Word-of-mouth -viestintään vaikuttavat tekijät Case: Agronomiliiton suosittelukampanja

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tarkastella laadullisten tutkimuskeinojen avulla keskeisten tekijöiden etenkin palkitsemisen vaikutusta word-of-mouth -viestintään. Teoriakatsauksen perusteella tutkimusaluetta lähestyttiin tarkastelemalla viittä eri aihealuetta, suosittelijan sisäistä motivaatiota, kokemusta tuotteen tai palvelun ominaisuuksista, suhdetta yrityksen kanssa ja suosituksen vastaanottajan kanssa sekä palkitsemista ja suosittelukampanjaa. Tutkimuksen teoreettisessa osuudessa avattiin käsite word-of-mouth -viestintä ja suosittelumarkkinointi sekä selvitettiin word-of-mouth -viestintään vaikuttavia keskeisiä tekijöitä, jotta suosittelupäätökseen liittyviä tekijöitä olemassa olevan tutkimustiedon avulla. Empiirinen tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena, jossa tutkimuksen casena oli Agronomiliitto ry:n suosittelukampanja. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin Helsingin yliopiston maatalous-metsätieteellisen tiedekunnan syksyn 2009 tutoreita koskien heille suunnattua jäsenhankintakampanjaa. Kampanjan tarkoituksena oli saada tutorit suosittelemaan Agronomiliiton jäsenyyttä uusille opiskelijoille. Parhaiten kampanjassa menestyneet tutorit palkittiin. Kahdeksasta haastateltavasta seitsemän oli Agronomiliiton jäseniä. Haastateltavista kolme palkittiin hyvästä menestyksestä kampanjassa. Aineistonkeruumenetelmänä käytettiin puolistrukturoitua ja henkilökohtaista teemahaastattelua. Haastatteluissa pyrittiin ennen kaikkea selvittämään haastateltavien ajatuksia liittyen word-of-mouth -viestintään sekä suosittelusta palkitsemiseen. Tutkimus antaa suuntaa, että sisäisellä motivaatiotekijöillä on suuri merkitys suositteluviestinnän tapahtumiselle. Suosittelijan tulee tunnistaa suositeltavasta tuotteesta tai palvelusta koetut hyödyt. Suosittelua myös edesauttaa jos suosittelija omaa mielipidejohtajan ominaisuuksia. Palkitseminen toimii kannustimena suositella, mutta palkitsemisjärjestelmä tulee miettiä huolellisesti, jotta suosittelija ei koe suosittelun vähentävän omaa tai suositteluviestin uskottavuutta. Tutkimuksen tulokset viittaavat molempien, suosittelijan ja suosittelun vastaanottajan palkitsemisen olevan paras palkitsemisjärjestelmä suosittelukampanjassa.

Breathing, swallowing and voice in laryngeal disorsers

The aim of this work was to examine how breathing, swallowing and voicing are affected in different laryngeal disorders. For this purpose, we examined four different patient groups: patients who had undergone total laryngectomy, anterior cervical decompression (ACD), or injection laryngoplasty with autologous fascia (ILAF), and patients with dyspnea during exercise. We studied the problems and benefits related to the automatic speech valve used for the rehabilitation of speech in laryngectomized patients. The device was given to 14 total laryngectomized patients who used the traditional valve especially well. The usefulness of voice and intelligibility of speech were assessed by speech pathologists. The results demonstrated better performance with the traditional valve in both dimensions. Most of the patients considered the automatic valve a helpful additional device but because of heavier breathing and the greater work needed for speech production, it was not suitable as a sole device in speech rehabilitation. Dysphonia and dysphagia are known complications of ACD. These symptoms are caused due to the stretching of tissue needed during the surgery, but the extent and the recovery from them was not well known before our study. We studied two patient groups, an early group with 50 patients who were examined immediately before and after the surgery and a late group with 64 patients who were examined 3 9 months postoperatively. Altogether, 60% reported dysphonia and 69% dysphagia immediately after the operation. Even though dysphagia and dysphonia often appeared after surgery, permanent problems seldom occurred. Six (12 %) cases of transient and two (3 %) permanent vocal cord paresis were detected. In our third study, the long-term results of ILAF in 43 patients with unilateral vocal cord paralysis were examined. The mean follow-up was 5.8 years (range 3 10). Perceptual evaluation demonstrated improved results for voice quality, and videostroboscopy revealed complete or partial glottal closure in 83% of the patients. Fascia showed to be a stable injection material with good vocal results. In our final study we developed a new diagnostic method for exertional laryngeal dyspnea by combining a cardiovascular exercise test with simultaneous fiberoptic observation of the larynx. With this method, it is possible to visualize paradoxal closure of the vocal cords during inspiration, which is a diagnostic criterion for vocal cord dysfunction (VCD). We examined 30 patients referred to our hospital because of suspicion of exercise-induced vocal cord dysfunction (EIVCD). Twenty seven out of thirty patients were able to perform the test. Dyspnea was induced in 15 patients, and of them five had EIVCD and four high suspicion of EIVCD. With our test it is possible to set an accurate diagnosis for exertional laryngeal dyspnea. Moreover, the often seen unnecessary use of asthma drugs among these patients can be avoided.

Word-of-mouth-forskning – Från ett beteendevetenskapligt perspektiv mot ett företagsperspektiv

Syftet med denna artikel är att systematisera och analysera litteratur som anknyter till word-of-mouth-kommunikation (hädanefter WOM). Med konsumentdominerad marknadskommunikation avses att konsumenterna sinsemellan oberoende av företaget söker och sprider marknadsinformation. Den enda motsvarande litteraturanalys som förefaller att finnas publicerad är fyrtio år gammal (Arndt 1967). Sedan dess har det tillkommit en ansenlig mängd företagsekonomisk forskning som tydligt avviker från Johan Arndts, vilken huvudsakligen baserade sig den beteendevetenskapliga litteraturen.

Nonlinear Sliding Mode Control Design for an Air-breathing Engine with State Estimation

A modern system theory based nonlinear control design is discussed in this paper for successful operation of an air-breathing engine operating at supersonic speed. The primary objective of the control design of such an air-breathing engine is to ensure that the engine dynamically produces the thrust that tracks a commanded value of thrust as closely as possible by regulating the fuel flow to the combustion system. However, since the engine operates in the supersonic range, an important secondary objective is to manage the shock wave configuration in the intake section of the engine which is manipulated by varying the throat area of the nozzle. A nonlinear sliding mode control technique has been successfully used to achieve both of the above objectives. In this problem, since the process is faster than the actuators, independent control designs are also carried out for the actuators as well to assure the satisfactory performance of the system. Moreover, to filter out the sensor and process noises and to estimate the states for making the control design operate based on output feedback, an Extended Kalman Filter based state estimation design is also carried out. The promising simulation results suggest that the proposed control design approach is quite successful in obtaining robust performance of the air-breathing engine.

Nonlinear measures of heart rate time series: influence of posture and controlled breathing

In this study, we investigated measures of nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory in regards to heart rate variability in 27 normal control subjects in supine and standing postures, and 14 subjects in spontaneous and controlled breathing conditions. We examined minimum embedding dimension (MED), largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) and measures of nonlinearity (NL) of heart rate time series. MED quantifies the system's complexity, LLE predictability and NL, a measure of deviation from linear processes. There was a significant decrease in complexity (P<0.00001), a decrease in predictability (P<0.00001) and an increase in nonlinearity (P=0.00001) during the change from supine to standing posture. Decrease in MED, and increases in NL score and LLE in standing posture appear to be partly due to an increase in sympathetic activity of the autonomous nervous system in standing posture. An improvement in predictability during controlled breathing appears to be due to the introduction of a periodic component. (C) 2000 published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Characterization of foot-and-mouth disease virus types Ο and Asia 1 RNA

Foot-and-mouth disease is an acute and highly contagious febrile disease affecting cloven-footed animals. Identification of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), the causative agent of the disease, posed problems because of the occurrence of many types and subtypes of the virus. A molecular approach based on oligonucleotide mapping of FMDV RNA has been used for the identification and characterization of virus isolates obtained in a disease outbreak (King et al., 1981). One-dimensional oligonucleotide mapping was used for rapid analysis of FMDV RNA (LaTorre et al., 1982). FMDV types Ο and Asia 1 of Indian origin are being routinely used for vaccine production in India. This report presents the differences between FMDV types Ο and Asia 1 at molecular level based on one-dimensional oligonucleotide mapping of virus-induced poly (A) RNA.

Observation of crack closure using a crack mouth opening displacement gauge

A crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) gauge has been designed to estimate the crack length as well as the crack opening stress level in an automated fatigue crack propagation test programme. The CMOD gauge accurately predicts crack tip opening levels in K-controlled tests with constant K, K increasing or K decreasing. In all three K-controlled tests with a single 100% overload cycle, the CMOD gauge does not measure the crack tip opening stress level over a large range of crack lengths after the application of the overload. The CMOD gauge measures the stress level at which the overload plastic zone site opens. Caution should thus be exercised in using the crack opening stress level, estimated by the CMOD gauge, to explain fatigue crack propagation under arbitrary load sequences from the viewpoint of crack closure phenomena.

Characterization and immune response of a protein produced by a cDNA clone of foot and mouth disease virus, type Asia 1 63/72

A 0.9 kb double stranded cDNA of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) Type Asia 1, 63/72 was cloned in an expression vector, pUR222. A protein of 38 kd was produced by the clone which reacted with the antibodies raised against the virus. A 20 kd protein which may be derived from the 38 kd protein contained the antigenic epitopes of the protein VP1 of the virus. Injection of 10-20 micrograms of the partially purified 38 and 20 kd proteins or a lysate of cells containing 240 micrograms of the proteins elicited high titers of FMDV specific antibodies in guinea pigs and cattle respectively. Also, at these concentrations, the proteins protected 5 of 8 guinea pigs and 3 of 8 cattle when challenged with a virulent virus.

The Role of Electronic Word of Mouth in Shaping Consumer Attitudes

The purpose of this research was to investigate the role of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in shaping consumer attitudes towards various products and services with concentration on the consumer attitude change. eWOM has long been proven to play an important role in influencing consumer attitudes and has been researched from a variety of perspectives. This study attempts to look deeper into the process of consumer attitude change by applying as the central theory of the study the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion by Petty and Cacioppo. In the processes of examining the background academic and empirical research the Internet and Web 2.0 are closely depicted in order to understand how throughout the past centuries technology allowed the rise of various mediums where consumers can not only share their opinions online about products and services but also communicate with other consumers. Manuel Castel’s Internet Galaxy, Gildin’s, Carl and Noland’s, Hennig-Thurau, Gwinner, Walsh and Gremler’s researches on eWOM are the central works that helped to shape both the theoretical and empirical parts of this study. The mixed method approach was chosen as a research method for this study. An online survey was conducted via the Surveymonkey.com platform and eight qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted. The results of the study show that central route queues as text quality and text argumentativeness are more prominent among the research subjects and the peripheral route queues: source credibility and source expertise did not show considerable significance. Also more experience and participation consumers have with user-rating websites and applications more inclined they are to elaborate on the central route cues and are more likely to search for opinions that they consider rational and credible. Also these respondents are less inclined to search for ratings that confirm their existing beliefs about products or services. Less experience/participation they have about eWOM more likely they are to search for reviews confirmatory to their own.

Expression of VP1 protein of serotype A and O of foot-and-mouth disease virus in transgenic sunnhemp plants and its immunogenicity for guinea pigs

Recently, transgenic plants expressing immunogenic proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) have been used as oral or parenteral vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). They exhibit advantages like cost effectiveness, absence of processing, thermostability, and easy oral application. FMDV VP1 protein of single serotype has been mostly used as immunogen. Here we report the development of a bivalent vaccine with tandem-linked VP1 proteins of two serotypes, A and O, present in transgenic forage crop Crotalaria juncea. The expression of the bivalent protein in the transgenic plants was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Guinea pig reacted to orally or parenterally applied vaccine by humoral as well as cell-mediated immune responses including serum antibodies and stimulated lymphocytes, respectively. The vaccine protected the animals against a challenge with the virus of serotype A as well as O. This is the first report on the development of a bivalent FMD vaccine using a forage crop.