A Colorful Consumer Behavior

Titel: Ett Färgat Köpbeteende Nivå: C-uppsats i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Martin Myhrman & Robin Uppman Handledare: Jonas KågströmDatum: 2015 - 05 Syfte: Bakgrunden till att vi har utfört denna studie är att forskning om färgers påverkan på beslutsfattande inom ämnet marknadsföring är begränsad, tidigare forskning har även pekat på att vidare forskning borde beröra vilka faktorer som skulle kunna påverka konsumenters uppfattning om genmodifierade produkter. Således är vårt syfte:“Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur färgkodad märkning kan kompensera för den negativa uppfattningen som kan råda kring genmodifierade livsmedel.” Metod: För att besvara vårt syfte har vi valt att utföra ett experiment. Studien genomfördes på 120 respondenter på en högskola i Sverige, testpersonerna utförde ett smaktest där de tre olika betingelserna var märkta med olika färger (röd, blå och grön). Den data vi fick in analyserades sedan med hjälp av statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS Statistics 22, därefter har vi tolkat och diskuterat resultaten. Resultat & Slutsats: Vårt huvudsakliga fynd är att röd färg på negativ märkning genererar lägre betalningsvilja än grön och blå färg, vårt resultat korroborerar tidigare forskning som bland annat menar att röd färg bidrar till en aggressivare sinnesstämning och ett mer analytiskt tänkande. I övrigt har vi sett tendenser till att färgen på märkningen inte påverkat varken smakupplevelsen eller hälsouppfattning. Förslag till vidare forskning: Flertalet av våra resultat har inte uppnått statistisk signifikans, vilket troligtvis beror på att vårt urval har varit för litet, vidare forskning borde replikera vår studie på ett större urval. Utöver detta förslag till framtida forskning anser vi att följande bör undersökas:- Hur påverkar färgmärkning uppfattningen om andra GMO-produkter?- Hur blir köpbeteendet påverkat av olika färgnyanser?- Hur förhåller sig varumärke och färg till varandra i köpbeslut? Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår studie har bidragit till att branschen bör tänka på att använda färger med viss försiktighet när det kommer till märkning. Vidare har vi visat att färger påverkar kunders betalningsvilja, vilket är vårt bidrag till ämnet marknadsföring.Title: A Colorful Consumer Behavior Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Martin Myhrman & Robin Uppman Supervisor: Jonas KågströmDate: 2015 – 05 Aim: The background of our study was grounded in the fact that the research of colors impact are limited in the field of marketing. Studies have also shown that future research should examine which factors that affect consumer’s perception of genetically modified products. The aim of our study is as follows: “The aim of this study is to examine how colored labeling might compensate for the negative perception of genetically modified products.” Method: In this study we have performed an experiment. The experiment took place at a University in Sweden and we had 120 respondent commits. The respondents were asked to perform a taste test in which the color of a label was manipulated between three test groups (red, blue and green). The collected data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 22, further the results were interpreted and discussed. Result & Conclusions: Our main finding is that the color red on a negative label generated a lower willingness to pay than both blue and green. This result confirms previous research which among other things says that the color red trigger an aggressive mindset and encourage analytical thinking. Furthermore we have seen trends that indicate that colors do not affect the taste and health perception. Suggestions for future research: Many of our results have not been statistically significant, which probably depends on our relatively limited sample, further research should replicate our study with a wider sample. In addition to this suggestion we would like to see further research concerning:- Colors impact on the perception of other GMO products.- The impact of color shades on consumer behavior.- The relation between brands and colors in buying decisions. Contribution of the thesis: Our contribution to people working with marketing is that they should be aware that colored labels may affect the consumer perception. Furthermore we have shown that colors affect consumer’s willingness to pay, which is our contribution to the field of marketing

Integrerad Rapportering på Stockholm Large Cap : En studie kring integrering av social- och miljöinformation i årsredovisningar – efterlevnad av IR-principer och förklarande faktorer

Integrerad rapportering (IR) sprider sig inom redovisningsvärlden och modellen ska enligt förespråkarna skänka en transparent bild över hur företagen sammanlänkar finansiell och icke-finansiell information. Genom intressent- och legitimitetsteoretiska postulat syftar studien till att visa vilka faktorer (storlek, skuldsättningsgrad, ägarkoncentration och bransch) som kan påverka valet att tillämpa IR-principer. Vidare undersöks om mängden integrerad information verkligen skiljer sig mellan företag som tillämpar IR och övriga. Fokus ligger på social- och miljöinformation som finns integrerad med övriga upplysningar.  Empirin har genererats genom en i huvudsak kvantitativ innehållsanalys av 67 årsredovisningar från företag noterade på Nasdaq OMX Large Cap. Regressionsanalyser och Mann-Whitney test har använts för att analysera den insamlade empirin.  De statistiska testerna visar att storlek och branschtillhörighet har signifikanta samband med mängden integrerad miljö- och social information i årsredovisningarna. Ägarkoncentration och skuldsättningsgrad visade dock inget samband vilket talar för att finansiella intressenter inte pressar företag mot IR-principer. Signifikanta skillnader kunde konstateras mellan årsredovisningarna som uppgavs vara integrerade i förhållande till övriga. Denna upptäckt kan tolkas som att IR-tillämpande företag även har en starkare hängivenhet till hållbarhetsfrågor.  Studien bidrar med en bild över hur IR-principer förekommer på svensk börs samt hur detta ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv skiljer sig från övriga årsredovisningar. Vidare indikerar studien att paralleller kan dras mellan IR och frivillig rapportering i övrigt då företagens storlek och branschtillhörighet påverkat årsredovisningens utformning.  Som fortsatt forskning föreslås studier kring IR ur ett användarperspektiv då utbudet av detta idag är skralt och samtidigt kritiskt för fortsatt utveckling av IR.Integrated reporting (IR) is spreading in the accounting world and according to proponents the model should give a transparent picture of how the companies are linking financial and non-financial disclosures. Through postulates from stakeholder- and legitimacy theory this study aims to demonstrate which factors (size, debt ratio, ownership concentration and industry) that may affect the choice of applying IR principles. Furthermore, the study also examines whether the amount of integrated information really differs between companies who allege to apply IR and others. Focus lays on social- and environmental information.  The empirical data is essentially generated by a quantitative content analysis of 67 annual reports from companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Large Cap. Regression analysis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze the collected empirical data.  The statistical tests show that size and industry has significant effect on the amount of integrated information within the annual reports. Debt ratio and ownership concentration however, showed no relationship which leads to the conclusion that financial stakeholders is not pressuring the companies towards IR principles. Significant differences between the annual reports claimed to be integrated and other annual reports where observed. This finding could be interpreted as companies that apply IR also have a stronger devotion to sustainability issues.  Future research is suggested to be conducted from a user perspective. The supply of this type of studies is poor but crucial for continued development of IR

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy has hyper dynamic functional connectivity in the dorsolateral frontal cortex

Purpose: Characterize the static and dynamic functional connectivity for subjects with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) using a quantitative data-driven analysis approach. Methods: Whole-brain resting-state functional MRI data were acquired on a 3 T whole-body clinical MRI scanner from 18 subjects clinically diagnosed with JME and 25 healthy control subjects. 2-min sliding-window approach was incorporated in the quantitative data-driven data analysis framework to assess both the dynamic and static functional connectivity in the resting brains. Two-sample t-tests were performed voxel-wise to detect the differences in functional connectivity metrics based on connectivity strength and density. Results: The static functional connectivity metrics based on quantitative data-driven analysis of the entire 10-min acquisition window of resting-state functional MRI data revealed significantly enhanced functional connectivity in JME patients in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal striatum, precentral and middle temporal gyri. The dynamic functional connectivity metrics derived by incorporating a 2-min sliding window into quantitative data-driven analysis demonstrated significant hyper dynamic functional connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus and dorsal striatum. Connectivity strength metrics (both static and dynamic) can detect more extensive functional connectivity abnormalities in the resting-state functional networks (RFNs) and depict also larger overlap between static and dynamic functional connectivity results. Conclusion: Incorporating a 2-min sliding window into quantitative data-driven analysis of resting-state functional MRI data can reveal additional information on the temporally fluctuating RFNs of the human brain, which indicate that RFNs involving dorsolateral prefrontal cortex have temporal varying hyper dynamic characteristics in JME patients. Assessing dynamic along with static functional connectivity may provide further insights into the abnormal function connectivity underlying the pathological brain functioning in JME. Keywords: Epilepsy, Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, Resting-state fMRI, Neuroimaging, Temporal analysi

Assessing cerebrospinal fluid flow connectivity using 3D gradient echo phase contrast velocity encoded MRI

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using three-directional velocity encoded 3D gradient echo (GE) phase contrast (PC) imaging to assess cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow connectivity in the human brain. Five healthy volunteers were scanned using low velocity sensitivity (V-enc = 0.04-0.05 m s(-1)). Flow-time curves were compared to standard 2D PC scans. The 3D data were used to reconstruct in vivo CSF flow volumes based on time-averaged phase-difference information, and the patency of the CSF flow pathways was assessed using nearest-neighbour connectivity. A pulsatile flow phantom was used to gauge the measurement accuracy of the CSF flow volumes at low flow velocities. Flow connectivity from the lateral ventricles down to the cisterna magna was successfully demonstrated in all volunteers. The phantom tests showed a good distinction between the flow cavities and the background noise. 3D PC imaging results in CSF flow waveforms with similar pulsatility but underestimated peak velocities compared to 2D PC data. 3D time-resolved velocity encoded GE imaging has successfully been applied to assess CSF flow connectivity in normal subjects

Education Nonprofit Organization: A Hierarchical Decision Modeling Tool for State Engagement Choice

Decision models can be useful in various industries. In this project, a hierarchical decision model (HDM) is employed to assist a nonprofit organization called “eKnow” that is concerned with improving high-speed internet access to American schools. When initially launched, eKnow’s engagement decisions were based on immediate opportunities and educational or political connections in particular states. Now, after having already worked a number of states, decision criteria have matured. Over the winter of 2017/2018, eKnow is working to identify which which states to enter next. The purpose of this study was to assist eKnow in their effort by helping to identify and define the most relevant decision criteria and then to use those criteria in an HDM-based prioritization of five states by subject matter experts at eKnow. This result is then available to assist decision makers move forward

Human Dorsal Basal Ganglia Network.

<p>A dorsal basal ganglia network in the human brain was defined by placing a bilateral seed in Talairach coordinates in mm: +/-21; 0; 7. Top left image displays an axial, top right a sagittal and bottom image a coronal view of the human brain. Note the possitive FC-values of the bilateral putamen, as well as the supplementary motor area in the axial view, the unilateral sagittal view of putamen, and the coronal bilateral view of putamen. FC-values are displayed with a pseudo-colored scale bar; with increments of 0.2 each designated a color (see the color-bar in the image).</p

Human Default Mode Network.

<p>The default mode network (DMN) was derived from a seed placed in Posterior Cingulate Cortex (Talairach coordinates in mm: 0; -47; 29). Top left image displays an axial, top right a sagittal and bottom image a coronal view of the human brain. Note the color-coded positive FC-values of the DMN in the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex (precuneus) and bilateral parietal cortex in the axial view. In the sagittal and coronal view note the anterior prefrontal cortex, bilateral parietal cortex and posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex (precuneus). FC-values are displayed with a pseudo-colored scale bar; with increments of 0.2 each designated a color (see the color-bar in the image).</p

Rat Motor Network.

<p>To define the motor-sensory network in the rat brain we placed a bilateral seed in the corresponding part of the brain in the primary motor cortex, approximately Bregma in mm: +/-3.0; 1.5; 1.7. Axial rat brain images are sorted from left to right in rostral to caudal order. The image to the far left shows bilateral positive low FC-values in M1 region and negative correlation values in medial orbital cortex. The second image to the left shows bilateral positive FC-values in M1 as well as S1 and negative FC-values in cingulate gyrus and orbital cortex. The two images to the right show bilateral positive FC-values in M1, S1, and S2. FC-values are displayed with a pseudo-colored scale bar; with increments of 0.2 each designated a color (see the color-bar in the image).</p

Seed placement in humans for; DMN, motor network, dorsal basal ganglia network, and ventral basal ganglia network.

<p>The coordinates of the seeds in the animal data, which all are placed in both brain hemispheres, were carefully placed with the help of Paxinos rat atlas [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120345#pone.0120345.ref036" target="_blank">36</a>] to match the morphological structures as much as possible (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120345#pone.0120345.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a> and <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0120345#pone.0120345.s001" target="_blank">S1 Fig.</a> for coordinates and seed placements).</p><p>Seed placement in humans for; DMN, motor network, dorsal basal ganglia network, and ventral basal ganglia network.</p