Exploring preschool children’s preferences for artificial animal appearances according to the uncanny valley phenomenon

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-213
Author(s):  
Chia-Chen Lu ◽  
Yuan-Ming Lin

This paper proposes extending the appearance of artefacts from human to zoomorphic on the basis of the uncanny valley phenomenon, while simultaneously realising the effects of bionic species, product realism, and gender differences on preschool children’s preferences for artificial animal appearances. In this study, animal toys were created as stimuli and a three-factor experiment was conducted with preschool children. Overall, the children demonstrated significantly stronger preferences for animal toys with extremely high or moderate realism compared with those with extremely low realism. Specifically, the boys preferred the toys with extremely high realism, and the girls preferred those with moderate realism. We conclude with some suggestions regarding the direction of design guidelines for the appearance of artificial animals, to facilitate the design and creation of animal products that promote human–robot interactions and design education.

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tavleen Kaur Dhandra ◽  
Hyun Jung Park

Purpose This paper aims to examine the ethical beliefs of consumers with regards to their levels of mindfulness. Furthermore, it aims to investigate if mindfulness is related to gender differences among respondents in their ethical beliefs about consumer unethical practices. Design/methodology/approach University students in India were surveyed with self-administered questionnaires comprising the consumer ethics scale and mindfulness attention awareness scale. Mediation analysis was conducted to test whether gender differences in ethical judgements are due to the different levels of mindfulness. Findings The results indicate that mindfulness is not only a predictor of ethical beliefs but also a mediator of the relationship between gender and ethical beliefs. Individuals with greater mindfulness reported greater acceptance towards the five dimensions of consumer ethics scale. Indian male participants were found to be more mindful and lenient in ethical judgements than female participants. Originality/value The present work is a novel attempt in examining the effect of mindfulness on the relationship between gender and ethical beliefs of consumers. The results of this study can have positive implications for organizations, managers, public policy makers and consumers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 665-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mackenzie R. Zisser ◽  
Sheri L. Johnson ◽  
Michael A. Freeman ◽  
Paige J. Staudenmaier

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine gender differences in personality traits of people with and without entrepreneurial intent to assess whether women who intend to become entrepreneurs exhibit particular tendencies that can be fostered. Design/methodology/approach Participants completed an online battery of well-established questionnaires to cover a range of personality traits relevant to entrepreneurship and gender. Participants also answered items concerning intent to become an entrepreneur. A factor analysis of personality traits produced four factors (esteem and power, ambition, risk propensity and communal tendency, the latter reflecting openness and cooperation, without hubris). The authors constructed four parallel regression models to examine how gender, entrepreneurial intent and the interaction of gender with intent related to these four personality factor scores. Findings Participants who endorsed a desire to become an entrepreneur reported higher ambition. Women with entrepreneurial intentions endorsed higher levels of communal tendency than men with entrepreneurial intent. Those without entrepreneurial intent did not show gender differences in communal tendency. Research limitations/implications Current findings suggest that men and women who intend to become entrepreneurs share many traits, but women with entrepreneurial intent show unique elevations in communal tendencies. Thus, a worthwhile locus for intervention into the gender disparity in self-employment would be providing space and acknowledgement of prosocial motivation and goals as one highly successful route to entrepreneurship. Originality/value Given the underused economic potential of women entrepreneurs, there is a fundamental need for a rich array of research on factors that limit and promote women’s entry into entrepreneurship. Current findings indicate that personality may be one piece of this puzzle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 541-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Lundsgaard Ottsen

Purpose As organizations aim to become increasingly diverse, it is important to understand how perspectives of potential future leaders vary across culture and gender. This study aims to advance the understanding of the persistent gender gap in management. Design/methodology/approach Samples from the gender-segregated Qatar and the co-ed Denmark present a unique opportunity to investigate the potential effects of gender. Here, 115 Middle Easterners and 121 Scandinavians rated perceived importance of job-related skills, networking upward and serendipity in leadership acquisition. Findings Effects of gender showed that compared to men, women across cultures expected that serendipity has less to do with leadership acquisition. Middle Eastern women also showed low expectations regarding networking with people in powerful positions. Nevertheless, both genders showed conviction of meritocracy by rating job-related skills as the most important factor in leadership acquisition. Cross-culturally, Scandinavians presumed job-related skills to be more important than Middle Easterners. Research limitations/implications Despite meritocracy beliefs, it appears that gender differences in perceived possibility of leadership acquisition contribute to the gender gap in management. Scandinavian women relied more on networking than Middle Eastern women, but still lacked faith in serendipitous opportunities compared to male peers. Perceived luck enhances achievement motivation. If men rely more on luck than women, then they are more confident in succeeding and more ambitious about pursuit of leadership. Women’s lack of faith in serendipity might affect their career ambitions negatively even in societies emphasizing equality. Originality/value This is the first study that directly focuses on gender differences in perception of opportunities for leadership acquisition through serendipity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 2219-2232
Author(s):  
Inna Levy ◽  
Pamela Kerschke-Risch

PurposeThe current research focused on attitudes toward food fraud (AFF) and examined the impact of types of food fraud, gender differences, and country of residence.Design/methodology/approachA convenience sample of German (n = 151) and Israeli (n = 496) participants was recruited through an online survey. They filled out a sociodemographic questionnaire and AFF scale, which includes three subscales: organic fraud, kosher fraud, and spraying fraud.FindingsThe results indicate that there is a significant effect of type of fraud, country of residence, and gender. German participants expressed more negative attitudes toward organic food fraud and less negative attitudes toward kosher fraud than Israeli participants. Women expressed more negative attitudes toward organic and kosher food frauds than men.Originality/valueThis study offers insight into cross-cultural and gender differences in attitudes toward food fraud. The findings suggest that public attitudes toward food fraud represent not just severity of possible consequences, but also environmental and religious aspects of consumption, norms and culture.


2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 417-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sindy R. Sumter ◽  
Patti M. Valkenburg ◽  
Jochen Peter

This study investigated perceptions of love across the lifespan using Sternberg’s triangular theory of love, which distinguishes between passion, intimacy, and commitment. The study aimed to (a) investigate the psychometric properties of the short Triangular Love Scale (TLS-short) in adolescents and adults (see Appendix), and (b) track age and gender differences in the three love components of the TLS-short in a sample of 12- to 88-year-olds (N = 2791). The three-factor structure of the TLS-short was confirmed in both the adolescent and adult sample. Adolescents (12–17 years) reported lower levels of all love components compared to young adults (18–30 years). Late adults (50+) reported lower levels of passion and intimacy, but similar levels of commitment compared to young (18–30 years) and middle adults (30–50 years). Gender differences in the perceptions of all three love components were present but less sizeable than suggested in popular accounts and earlier academic research.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Consolmagno Pelegrini ◽  
Gustavo Hermínio Salati Marcondes de Moraes

Purpose This paper aims to enlighten existing gender differences in the linkages between university ecosystem, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention in a developing country. Design/methodology/approach The empirical exercise relies on Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modeling based on data from a probabilistic sample of 467 Brazilian students of 70 universities across the country. Findings The university ecosystem positively influences self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurial intention is also influenced by self-efficacy. Gender difference lies in females’ self-efficacy, which presents a higher impact on entrepreneurial intentions. Research limitations/implications The research used a secondary database, which offered a limited view of the constructs analyzed. Moreover, by evaluating perception conditions, students’ self-evaluation may not offer conditions to better comprehend higher education organizations conditions. Practical implications This paper provided an evaluation of entrepreneurship in universities and gender differences, also presenting an analysis tool for university ecosystems. The assessment of the university ecosystem in two dimensions helps to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of university ecosystems and also the impact they can have on the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which they are inserted. Originality/value This study added in-depth information on the dynamics of entrepreneurial universities and gender differences in the context of a developing country, with a probabilistic sample. Both the comprehensive analysis of the model and the assessment at the variable level bring new evidence that can guide entrepreneurship-oriented initiatives in universities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie A. Yeh ◽  
Robert D. Jewell ◽  
Cesar Zamudio

PurposeThis study aims to investigate age and gender differences in young consumers’ attribute preferences that underlie their choice decisions. This research proposes and finds that attribute preferences are moderated by age but not gender. Understanding how children at different ages evaluate a product’s attributes is essential to new children’s product development.Design/methodology/approachHierarchical Bayesian choice-based conjoint analysis was used to assess attribute importance via a series of choice tasks among children and adults. Adults completed the study by survey, whereas children were interviewed and led through the choice tasks.FindingsThis research finds that the preference structure for a product’s attributes differs systematically based on the age of children. Younger children chose based on perceptually salient attributes of a product, whereas older children chose based on cognitively salient attributes. When children’s attribute preferences are compared to adults, older children value attributes more similarly to adults than younger children. While gender differences were proposed and found, further analysis indicated that these differences were driven by adults in the sample and that no gender differences existed in the children’s age categories.Originality/valueThis study is the first to study children’s preference structure in complex choices with different ages preferring different attributes. By using conjoint analysis, this research is able to understand children’s underlying decision process, as utility scores are obtained providing a level of precision for understanding the underlying process of children’s choices that other studies have not used.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscilla Twumasi Baffour ◽  
Ibrahim Mohammed ◽  
Wassiuw Abdul Rahaman

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences in risk aversion and determine the effect of personality traits on risk aversion from an African country context. Design/methodology/approach The study combined both descriptive and analytical designs, and employed t-test, Pearson’s χ2 and binary logistic regression as the main analytical techniques. Data for the analysis were obtained from the World Bank’s Skills toward Employment and Productivity survey on Ghana. Findings Results of the study revealed systematic differences in personality and gender and their associations with risk aversion. Specifically, women were found to be more risk averse than men. Differences in personality also showed that females reported higher levels of personality in all but one of the Big Five personality traits – extraversion. In addition to gender, age and education, the personality traits of conscientiousness and stability were the main predictors of the likelihood of being risk averse. Although personality differences existed between male and female, the interaction terms between gender and personality factors were not statistically significant. Originality/value The paper departs from the extant literature on developed countries and western cultures to add to the understanding on how individual differences account for variation in revealed risk preferences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-251
Author(s):  
Joana Costa ◽  
Mariana Pita

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold, being the first to grasp a broad picture of entrepreneurship determinants in Qatar, and second, to explore the intermediate effect of gender upon other factors affecting the propensity to become an entrepreneur and highlight gender heterogeneity. Combining theories on entrepreneurship determinants and gender, the study analyses the role of education (general and specific to enterprise), skill perception, social context and fear to fail as determinants of new venture creation in Qatar. The objective of the study is to appraise the determinants of the entrepreneurial activity in Qatar and understand if they hold across genders in terms of significance and magnitude. If so, policy actions can be adjusted to overcome gender gaps. This study aims to design policy recommendations to reinforce the Qatari entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote positive discrimination towards women initiatives in the Gulf region. Design/methodology/approach To understand male and female propensity to entrepreneurial activity in Qatar, a database from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was used, considering data from 2014, with a sample that includes 4,272 individuals. To explore how the explanatory variables affect entrepreneurial propensity and if they hold significance across genders, three logistic regressions were run, the first including the entire sample, and the second and third separating individuals according to the gender. Then, to statistically appraise the differences among groups, a Kruskal–Wallis test was run to evidence group heterogeneity. Marginal effects of the model reinforce gender differences. The analysis was performed using Stata. Findings Different patterns of entrepreneurial propensity can be found among genders, allowing the exploration male and female determinants. The analysis shows that Qatari women are less prone to start a business when compared to men in equal conditions. For women, age is a deterring factor, contrarily to men. Both genders seem to be unconstrained by the fear to fail, still the self-perception of skills has a stronger effect on women. Research limitations/implications First, this study is restricted to the GEM database and covers 4,272 individuals whose representativeness cannot be statistically proved, despite the robustness of the sample size. Second, due to data limitations, the inclusion of theoretically relevant additional variables to the explanation of gender differences, such as economic and institutional determinants of entrepreneurial activity in the country under study, becomes infeasible. Practical implications Despite the conceptual and empirical limitations, the conclusions of the study fulfil literature gaps and offer quantitative and econometric evidences and which allow drawing policy recommendations. Social implications This study sheds a new light about the policy specificities needed to overcome gender differences and to equalise male and female entrepreneurial activity. Originality/value The study identifies gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity. The potential differences are firstly put in theoretical terms and followed by an exploratory analysis comprising statistical analysis and econometric estimations. The results allow examining the profile of male and female entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, the determinants of entrepreneurial initiatives and gender gaps. The study helps policy makers to elaborate adequate strategies to foster gender equality on entrepreneurship, aiming to increase overall entrepreneurial activity and consequently socio-economic development.


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