scholarly journals Psychological Benefits and Challenges of Ph.D. Entrance Exam Virtual Interviews During COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Gender Play a Role?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saman Ebadi ◽  
Saba Bashiri

This study aimed to investigate the reflections of Iranian students on Ph.D. entrance exam interviews held virtually nationwide during the Pandemic. Two hundred thirty-one Ph.D. applicants were invited to fill out an anonymous online survey designed in Google Forms, 36 out of whom volunteered to participate in follow-up semi-structured interviews. Two ANOVA measures were used to investigate the possible influences of gender and prior virtual interview experience on the applicants’ perceptions. Thematic analysis was also adopted to explore the participants’ attitudes and perceptions toward virtual interviews (VI). Quantitative findings showed that Iranian Ph.D. applicants perceived VI as a flexible and helpful procedure that provided them with satisfactory interpersonal treatment. Still, they did not favor the procedure’s perceived behavioral control and ability to communicate information to perform procedural justice. Moreover, neither their gender nor their prior experience of the virtual interview was a predictor of their perspectives’ discrepancies. The thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that despite having some cognitive, personal, and financial benefits, VI posed some technical, communicative, and personal challenges. This study provides implications for universities and applicants who will use VI for different purposes in higher education.

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahadur Ali Soomro ◽  
Naimatullah Shah ◽  
Nadia A. Abdelmegeed Abdelwahed

PurposeAt present, the adoption of cryptocurrency investment has brought consideration to the globe. The present paper attempts to investigate the intention to adopt cryptocurrency (IACR) among the potential investors of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThe theory of planned behavior (TPB) is applied to underpin the conceptual framework. The study uses a quantitative approach. The study collects cross-sectional data through an online survey questionnaire. In the last, the authors utilized 334 samples for outcomes.FindingsFindings of the SEM reveal a significant positive effect of attitude, subjective norms (SNs), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and trust on IACR.Practical implicationsThe outcomes of an investigation would develop further intention and trust towards cryptocurrency adoption. The results would support developing favorable policies regarding the reduction of the ban on cryptocurrency in Pakistan to make easier transactions of the investors further. Possibly, it brings several opportunities in all segments of society in making the digital transaction modes through cryptocurrency. Finally, the findings would further validate the TPB in the context of cryptocurrency.Originality/valueThe study provides a better understanding of cryptocurrency and investors IACR. The empirical evidence further develops the other individuals' intentions towards cryptocurrency usage.


Author(s):  
Amira F. A. Mahran ◽  
Hala M. Labib Enaba

Mobile services are becoming increasingly commonplace in everyday life; however, Mobile payment (M-payment) is not among frequently used mobile services. The slowness of the diffusion of this service is the point of departure of the current research. The authors discuss why consumers are slow in adopting M-payment service and develop a proposed model that measures the customer’s attitude and intention to use this technology in Egypt. Different theories from diverse fields are reviewed to formulate the study’s conceptual framework. Empirical data were collected via an online survey for a sample of 490 students in “open education”, a type of e-distance learning. The results suggest that although the most important determinants influencing the customer’s attitude toward the service are perceived behavioral control and perceived usefulness, those influencing the intention to use it are perceived innovativeness, perceived expressiveness, facilitating condition, perceived usefulness, and social pressure. The results of the research differ from those of previous studies because of the effect of the Egyptian culture. Service providers can benefit from the results when formulating the marketing strategies to increase the usage of this service, improving mobile commerce.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Asher ◽  
Paul Peters

There are a variety of approaches to addressing meat overconsumption including forms of meat restriction that vary by the degree of reductions and the type of meat reduced. This study examines three such diets—a vegetarian diet, a reduced-meat diet, and a chicken-free diet—with a focus on the differences in the lived dietary experiences of their adherents. These lived experiences are operationalized using a variety of measures: satisfaction with food-related life, social ties, convenience, social/personal life, health, cost, motivation, identity, perception of prevalence rates, length of diet adherence, and the theory of planned behavior (intentions, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms). The data comes from an online survey of a cross-sectional, census-balanced sample of more than 30,0000 U.S. residents aged 18+ years sourced from Nielsen’s Harris Panel. The results showed meat reducers to be a larger group than previously suspected, with a third of American adults self-identifying as reducing their meat consumption, compared to one percent each who identify as a vegetarian or chicken avoider. The findings also demonstrated that a vegetarian diet had the strongest lived dietary experiences among American adults who are currently eating one of the meat-restricted diets. This research speaks to how the degree and type of meat restriction can impact an individual’s lived experience with their diet.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 0-0

This study investigates the causes impacting the consumers' intention of the premium music streaming services' subscription in China. An integrated model called the Theory of Streaming Service Acceptance (TSSA) is proposed to explain and predict premium music streaming service subscription behaviors. The TSSA consists of four constructs: attitude, descriptive norm, injunctive norm and perceived behavioral control. The research data was collected in the form of an online survey in China with 120 respondents. Then, interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data from 20 participants. An explanatory sequential mixed method was implemented and the PLS-SEM technique was used to analyze the survey data. The results showed that all constructs in modified research mode, including attitude, injunctive norm and perceived behavioral control except descriptive norm, are indicative predictors for a person’s intention toward premium music streaming services’ subscription. Significant practical inspirations from the perspective of music streaming services providers are also summarized.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordana Soares de Lira ◽  
Marconi Freitas da Costa

PurposeThis study seeks to investigate the influence of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), of the conscious consumption intention and of the consumer ethical considerations, on Slow Fashion Consumption in the region known as Agreste Pernambucano, in Brazil, which is known for being an apparel manufacturing area.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this purpose, descriptive quantitative research using non-probabilistic sampling was conducted. Data were collected through an online survey and distributed through the snowball technique. The sample consists of 486 respondents and relies on structural equation modeling for data analysis.FindingsThe results highlight that the Slow Fashion Consumption, in the scope of Local Productive Arrangement (LPA) of clothing manufacturing in the Agreste region, is influenced by the intention of conscious consumption, the ethical considerations in consumer behavior and the perceived behavioral control. Moreover, the results highlight the role of the influence of subjective norms both in the attitudes of consumers and the intention of conscious consumption.Originality/valueThe primary contribution of this study is to demonstrate that perceived behavioral control is positively associated with Slow Fashion Consumption, which, in turn, shows that respondents believe they have control over their sustainable actions.


Author(s):  
Amira F. A. Mahran ◽  
Hala M. Labib Enaba

Mobile services are becoming increasingly commonplace in everyday life; however, Mobile payment (M-payment) is not among frequently used mobile services. The slowness of the diffusion of this service is the point of departure of the current research. The authors discuss why consumers are slow in adopting M-payment service and develop a proposed model that measures the customer’s attitude and intention to use this technology in Egypt. Different theories from diverse fields are reviewed to formulate the study’s conceptual framework. Empirical data were collected via an online survey for a sample of 490 students in “open education”, a type of e-distance learning. The results suggest that although the most important determinants influencing the customer’s attitude toward the service are perceived behavioral control and perceived usefulness, those influencing the intention to use it are perceived innovativeness, perceived expressiveness, facilitating condition, perceived usefulness, and social pressure. The results of the research differ from those of previous studies because of the effect of the Egyptian culture. Service providers can benefit from the results when formulating the marketing strategies to increase the usage of this service, improving mobile commerce.


Author(s):  
Braden Joseph Hansma ◽  
Susana Marulanda ◽  
Huei-Yen Winnie Chen ◽  
Birsen Donmez

Despite increased media attention and legislation banning some forms of cell phone use while driving, drivers continue to engage in illegal cell phone distractions. Several studies have used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain why drivers voluntarily engage in cell phone distractions, and found that TPB constructs (attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control) predict intentions to engage in cell phone distractions while driving. Given that cell phone use is ubiquitous, habits that have formed around their general use may lead to automatic engagement in cell phone distractions while driving. This differs from voluntary engagement, in that habits are carried out automatically, with little thought given to the action or its consequences. Thus, in addition to the TPB constructs that explain intentions, habitual factors should also be considered in understanding why drivers use cell phones. A few studies have examined the role of habits in this context, but they only focused on texting behaviors. An online survey was conducted with 227 respondents to investigate the role of habitual cell phone use in driver engagement in a variety of illegal cell phone tasks (e.g., social media, email). Habitual cell phone use was found to explain unique variance in self-reported engagement after controlling for TPB constructs. Overall, the findings indicate that cell-phone-related distractions may not be entirely voluntary; instead, cell phone habits developed outside of the driving context appear to have a significant effect, suggesting that cell phone use while driving may have become automatic to a certain extent.


Author(s):  
Xiaodong Yang ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Lai Wei ◽  
Qi Su

This study extends the theory of planned behavior by taking communication factors into account to examine the determinants of pro-environmental behavioral intention in haze mitigation. Unlike other theory of planned behavior (TPB) extension studies, we shift the focus of inquiry from examining the mediating role of TPB variables to investigating the moderating role in promoting pro-environmental behavior. Using an online survey in China, the results indicated that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and attention to haze-related efficacy messages were positively associated with pro-environmental behavioral intention. Notably, attention to haze-related threat messages had no significant relationship with behavioral intention. Moreover, moderation analyses revealed that the interaction effects between attention to efficacy messages and attention to threat messages on behavioral intention vary among people with different attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature of the TPB by analyzing its moderating role in promoting behavior change. Findings from this study suggest the importance of disseminating distinctive media messages to audiences with different personality traits, which is beneficial for practitioners to tailor specific messages in environmental campaigns.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Zeng Jianqiu ◽  
Umair Akram ◽  
Yasir Tanveer ◽  
Muhammad Sohaib ◽  
...  

Social media channels provide a critical opportunity for sharing electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. eWOM has been considered a prominent factor in shaping consumer behavior. The purpose of this is to examine the effect of website quality, social support, emotional experience, and subjective norms on the attitude of eWOM. Furthermore, the personal interactivity role as moderator is examined. An online survey was conducted from 756 consumers in China. Structure equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis by using AMOS 23. The results indicate that above-mentioned determinants positively influence on attitude and eWOM. Personal interactivity significantly moderates the relationship between attitude toward eWOM and eWOM. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) has a positive direct effect on eWOM. This study provides useful and valuable insights regarding potential determinants of eWOM in Chinese perspective. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Łucja Zielińska-Tomczak ◽  
Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska ◽  
Piotr Przymuszała ◽  
Ryszard Marciniak

Abstract Background Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB) postulates that individuals’ behavioral intention is influenced by their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Therefore, it can be used to broaden the understanding of particular behaviors, including healthcare workers’ professional activities. Methods In this study, we used TPB as a theoretical framework to evaluate semi-structured interviews with pharmacists and physicians to build an understanding of the interprofessional collaboration between them. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with pharmacists and eleven with physicians. The sample of participants comprised a diverse group with varying work experience and workplaces. Data were analyzed independently by two researchers following the thematic analysis method using ATLAS.ti software. Data saturation was set in the absence of new issues arising during the interviews. Results The content analysis allowed for the determination of six main themes: the relationship between previous experiences and attitudes towards collaboration, pharmacist’s role in collaboration, mutual reluctance toward collaboration, the role of decision- and policy-makers, knowledge and qualifications gaps regarding collaboration, and lack of organizational paths. Conclusions Despite both physicians and pharmacists displaying positive attitudes towards collaboration may foster their intention to establish a professional partnership, subjective norms (e.g., the lack of appropriate legal regulations) and perceived behavioral control (physicians’ lack of awareness about pharmacists’ qualifications and the low level of interpersonal skills) might impede the process.


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