Showing papers by "Webster University Vienna published in 2020"

Advancing a NeuroIS research agenda with four areas of societal contributions

Abstract: On the 10th anniversary of the NeuroIS field, we reflect on accomplishments but, more importantly, on the future of the field. This commentary presents our thoughts on a future NeuroIS research age...

Franchising in the Balkans: History, Status and Challenges

Abstract: Since the Balkans have not been covered with regards to franchising in any comprehensive fashion in the past, this study represents a first look at the topic in this part of the world and c...

Profile of rural tourism consumers in Serbia and Austria

Abstract: In order to achieve successful positioning, rural tourism managers and marketers need to understand consumer behaviour. Above all, they need to answer the question of which customer profiles are suitable to particular tourist destinations There are three types of statistical measurement used for research into consumer, i.e. tourist behaviour, and those are volume, value and profile. A profile encompasses characteristics of the consumers per se and characteristics of trae. The aim of the paper is to define the profile of rural tourism consumer based on the results of the conducted research, taking into account two socio-demographic characteristics of the consumers - age and education level in relation to three characteristics of travel - frequency of engaging in rural tourism, travel companions and information sources used to plan the trip. The research encompassed 150 respondents each from Serbia and Austria respectively. Cross-tabulation method was used for testing the set hypotheses.

The Effect of Technology on Human Social Perception: A Multi-methods NeuroIS Pilot Investigation

Abstract: Effects of digital communication have been reported, but with only little physiological data backing. The purpose of this pilot study was to use a multi-methods approach to investigate in digital natives the effects of reading from a mobile device, listening to an audio recording and listening to an actual person present, who reads out loud. Self-reported pleasantness and arousal as conscious data, startle reflex modulation, skin conductance and heart rate as non-conscious data were recorded for each condition. The findings indicate that physiological arousal measures tend to match respective self-report measures both indicating higher arousal levels for social conditions. However, physiological valence measures do not match their corresponding self-report measures. Listening to an audio recording and listening to a real person reading were rated as more pleasant than reading alone. However, listening to a present person reading out loud resulted in the most negative subcortical raw affective responses in digital native’s brains.

Memes and the media narrative: The Nike-Kaepernick controversy

Abstract: This article presents the results of a critical discourse analysis of internet memes. This analysis considers the highly visual nature of internet memes situated in a context of meme-as-utterance prompting other remixed versions as memes-as-responses. Prior to the analysis an orientation to pragmatics as related to internet memes is presented. Following this is an overview of memes research and a necessary discussion of the role of media narratives in the construction and dissemination of internet memes. Finally, a series of memes tweeted in response to Nike’s inclusion of former National Football League player, Colin Kaepernick, in its Just Do It anniversary campaign, serves as the corpus of analysis.

Elementary-level learners’ engagement with multimodal resources in two audio-visual genres

Abstract: Audio-visual texts play a vital role in FL instruction. Numerous publications point to their benefits to reach communicative and cultural learning goals. However, there is only limited empirical in...

Zombie politics: evolutionary algorithms to counteract the spread of negative opinions

Abstract: This paper is about simulating the spread of opinions in a society and about finding ways to counteract that spread. To abstract away from potentially emotionally laden opinions, we instead simulate the spread of a zombie outbreak in a society. The virus causing this outbreak is different from traditional approaches: It not only causes a binary outcome (healthy vs. infected) but rather a continuous outcome. To counteract the outbreak, a discrete number of infection-level-specific treatments are available. This corresponds to acts of mild persuasion or the threats of legal action in the opinion spreading use case. This paper offers a genetic and a cultural algorithm that find the optimal mixture of treatments during the run of the simulation. They are assessed in a number of different scenarios. It is shown that albeit far from being perfect, the cultural algorithm delivers superior performance at lower computational expense.

Social Perception of Faces: Brain Imaging and Subjective Ratings

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate how a female face is perceived in terms of its attractiveness, dominance, health, femininity-masculinity, and maturity in direct relation to the body fat percentage (BFP) conveyed by the face. To compare how young adults (ages 18 to 35) respond to different levels of body fat percentage both subjectively and objectively we collected survey ratings and electroencephalography (EEG) data across five different levels of BFP from 40 participants. We adapted the experimental design from a prior behavioral study and used calibrated and morphed female face images of five different BFP levels. The results of the survey are in consensus with the previous study and assessed to be a successful replication. From the EEG data, event-related potentials (ERPs) were extracted from one electrode location (right occipitotemporal brain region) known to be particularly sensitive to face-stimuli. We found statistically significant differences in the amplitudes of the P200 component (194 ms post stimulus onset) between the thickest face and all four other BFP conditions, and in the amplitudes of the N300 component (274 ms post stimulus onset) between the average face and three other BFP conditions. As expected, there were no significant differences among the N170 amplitudes of all five BFP conditions since this ERP component simply reflects the processing of faces in general. From these results, we can infer that holistic face encoding characterized by the N170 component in the right occipitotemporal area is followed by serial evaluative processes, whose categorical and qualitative matrix and spatiotemporal dynamics should be further explored in future studies, especially in relation to the social constructs that were focused on in this study.

The Effect of Body Positions on Word-Recognition: A Multi-methods NeuroIS Study

Abstract: Numerous studies have shown that different body postures and positions can differently influence one’s physiology, motivation and emotion processes, and behavioral and cognitive performances. The varying level of autonomic activation in various body positions may explain the differing level of arousal in supine (Lay), seated (Sit), and standing (Stand) body positions. The present study compared for the first time the effect of these three body positions on word-recognition performance (i.e., response accuracy and response time) while simultaneously using electroencephalography (EEG) to watch the brain at work. No significant difference was found among the three body positions for response accuracy. However, the mean response time was significantly faster for the Hit (correct judgment of the repetition of a word-stimulus) response outcome category in the Sit position compared to the Stand position. Moreover, the mean response time was slower for the Miss (incorrect judgment of the repetition of a word-stimulus) category in the Lay position compared to the Sit position. EEG data analysis further revealed interesting trends for the brain potential amplitudes at 180 ms post-stimulus. The amplitude corresponding to the Miss category was significantly different from the Correct rejection category in the Stand position at this timepoint. More importantly though, the differences in brain potential amplitudes between the Miss and the other three categories (Hit, Correct rejection, and False alarm) in the Lay position around this timepoint (180 ms) could be interpreted as a potential neurophysiological correlate underlying the prolonged response time for the Miss category in the Lay position. Possibly, this phenomenon can be linked with the well-known N200 event-related potential (ERP) component.

Time-Varying Influence of Household Debt on Inequality in United Kingdom

Abstract: The United Kingdom (UK) in terms of income inequality is ranked among the highest in Europe. Likewise, within the last four decades, UK is characterized with drastic increases in household debt. In this paper, we analyze time-varying predictability of growth in household debt for growth in income (and consumption) inequality based on a high-frequency (quarterly) data set over 1975:Q2 to 2016:Q1. Results indicate that the growth in household debt has a strong predictive power, both for within and out-of-samples, on growth rate of income (and consumption) inequality in the UK. Interestingly, the strength of the predictive power is found to have increased after 2008. Based on time-varying impulse response functions, we also find that higher growth rate in household debt corresponds with subsequent increases in income inequality.

Die Gemeinsame Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik als Spiegelbild eines Integrationsprozesses im Wandel

Abstract: Die Gemeinsame Ausen- und Sicherheitspolitik (GASP) der EU ist ein zentrales Politikfeld der Europaischen Union. Sie weist einen hohen Grad an Institutionalisierung auf und tragt zur Profilierung der EU als Akteur in den internationalen Beziehungen bei. Gleichzeitig wird sie hinsichtlich des erreichten Entwicklungsstands und kunftigen Entwicklungspotenzials kritisch hinterfragt. Um die GASP zu verstehen, sind zunachst die konzeptionellen Vorstellungen zur Rolle Europas als internationaler Akteur und die Entwicklung ausen- und sicherheitspolitischer Zusammenarbeit zwischen europaischen Staaten im Kontext des Integrationsverlaufs zu betrachten. Des Weiteren mussen die systemischen Rahmenbedingungen berucksichtigt werden, innerhalb derer die Rolle und Kompetenzen von Akteuren der GASP festgelegt sind. Und schlieslich ist zu klaren, welche Strategie die EU in den internationalen Beziehungen des 21. Jahrhunderts verfolgt.

Relationship Building in IoT Platform Models: the Case of the Danfoss Group

Abstract: Purpose: This paper investigates the implications for a manufacturer’s relationship building towards B2B customers and suppliers as a consequence of Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform models. Design/methodology/approach: Explorative single case study with embedded sub-cases. Qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews. Findings: The paper identifies two ways of doing relationship building when it comes to IoT platform models. Relationship building can take place through a Classic Relationship IoT platform model (characterized by low complexity) or a New Relationship IoT platform model (characterized by high complexity). In both models, the manufacturer aims for high stickiness towards the customers. In the New Relationship model, however, low stickiness towards suppliers is aimed for in order to enable the manufacturer to orchestrate the stakeholder constellation dynamically. In addition, a driver for the low stickiness aim towards suppliers can be found in a motive to outsource risks to suppliers in IoT markets characterized by high degrees of turbulence and growth. Research limitations/implications: The study points to the fact that a manufacturer should consider how the new technology IoT gives opportunities for different ways of relating to stakeholders, e.g. customers and suppliers, in the business model. Originality/value: Based on primary data collection the research shows how strategic relationship building can help a manufacturer create value with customers and suppliers within IoT platform models. The paper expands the business model literature by investigating consequences of a new technology, i.e. IoT. Keywords: IoT, IoT platform model; platform stickiness; manufacturer; relationship building, business models. Article Classification: Research paper

A country for old men: The pitfalls of conservative political analysis during crises:

Abstract: I would like to start this reply to the latest forecast by the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) with a small literary digression. Besides its poetic beauty, Y. B. Yeats’ ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ became one of the poet’s most lauded works for managing to express his acute reflexivity about the problem of aging. Observing the world around him, Yeats’ character understood with astounding clarity that it no longer belonged to him. Moved by this realization, he decided to set off to a different realm, a metaphysical world of immortal culture and spirituality, poetically represented as Byzantium. This critical reflexivity about the fragility and finitude of one’s earthly life indeed secured Yeats a place among his fellow literary classics in ‘the artifice of eternity’ (Yeats, 2004 [1928]: 2). In the IMEMO forecast, Dynkin et al., unlike Yeats, but like many pro-Kremlin spokespeople, tend to reproduce a somewhat fossilized and unreflective paradigm of political prognosis that hampers critical perception. Arguably, this analytical stance is a poor fit for the contemporary world, a reality that the authors dub ‘negative certainty’. The main reason for this misfit is that IMEMO adopts a discursive position of a ‘stereotypical old-timer’ who is attempting to talk to and educate a ‘stereotypical youth’. While trying to do so, however, the old-timer steps into territory

Last Mile Logistics Reloaded – Automation and Personalization in Electronic Commerce Fulfillment

Abstract: Fulfillment and last mile logistics are key service components in electronic commerce that are expected to further increase in the future. Current advancements in digitization of logistics processes have resulted in smart logistics technologies that can trigger automation and personalization of last mile logistics significantly. The chapter discusses how current technologies such as digital identifiers, Internet of Things, robotics, drones or autonomous vehicles can enhance automation and personalization of last mile delivery.

Do Varying Levels of Exposure to Pornography and Violence Have an Effect on Non-Conscious Emotion in Men?

Abstract: As we are often inundated with images of violence and pornography in modern times with the aid of mobile devices and unrestricted online access and content, the non-conscious effect of such exposure is an area of concern. To date, many clinicians and researchers in behavioral sciences rely on conscious responses from their clients to determine affective content. In doing so, they overlook the effect the non-conscious has on an individual’s emotions. The present study aimed to examine variations in conscious and non-conscious responses to emotion-inducing images following varying amounts of exposure to violent and pornographic images. Eighteen participants who self-reported as being low pornography users were presented with emotion-inducing images after no exposure (Session 1), after one round of exposure to 50 pornographic and 50 violent images (Session 2) and after a further nine rounds of exposure to 50 pornographic and 50 violent images (Session 3). Sessions were temporally separated by at least 2 days while startle reflex modulation (SRM) and scalp-recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to determine non-conscious emotion-related responses to pre-evaluated emotion pictures. Explicit valence and arousal ratings were assessed for each of those emotion pictures to determine conscious emotion effects potentially changing as a function of increasing controlled exposure to pornographic and violent visual material. Conscious explicit ratings and SRM amplitudes revealed no significant difference between the sessions. However, frontal ERP analysis revealed significant changes between processing of “violent” and “unpleasant” images at later ERP time windows, further supporting the growing body of research which shows that relying on self-report data does not result in a full understanding of emotional responses.

Think Outside the Box: Small, Enclosed Spaces Alter Brain Activity as Measured with Electroencephalography (EEG)

Abstract: This within-subjects study investigated the effect of small enclosed spaces on human brain activation during a simple word encoding task. A small and movable wooden box was designed, inside of which participants were exposed to visually presented words while asked to decide whether or not the first and last letters of each word were in alphabetical order. Simultaneously, brain activity was recorded via EEG. Respective encoding-related brain potentials were contrasted to an open space condition with the same task instruction. Data processing revealed that brain potentials were significantly more negative going at left lateral-frontal electrode locations when participants were inside the box compared to outside.