta um índice para classificar os níveis de risco de fogo, elaborado com base nos sistemas neuro-fuzzy. Dados da cidade de Sorocaba foram utilizados para testar os modelos propostos. Os resultados obtidos mostram-se promissores, alcançando valores referentes à média de erros absolutos abaixo de 3%, aplicados na previsão do risco de queima pelo período máximo de até três dias. O índice proposto poderá ser utilizado como ferramenta de apoio e auxílio a diversos órgãos ou institutos de pesquisa que necessitam identificar a possibilidade de ocorrência de queimadas. Pode, assim, colaborar nas medidas para a redução de emissores atmosféricos, de modo a satisfazer o objetivo 15 da Agenda 30 definido pela Organização das Nações Unidas em 2015, o qual visa estimular ações de conservação, recuperação e uso sustentável de ecossistemas, especialmente

The Influence of Opinion Leaders’ eWOM on Online Consumer Decisions: A Study on Social Influence

Opinion leaders and eWOM are becoming two of the most effective ways to launch a brand on social media by creating viral marketing. However, how much influence does an opinion leader’s eWOM (OL eWOM) have on consumer purchasing decisions? This research looks at the role of OL eWOM as well as the effect of its valence and product type on the decision to buy or not buy from a realistic experimental online store design. In total, 300 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of five scenarios in a 22 experimental arrangement. Results show that OL eWOM influences consumer online decisions when purchasing experience-type goods and the valence of eWOM is positive. However, if we compare the OL eWOM with a control group, then OL eWOM does not have a significant influence. This research provides novel empirical evidence for the limited influence of OL in modeling shopping behaviors in e-commerce contexts