The effect of interocular phase difference on perceived contrast

Binocular vision is traditionally treated as two processes: the fusion of similar images, and the interocular suppression of dissimilar images (e.g. binocular rivalry). Recent work has demonstrated that interocular suppression is phase-insensitive, whereas binocular summation occurs only when stimuli are in phase. But how do these processes affect our perception of binocular contrast? We measured perceived contrast using a matching paradigm for a wide range of interocular phase offsets (0–180°) and matching contrasts (2–32%). Our results revealed a complex interaction between contrast and interocular phase. At low contrasts, perceived contrast reduced monotonically with increasing phase offset, by up to a factor of 1.6. At higher contrasts the pattern was non-monotonic: perceived contrast was veridical for in-phase and antiphase conditions, and monocular presentation, but increased a little at intermediate phase angles. These findings challenge a recent model in which contrast perception is phase-invariant. The results were predicted by a binocular contrast gain control model. The model involves monocular gain controls with interocular suppression from positive and negative phase channels, followed by summation across eyes and then across space. Importantly, this model—applied to conditions with vertical disparity—has only a single (zero) disparity channel and embodies both fusion and suppression processes within a single framework.

Transformational-transactional leadership and upward influence:the role of Relative Leader-Member Exchanges (RLMX) and Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

By utilizing the resource theory of social exchange (Foa & Foa, 1974), we attempted to cast light on the dynamics of the relationship between transformational-transactional leadership and employees' upward influence tactics. Using data collected in two time points (N=200, 1. year apart), we found perceptions of transformational leadership (Time 1) to be positively related to the use of soft and rational upward influence tactics (Time 2) whereas transactional leadership (Time 1) was positively related to the use of soft and hard upward influence tactics (Time 2). We also found support for a 3-way interaction between transformational-transactional leadership, relative Leader Member Exchanges (RLMX) and Perceived Organizational Support (POS) on employees' upward influence tactics. Specifically, in resource-constrained conditions (low RLMX and low POS), employees were likely to use soft tactics to influence a manager they perceived as transformational to a greater extent than in resource-munificent conditions. They were also likely to employ higher levels of soft and hard tactics to influence a transactional manager in resource-constrained rather than in resource-munificent conditions. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

An investigation of the relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, perceived value and behavioural intentions

Customer satisfaction and service quality are two important concepts in the marketing literature. However, there has been some confusion about the conceptualisation and measurement of these two concepts and the nature of the relationship between them. The primary objective of this research was to develop a more thorough understanding of these concepts, and a model that could help to explain the links between them and their relationships with post-purchase behaviour. A preliminary theoretical model was developed, based on an exhaustive review of the literature. Following exploratory research, the model was revised by incorporating "Perceived Value" and "Perceived Sacrifice" to help explain customer's post-purchase behaviour. A longitudinal survey was conducted in the context of the restaurant industry, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results provided evidence to support the main research hypotheses. However, the effect of "Normative Expectations" on "Encounter Quality" was insignificant, and "Perceived Value" had a direct effect on "Behavioural Intentions" despite expectations that such an effect would be mediated through "Customer Satisfaction". It was also found that "Normative Expectations" were relatively more stable than "Predictive Expectations". It is argued that the present research significantly contributes to the marketing literature, and in particular the role of perceived value in the formation of customers' post-purchase behaviour. Further research efforts in this area are warranted.

Consumer brand equity : a model for the measurement, analysis and evaluation of consumer perceived value

The topic of my research is consumer brand equity (CBE). My thesis is that the success or otherwise of a brand is better viewed from the consumers’ perspective. I specifically focus on consumers as a unique group of stakeholders whose involvement with brands is crucial to the overall success of branding strategy. To this end, this research examines the constellation of ideas on brand equity that have hitherto been offered by various scholars. Through a systematic integration of the concepts and practices identified but these scholars (concepts and practices such as: competitiveness, consumer searching, consumer behaviour, brand image, brand relevance, consumer perceived value, etc.), this research identifies CBE as a construct that is shaped, directed and made valuable by the beliefs, attitudes and the subjective preferences of consumers. This is done by examining the criteria on the basis of which the consumers evaluate brands and make brand purchase decisions. Understanding the criteria by which consumers evaluate brands is crucial for several reasons. First, as the basis upon which consumers select brands changes with consumption norms and technology, understanding the consumer choice process will help in formulating branding strategy. Secondly, an understanding of these criteria will help in formulating a creative and innovative agenda for ‘new brand’ propositions. Thirdly, it will also influence firms’ ability to simulate and mould the plasticity of demand for existing brands. In examining these three issues, this thesis presents a comprehensive account of CBE. This is because the first issue raised in the preceding paragraph deals with the content of CBE. The second issue addresses the problem of how to develop a reliable and valid measuring instrument for CBE. The third issue examines the structural and statistical relationships between the factors of CBE and the consequences of CBE on consumer perceived value (CPV). Using LISREL-SIMPLIS 8.30, the study finds direct and significant influential links between consumer brand equity and consumer value perception.

Diversity and the perceived barriers to participation in volunteer activity by older people

The first chapter introduces the subject from a psychological and sociological perspective emphasising the basic human activity of helping those in need. Governmental prominence for policies that assist this activity is briefly discussed with special mention of the programmes that encourage volunteering. Programmes particularly directed at older people, such as the Age Concern ‘Debate of the Age’ are considered briefly. An extensive review of the extant literature is the subject of the second chapter. The pervious research is explored to discover the formulae used to define a volunteer. A definition relative to this research is created. Volunteering issues aggravated by the demographic situation of older people are explored. Empirical volunteer survey research by mutual organisations is explored to ascertain the extent and nature of the already recorded volunteer population. The penultimate section of this chapter investigates the nature of old age and the strategies that older people adopt to enjoy the benefits and contain the problems. The issue of diversity arises from consideration of the literature suggesting that, although it is an essential voluntary sector strength, it is also a further barrier to recruitment. A model diversity is proposed. Chapter three reviews the theoretical processes, procedures and technologies used to collect and analyse the data required to discover the answer to the research problem. Analysis of the questionnaire survey data received is the subject of chapter four. The discovery of the agency uniqueness of volunteer profiles is the principle finding of this part of the research. The fifth chapter is the qualitative analysis of the oral and written statements received. A content analysis of the scripts and texts provided rich data covering motivational factors. Motivational factors were the same for volunteers in the same organisation, but differed between organisations. Finally, the analysed data is collated and discussed progressively toward a theory of diversity. The individuality of each branch of each agency is progressively described culminating in the creation of a model that infers that diversity is a barrier that aggravates all other barriers. The personal realisations of the researcher are described.

Herbal medicines:physician's recommendation and clinical evaluation of St.John's Wort for depression

Why some physicians recommend herbal medicines while others do not is not well understood. We undertook a survey designed to identify factors, which predict recommendation of herbal medicines by physicians in Malaysia. About a third (206 out of 626) of the physicians working at the University of Malaya Medical Centre ' were interviewed face-to-face, using a structured questionnaire. Physicians were asked about their personal use of, recommendation of, perceived interest in and, usefulness and safety of herbal medicines. Using logistic regression modelling we identified personal use, general interest, interest in receiving training, race and higher level of medical training as significant predictors of recommendation. St. John's wort is one of the most widely used herbal remedies. It is also probably the most widely evaluated herbal remedy with no fewer than 57 randomised controlled trials. Evidence from the depression trials suggests that St. John's wort is more effective than placebo while its comparative efficacy to conventional antidepressants is not well established. We updated previous meta-analyses of St. John's wort, described the characteristics of the included trials, applied methods of data imputation and transformation for incomplete trial data and examined sources of heterogeneity in the design and results of those trials. Thirty randomised controlled trials, which were heterogeneous in design, were identified. Our meta-analysis showed that St. John's wort was significantly more effective than placebo [pooled RR 1.90 (1.54-2.35)] and [Pooled WMD 4.09 (2.33 to 5.84)]. However, the remedy was similar to conventional antidepressant in its efficacy [Pooled RR I. 0 I (0.93 -1.10)] and [Pooled WMD 0.18 (- 0.66 to 1.02). Subgroup analyses of the placebo-controlled trials suggested that use of different diagnostic classifications at the inclusion stage led to different estimates of effect. Similarly a significant difference in the estimates of efficacy was observed when trials were categorised according to length of follow-up. Confounding between the variables, diagnostic classification and length of trial was shown by loglinear analysis. Despite extensive study, there is still no consensus on how effective St. lohn's wort is in depression. However, most experts would agree that it has some effect. Our meta-analysis highlights the problems associated with the clinical evaluation of herbal medicines when the active ingredients are poorly defined or unknown. The problem is compounded when the target disease (e.g. depression) is also difficult to define and different instruments are available to diagnose and evaluate it.

Triggering trust : to what extent does the question influence the answer when evaluating the perceived importance of trust triggers?

Trust is a critical component of business to consumer (B2C) e-Commerce success. In the absence of typical environmental cues that consumers use to assess vendor trustworthiness in the offline retail context, online consumers often rely on trust triggers embedded within e-Commerce websites to contribute to the establishment of sufficient trust to make an online purchase. This paper presents and discusses the results of a study which took an initial look at the extent to which the context or manner in which trust triggers are evaluated may exert influence on the importance attributed to individual triggers.

Perceived environmental uncertainty in scenario planning

Scenarioplanning is a strategy tool with growing popularity in both academia and practical situations. Current practices of scenarioplanning are largely based on existing literature which utilises scenarioplanning to develop strategies for the future, primarily considering the assessment of perceived macro-external environmentaluncertainties. However there is a body of literature hitherto ignored by scenarioplanning researchers, which suggests that PerceivedEnvironmentalUncertainty (PEU) influences the micro-external as well as the internal environment of the organisation. This paper reviews the most dominant theories on scenarioplanning process and PEU, developing three propositions for the practice of scenarioplanning process. Furthermore, it shows how these propositions can be integrated in the scenarioplanning process in order to improve the development of strategy.

The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model. Findings: The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

Functional and perceived benefits of wearing coloured filters by patients with age-related macular degeneration

Background: The aim was to investigate the visual effect of coloured filters compared to transmission-matched neutral density filters, in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration. Methods: Visual acuity (VA, logMAR), contrast sensitivity (Pelli-Robson) and colour vision (D15) were recorded for 39 patients (average age 79.1 ± 7.2 years) with age-related macular degeneration, both in the presence and absence of glare from a fluorescent source. Patients then chose their preferred coloured and matched neutral density transmission filters (NoIR). Visual function tests were repeated with the chosen filters, both in the presence and absence of glare from the fluorescent source. Patients trialled the two filters for two weeks each, in random order. Following the trial of each filter, a telephone questionnaire was completed. Results: VA and contrast sensitivity were unaffected by the coloured filters but reduced through the neutral density filters (p < 0.01). VA and contrast sensitivity were reduced by similar amounts, following the introduction of the glare source, both in the presence and absence of filters (p < 0.001). Colour vision error scores were increased following the introduction of a neutral density filter (from 177.6 ± 60.2 to 251.9 ± 115.2) and still further through coloured filters (275.1 ± 50.8; p < 0.001). In the absence of any filter, colour vision error scores increased by 29.1 ± 55.60 units in the presence of glare (F2,107 = 3.9, p = 0.02); however, there was little change in colour vision error scores, in the presence of glare, with either the neutral density or coloured filters. Questionnaires indicated that patients tended to gain more benefit from the coloured filters. Conclusions: Coloured filters had minimal impact on VA and contrast sensitivity in patients with age-related macular degeneration; however, they caused a small reduction in objective colour vision, although this was not registered subjectively by patients. Patients indicated that they received more benefit from the coloured filters compared with neutral density filters. © 2013 The Authors © 2013 Optometrists Association Australia.

A multi-level investigation of psychological contract breach and organizational identification through the lens of perceived organizational membership:testing a moderated-mediated model

Drawing on the perceived organizational membership theoretical framework and the social identity view of dissonance theory, I examined in this study the dynamics of the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification. I included group-level transformational and transactional leadership as well as procedural justice in the hypothesized model as key antecedents for organizational membership processes. I further explored the mediating role of psychological contract breach in the relationship between leadership, procedural justice climate, and organizational identification and proposed separateness–connectedness self-schema as an important moderator of the above mediated relationship. Hierarchical linear modeling results from a sample of 864 employees from 162 work units in 10 Greek organizations indicated that employees' perception of psychological contract breach negatively affected their organizational identification. I also found psychological contract breach to mediate the impact of transformational and transactional leadership on organizational identification. Results further provided support for moderated mediation and showed that the indirect effects of transformational and transactional leadership on identification through psychological contract breach were stronger for employees with a low connectedness self-schema.

Work-life balance benefits:employee attitudes and behaviors through the lens of social exchange theory

The question of what to provide employees in order that they reciprocate with desirable behaviors in the work place has resulted in a great amount of work in the area of social exchange. Although offering fair compensation, including salary or wages and employee benefits, has been extensively studied, the effects of offering specific types of benefits, such as work-life balance benefits, and the intangible rewards that such an offering inadvertently offers, has only been minimally explored. Utilizing past literature, this current research examined the offering of work-life balance benefits, the value employees place on those benefits, the communication of the benefits by the organization to employees, and their effect on employee attitudes and behaviors. The goal was to identify the effect on desirable outcomes when work-life balance benefits are offered to determine the usefulness to the organization of offering such benefits. To test these effects, a study of an organization known to offer a strong work-life balance benefits package was undertaken. This was accomplished through the distribution of questionnaires to identify the possible relationships involving 408 employee respondents and their 79 supervisors. This was followed with interviews of 12 individuals to ascertain the true reasons for links observed through analysis. Analysis of the data was accomplished through correlation analysis, multilevel analysis and regression analysis generated by SPSS. The results of the quantitative analysis showed support for a relationship between the offering of work-life balance benefits and perceived organizational support, perceived distributive justice, job satisfaction and OCBO. The analysis also showed a lack of support for a relationship between the offering of work-life balance benefits and organizational commitment, OCBI and IRB. The interviews offered possible reasons for the lack of support regarding the relationship between the offering of work-life balance benefits and organizational commitment as well as organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBI and IRB). The implications of these findings on future research, theory and practice in the offering of work-life balance benefits are discussed.

Weight-based discrimination, body dissatisfaction and emotional eating:the role of perceived social consensus.

Objective: Discrimination can have a negative impact on psychological well-being, attitudes and behaviour. This research evaluates the impact of experiences of weight-based discrimination upon emotional eating and body dissatisfaction, and also explores whether people's beliefs about an ingroup's social consensus concerning how favourably overweight people are regarded can moderate the relationship between experiences of discrimination and negative eating and weight-related cognitions and behaviours. Research methods and procedures: 197 undergraduate students completed measures about their experiences of weight-based discrimination, emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. Participants also reported their beliefs concerning an ingroup's attitude towards overweight people. Results: Recollections of weight-based discrimination significantly contributed to emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. However, the relationships between experiencing discrimination and body dissatisfaction and emotional eating were weakest amongst participants who believed that the ingroup held a positive attitude towards overweight people. Discussion: Beliefs about ingroup social consensus concerning overweight people can influence the relationships between weight-based discrimination and emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. Changing group perceptions to perceive it to be unacceptable to discriminate against overweight people may help to protect victims of discrimination against the negative consequences of weight-based stigma.