297 research outputs found

    Determination of interaction effects in expectations for post-event information on memory for items in a service encounter

    Get PDF
    Our minds are not a blank canvas onto which experiences leave their independent and indelible impression. Consumers, therefore, would rarely enter a service encounter without prior knowledge to guide their expectations. The importance of prior knowledge – in the form of schemas – while acknowledged in the study of post-event misinformation effects on memory has received limited attention. Outside of studies investigating misinformation effects, the literature indicates that inconsistency between our expectations and what we experience, improves recall accuracy. Whether this effect translates into reduced susceptibility to misinformation effects and that schema consistency increases susceptibility, is unclear. The main contribution of this thesis is the demonstration that consistency between schema and the experience, and its interaction with encoding goals, changes a person’s susceptibility to misinformation and their subsequent store quality perceptions. The effects of encoding goals – whether someone is trying to form an impression or remember the details of their experience – while used in previous misinformation studies, has not been previously investigated. To investigate the effects of schema consistency and encoding goals on misinformation acceptance, and the subsequent impact of misinformation acceptance on store quality perceptions, a three-way between participant design was undertaken using a café service encounter as the context. The three factors – independent variables – and their levels included in the study were schema consistency (consistent/ inconsistent), encoding goal (impression/ recall) and post-event information (misinformation/ neutral). Results from the study showed that misinformation effects are most likely when people are paying less attention to the service environment. The explanation provided in the study is that when there is a match between what people expect and what they experience they pay less attention to the details of the experience, which results in less diagnostic information encoded into memory. If, however, they were paying attention due to an inconsistency, the information would be attended and result in reduced misinformation acceptance. Where a person was instructed to try and remember the details of their experience rather than form an impression, they paid greater attention to detail than those who were forming an impression. When their expectations were not met in an experience, subsequent exposure to misinformation causes these people to accurately recall their original experience and escape the effect of misinformation. Significant results were also observed for changes to store quality perceptions, revealing that consumers who accept the misinformation have store quality perceptions that reflect its inclusion. Also observed was an interaction with the initial expectations that meant merchandise quality perceptions improved when a person’s memory for the experience was consistent with their original expectations, and lower when inconsistent

    Cerebellar Zones: A Personal History

    Get PDF
    Cerebellar zones were there, of course, before anyone noticed them. Their history is that of young people, unhindered by preconceived ideas, who followed up their observations with available or new techniques. In the 1960s of the last century, the circumstances were fortunate because three groups, in Leiden, Lund, and Bristol, using different approaches, stumbled on the same zonal pattern in the cerebellum of the cat. In Leiden, the Häggqvist myelin stain divulged the compartments in the cerebellar white matter that channel the afferent and efferent connections of the zones. In Lund, the spino-olivocerebellar pathways activated from individual spinal funiculi revealed the zonal pattern. In Bristol, charting the axon reflex of olivocerebellar climbing fibers on the surface of the cerebellum resulted in a very similar zonal map. The history of the zones is one of accidents and purposeful pursuit. The technicians, librarians, animal caretakers, students, secretaries, and medical illustrators who made it possible remain unnamed, but their contributions certainly should be acknowledged

    The impact of loco-regional recurrences on metastatic progression in early-stage breast cancer: a multistate model

    Get PDF
    To study whether the effects of prognostic factors associated with the occurrence of distant metastases (DM) at primary diagnosis change after the incidence of loco-regional recurrences (LRR) among women treated for invasive stage I or II breast cancer. The study population consisted of 3,601 women, enrolled in EORTC trials 10801, 10854, or 10902 treated for early-stage breast cancer. Data were analysed in a multivariate, multistate model by using multivariate Cox regression models, including a state-dependent covariate. The presence of a LRR in itself is a significant prognostic risk factor (HR: 3.64; 95%-CI: 2.02-6.5) for the occurrence of DM. Main prognostic risk factors for a DM are young age at diagnosis (</=40: HR: 1.79; 95%-CI: 1.28-2.51), larger tumour size (HR: 1.58; 95%-CI: 1.35-1.84) and node positivity (HR: 2.00; 95%-CI: 1.74-2.30). Adjuvant chemotherapy is protective for a DM (HR: 0.66; 95%-CI: 0.55-0.80). After the occurrence of a LRR the latter protective effect has disappeared (P = 0.009). The presence of LRR in itself is a significant risk factor for DM. For patients who are at risk of developing LRR, effective local control should be the main target of therapy

    Predicting a local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy by gene expression profiling

    Get PDF
    INTRODUCTION: To tailor local treatment in breast cancer patients there is a need for predicting ipsilateral recurrences after breast-conserving therapy. After adequate treatment (excision with free margins and radiotherapy), young age and incompletely excised extensive intraductal component are predictors for local recurrence, but many local recurrences can still not be predicted. Here we have used gene expression profiling by microarray analysis to identify gene expression profiles that can help to predict local recurrence in individual patients. METHODS: By using previously established gene expression profiles with proven value in predicting metastasis-free and overall survival (wound-response signature, 70-gene prognosis profile and hypoxia-induced profile) and training towards an optimal prediction of local recurrences in a training series, we establish a classifier for local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy. RESULTS: Validation of the different gene lists shows that the wound-response signature is able to separate patients with a high (29%) or low (5%) risk of a local recurrence at 10 years (sensitivity 87.5%, specificity 75%). In multivariable analysis the classifier is an independent predictor for local recurrence. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that gene expression profiling can identify subgroups of patients at increased risk of developing a local recurrence after breast-conserving therapy
    corecore