Positive Claims Research Articles

Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being Among Adolescent Young Carers in Europe: A Cross-National Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Background/Objectives: This cross-national study focuses on adolescents who provide care and support to family members or significant others. Current evidence regarding their mental health and solutions to strengthen it is limited and mostly available in a few countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the results of a primary prevention intervention for improving the mental health and well-being of adolescent young carers (AYCs) aged 15–17 years in six European countries. The intervention was based on a psychoeducational program and tools adapted from the Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor, and Values (DNA-V) model. Methods: We designed a randomized controlled trial with 217 AYCs participating in the study, either in the intervention or control group. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention, and a 3-month follow up. Results: The results were mixed, as positive improvements in primary (i.e., psychological well-being and skills) and secondary (school/training/work functioning) outcomes were shown by the experimental group but, in most cases, they were not statistically significant. The qualitative data supported positive claims about the intervention and its appropriateness for AYCs. Conclusions: The study implementation during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the consortium to adapt the design and may have influenced the results. More long-term studies are needed to assess similar mental health programs with this hard-to-reach target group.

On the “How” and the “Why”: Nietzsche on Happiness and the Meaningful Life

Abstract Nietzsche is commonly interpreted as strongly rejecting and even despising any possible conception (or pursuit) of happiness. And yet, one of the most pervasive topics in Nietzsche’s work is the problem of human suffering, the pursuit of meaning (or purpose) in life, and the possibility of a joyful or affirmative disposition toward existence. In this article, I argue that Nietzsche’s criticism of common conceptions of happiness should be seen as a redefinition, rather than a rejection, of the notion of human happiness, with important implications for contemporary discussions on the topic. I start by addressing three of the main contemporary theories of happiness from a Nietzschean perspective, underlining both the points of convergence and the points of divergence between Nietzsche and each of these accounts. I then gather the conclusions of the previous section, add Nietzsche’s positive claims on happiness and the meaningful life, and sketch what might be called a Nietzschean theory of happiness. Finally, I situate Nietzsche’s position in the contemporary debate on the topic and outline what I take to be his most important contributions to current discussions on happiness, meaning, and well-being in human life.

God’s Unity and Unity with God: Polemical Interpretations of John 17:20–23 in the Fourth Century

Abstract There are no previous studies of Christ’s prayer in John 17:20–23 as a key text which was debated from multiple theological perspectives in the fourth-century controversies. This article provides a close study of the polemical interpretation of John 17:20–23 in Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius of Alexandria, and Hilary of Poitiers. The article considers each interpreter’s exegetical techniques, the views of his opponent(s), and his own positive theological claims. In the conclusion, a taxonomy of these interpretations is provided according to the following criteria: (1) Father–Son unity; (2) καθὼς clauses; (3) God–creature unity. The primary question for each interpreter is: to what extent is the Son’s own unity with the Father paradigmatic for the saints’ unity with the Father? Both Eusebius and Hilary argued that the Son’s own unity with the Father is (with qualifications) actually bestowed upon the saints. They each understood the objective of Christ’s prayer as the realization of a God–creature unity in which the saints are united to the Father ‘just as’ the Son. Athanasius, by contrast, argued that Christ’s prayer exhorts the saints to become one among themselves by learning from the example of the Son’s unity with the Father. Insofar as the saints become one with God, Athanasius insists that such a God–creature unity is radically distinct from the Son’s unity of nature with the Father. Yet for Hilary, this natural unity with the Father is also granted to creatures: to the Son’s own humanity, and to all who are united with it.

Toward an innovation radar for cultivated meat: exploring process technologies for cultivated meat and claims about their social impacts

IntroductionCultivated meat has received growing attention since claims were made that cultivated meat can be produced more ethically and sustainably than the current meat production. However, there are still major challenges in the development of cell lines, scaffolding, growth media, and bioprocess, which need to be overcome to reach industrial production levels. Numerous technological innovations have been proposed to overcome these challenges but they have rarely been evaluated with regard to their social sustainability. Consequently, it remains unclear if and how cultivated meat would contribute towards creating inclusive food systems.MethodsTo bring more clarity, the study identifies different technological solutions that are used or developed for production of cultivated meat and identifies the positive and negative claims about the expected contributions of these technological solutions to social inclusion in food systems, using evidence from the literature review and 11 expert interviews. An innovation radar for cultivated meat is proposed to visualise the variety of technological innovations and the claims about their expected contributions to social sustainability.ResultsThe technologies in the areas cell line development, scaffolding, growth media, and bioprocess are expected to have an impact on inclusion in consumption of cultivated meat. Some cell innovations are expected to raise cognitive barriers due to complex technologies that might be difficult for the consumer to understand. Cultural barriers are expected to be raised by cell innovation entailing genetic engineering and medium innovation using FBS or animal components, which is considered to harm animals. Further, regulatory barriers are expected in the EU if genetic modification is used in the production process, which concerns the areas cells, media, and scaffolding. The innovations for scaffolds are expected to mainly lower cost and cultural barriers since most technologies are already used in the food industry. Bioprocess innovations promise to lower cost barriers, however it must be considered, that most of the collected data for innovations in the bioprocess domain are based on assumptions.DiscussionThe study concludes that at this point in time, the most socially sustainable approach to cultivated meat production is not obvious. Under the current technological state of the art, it is not thinkable that production and consumption of cultivated meat could be socially inclusive. As it remains poorly understood if technologies for cultivated meat production could raise or lower barriers to inclusive consumption and production, further research is needed.

Impact of product packaging messages on consumer perceptions and choice: The role of health claims and bonus pack promotions

This study used mixed methods to explore the impact of front-of-package health claims and bonus pack messages on consumer evaluations. First, a comprehensive audit of cereal box packages at the world's largest retailer examined how these messages are presented in practice. It was found that negative claims are more frequent and positive claims are less frequent on products with a bonus pack message compared to those without. A subsequent experiment investigated how combinations of health claims and bonus pack messages influence consumer evaluations. It also found that health claims significantly influenced consumer preferences, while bonus pack messages diminished perceptions of food healthiness but increased perceived value. Pairing positive health claims with bonus pack messages, such as “Family Size,” improved perceptions of healthiness. Moreover, positive health claims made products seem of lower value, whereas negative health claims did not affect perceived value. Health claims negatively affected value perceptions, even when paired with bonus pack messages like “Large Size.” However, the negative effect of health claims on tastiness perceptions was mitigated with “Large Size”. The study underscores the complexity of consumer decision-making, and offer insights for food marketers, emphasizing the need of a strategic approach in crafting health-related messaging and promotional strategies for product packaging.

Enhanced gradient boosting for zero-inflated insurance claims and comparative analysis of CatBoost, XGBoost, and LightGBM

The property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry faces challenges in developing claim predictive models due to the highly right-skewed distribution of positive claims with excess zeros. To address this, actuarial science researchers have employed ‘zero-inflated’ models that combine a traditional count model and a binary model. This paper investigates the use of boosting algorithms to process insurance claim data, including zero-inflated telematics data, to construct claim frequency models. Three popular gradient boosting libraries - XGBoost, LightGBM, and CatBoost -- are evaluated and compared to determine the most suitable library for training insurance claim data and fitting actuarial frequency models. Through a comprehensive analysis of two distinct datasets, it is determined that CatBoost is the best for developing auto claim frequency models based on predictive performance. Furthermore, we propose a new zero-inflated Poisson boosted tree model, with variation in the assumption about the relationship between inflation probability p and distribution mean μ, and find that it outperforms others depending on the characteristics of the data. This model enables us to take advantage of particular CatBoost tools, which makes it easier and more convenient to investigate the effects and interactions of various risk features on the frequency model when using telematics data.

Age-Gating and Marketing Differences Between Storefront and Non-Storefront Cannabis Retailers

Objective: The study investigated whether California storefront and non-storefront cannabis retailers are adhering to online age-gating requirements and whether differences in website marketing practices exist. Methods: Websites of 134 storefront and 115 non-storefront licensed retailers were randomly selected. Bivariate associations were tested between retailer type and website marketing, age-gating methods, and presence of age-gating at various purchase stages. Results: Among the 200 (80.3%) websites with age-gating when entering, 182 (91%) employed an ineffective method where users click either “Yes” or “No” to confirm their age. Moreover, 49 (19.68%) websites lacked age-gating when entering. Amongst those requiring photo identification during checkout (n = 100, 40.16%), 97% allowed users to proceed after uploading an irrelevant image. Significantly more storefront retailers employed combined age-gating at entry, mandatory account registration, and age-gating during checkout than non-storefront retailers (X2 (1, N = 249) = 7.69, p < .01). Retailer websites frequently displayed “clean” labels (n = 200, 80.32%), followed by positive state claims (n = 198, 79.52%), physical health claims (n = 166, 66.67%), and mental health claims (n = 146, 58.63%). Significantly more storefront retailers displayed physical health claims (X2 (1, N = 249) = 7.52, p < .01) and health warnings than non-storefront retailers (X2 (1, N = 249) = 4.13, p = .04). Conclusions: Most cannabis retailers comply with age-gating requirements; however, methods employed are easily circumvented. Youths’ easy and unrestricted access to cannabis retailer websites may increase positive attitudes about cannabis and encourage use.

Using Eye tracking to Examine Young Adults' Visual Attention to E-cigarette Advertising Features and Associated Positive E-cigarette Perceptions.

Little is known about the influence of e-cigarette marketing features on the antecedents of e-cigarette use. Using an eye-tracking experiment, we examined visual attention to common features in e-cigarette ads and its associations with positive e-cigarette perceptions among young adults. Young adults (ages 18-29) who smoke cigarettes (n = 40) or do not use tobacco (n = 71) viewed 30 e-cigarette ads on a computer screen. Eye-tracking technology measured dwell time (fixation duration) and entry time (time to first fixation) for 14 pre-defined ad features. Participants then completed a survey about perceptions of e-cigarettes shown in the ads. We used regression models to examine the associations between ad features and standardized attention metrics among all participants and by tobacco-use status and person-aggregated standardized attention for each ad feature and positive e-cigarette perceptions. Dwell time was the longest for smoker-targeted claims, positive experience claims, and price promotions. Entry time was the shortest for multiple flavor descriptions, nicotine warnings, and people. Those who do not use tobacco had a longer dwell time for minor sales restrictions and longer entry time for purchasing information than those who smoke. Longer dwell time for multiple flavor descriptions was associated with e-cigarette appeal. A shorter entry time for fruit flavor description was associated with positive e-cigarette-use expectancies. Young adults allocated attention differently to various e-cigarette ad features, and such viewing patterns were largely similar by tobacco-use statuses. Multiple or fruit flavors may be the features that contribute to the positive influence of e-cigarette marketing among young adults.

Increased eating disorder frequency and body image disturbance among fashion models due to intense environmental pressure: a content analysis.

Female fashion models are under intense occupational pressure. The present study focuses on assessing the lived experience of fashion models with regards to their dieting and exercising habits, body image perception, eating disorder-like symptoms, and experience of abuse via self-narrated reports. Series of open questions were distributed among international fashion models (N=84, mean age=23.2 years; mean BMI=16.9) selected by convenience and snowball sampling. Models from 17 countries participated. The questions targeted models' eating, exercising, dieting habits, body image perception, and eating disorder symptoms. The average word count of the transcripts was 2473.9 (SD = 2791.6). Thematic content analysis was performed on the transcripts. A total of 31 codes were created to address disordered eating and body image concerns. Negative body-related claims appeared in 89.3%, and positive claims in 64.3% of the models' transcripts. Negative remarks about eating were made by 45.2% of the participants, and 23.8% positively. Control over their food intake was exercised by 78.6% of the participants and 40.5% used extreme calorie restriction. Models who talked more positively about their bodies expressed significantly more frequently extreme calorie restriction. Extreme sports habits occurred in 23.8% of the transcripts, obsessive sports habits were claimed by 11.9% of participants. Self-induced vomiting was prominent in 14.3% of the answers. Criticism from other industry members was experienced by 83.3% of the participants while 44.0% received body appreciation. Body image disorder-like symptoms were expressed by 63.1% of models. Such models mentioned significantly more often content about eating disorders and talked significantly more negatively about eating. Psychological problems were mentioned by 48.8%, whereas 16.7% took part in psychotherapy. Those who partake in therapy mentioned significantly more eating disorder content in their narratives. Abuse was mentioned by 25.0% of the models. Fashion models are experiencing increased environmental pressure to conform to the extreme slimness ideal. There is a heightened prevalence of disordered eating and other weight-controlling behaviours among fashion models to succeed in their careers. Qualitative research is crucial in understanding the more subtle dynamics in conforming to and maintaining the thin beauty ideal.

Processed vegan food packaging: influencing vegan diet and lifestyle consumption choices

As the demand for plant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) continues to surge globally, understanding the marketing strategies that drive consumer choice becomes imperative(1). This research project, part of a larger study at Massey University, explores the design and packaging of vegan food products, specifically focusing on processed PBMAs and how this influences vegan diet consumption choices in New Zealand vegans. We examined the packaging of vegan processed food available in New Zealand supermarkets and those promoted online, with a focus on processed PBMAs. This informed the development of an online survey including: demographics, motivations for following a vegan diet, and questions related to perceptions and preferences about vegan diets and processed PBMA packaging. The survey was offered to individuals who had previously participated in vegan research at Massey University and followed a strict vegan diet. There were 235 participants of whom 198 completed the survey. This consisted of primarily females (n = 156, 74%) and individuals of New Zealand European descent (n = 159, 71%), aged 18 to 76 years (37.8 ± 12.3). The participants had varying durations of following a vegan diet, with the largest group (n = 87, 42%) adopting it for 5 to 10 years. The primary motivation for following a vegan diet was animal welfare (n = 205), followed by environmental concerns (n = 189) and health (n = 175). Participants were able to select more than one option, suggesting there are often multiple reasons for choosing to follow a vegan diet. Factors influencing purchase decisions for PBMAs included nutrient claims on packaging, with protein having the highest positive influence. Environmental concerns also played a significant role, with eco-friendly packaging and positive environmental claims being important. Packaging images, particularly of the final prepared product, had a significantly positive impact on purchasing decisions (4.12 ± 0.78) where 1 represented a negative influence and 5 represented a positive influence on a Likert Scale. The majority sometimes, or always checked the nutrition information panel (n = 167, 85%) and examined the ingredients (n = 191, 98%). Participants reported concern about the nutritional value of processed PBMAs (n = 94), and reported that they are aware that these foods are classified as ‘ultra-processed (n = 91). This research provides valuable insights into the reasons people choose vegan diets and what influences their choices when it comes to purchasing PBMAs. It highlights the significance of marketing strategies in the plant-based meat alternatives industry. However, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this evolving market, further research is necessary. Future research should consider a wider range of demographics and regional distinctions to better understand how consumer preferences in plant-based diets are changing. This should also include looking at how the market is maturing, with buyers becoming more aware of things like nutrients and the processing of food, which can impact the sustainable food choices individuals make.

Reducing the negative impact of ultra-processed foods: Consumer response to natural claims, organic claims, and processing level disclosures

Drawing from theories related to choice architecture, nudges, and the integration of negative and positive information, this research examines the use of ultra-processing package disclosures in conjunction with favorable food processing claims (e.g., “natural,” “organic”) and nutrient content (e.g., sugar) warnings on perceived food processing level, disease risk evaluations, and purchase intentions. Four studies examine how marketers’ positive claims and disclosures interact to jointly affect consumer evaluations of these outcomes. Results show the usefulness of stop-sign disclosures for ultra-processed foods in counterbalancing the positive inferences created from both unregulated (e.g., natural) and regulated (e.g., organic) package claims on perceived food processing level, which mediates the interaction effects on perceptions of disease risk, healthfulness, and purchase intentions. Because high ultra-processed food consumption has recently been linked to increased obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, there are implications of results for CPG marketers, consumers, and the global health community, as well as enhancing the conceptual understanding of efforts to promote consumer well-being.

Politeness Strategies in Barbershop

This article is related to the politeness strategies used in the Barbershop. This research was conducted to determine politeness strategies used by the barber and their reasons for using those strategies. This research is descriptive qualitative research. To get the data, some field observations. In conducting the analysis, the step used is to identify politeness strategy, classify and explain politeness strategies based on Brown's theory and Levinson (1987). The results showed that there were four strategies found, namely bald on record, politeness in the positive and the negative and off record. The most dominant strategy is positive politeness strategy. The positive politeness strategy is actually a positive-oriented strategy the listener's positive face, the positive self-image he claims for himself. This strategy is mostly affected where the conversation takes place. Another finding from this research is the most dominant strategy in positive politeness used in conversation. In fact, the conversation is basic positive-politeness techniques used to minimize and to avoid confrontation and deep evaluation reasons also to make people talk differently. Because of this conversation, it makes the atmosphere better and fun, and so can the customer manage the relationship and not threaten the face of the heir.

The Impact of a one-day adventure-based experiential lernaing programme on the communication competence of adult learners at a business school

In today’s dynamic business environment, every avenue that can contribute to fostering business performance has to be embraced. Interest in the contribution of communication to organisational effectiveness and performance has increased considerably in the last few decades. Despite positive claims made by advocates of adventure-based experiential learning programmes (AEL), the expansion of AEL into business schools and the corporate world necessitates ongoing empirical investigations. The aim of the study was to determine the developmental impact of a one-day programme on the communication competence of adult learners at a business school. The Communicative Adaptability Scale was administered as pre- and post-test measurement to adult learners with a permanent work appointment who enrolled for a qualification in management leadership in a business school at a university in South Africa. The overall post-test scores of the experimental group (n=140) were significantly higher (p=0.0001) than the post-test scores of the control group (n=126). The post-test scores of five dimensions differed significantly (p<0.05) from the post-test scores of the control group. The findings indicate the potential efficacy of an AEL course for the development of communication competence in adult learners. Ongoing research directed at principles underlying the application of particular methodologies and other programmatic factors to maximise efficacy in reaching the desired outcomes of the interventions, are required.

Increasing soil protist diversity alters tomato plant biomass in a stress-dependent manner

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) often correlate positively with BEF studies focusing mostly on plant diversity manipulations. Plant performance is directly and indirectly impacted by soil organisms, but the role of increasing soil biodiversity on plant performance has mainly been tested in an uncontrolled way or with low biodiversity levels. An additional knowledge gap exists on the effect of (interactive) global change drivers – such as drought – on the soil BEF (sBEF) relationship. We here tested sBEF relationships by manipulating microbiome predatory protist diversity (0–30 species) in ambient controls and under abiotic (drought) and biotic stresses (nematode addition dominated by plant parasites). We then used plant (Solanum lycopersicum) biomass as a response in an 8-week greenhouse experiment. We show that the increasing biodiversity effect on plant biomass ranged from positive (up to 23% with biotic stress), to neutral (ambient conditions and with both stresses co-occurring), to negative (up to 39% with abiotic stress). Together, sBEF relationships were context-dependent and often contradicted generally reported positive (s)BEF relationships. Therefore, we propose that positive sBEF claims likely are not the norm and should be evaluated in a context-dependent manner. To better elucidate sBEF relationships, more manipulative studies should be performed under different conditions such as global change drivers and with a range of organismal groups.

Factors Governing Organic Amendments and NPK Fertilizers Effects on Sweet Maize in Old and Intensively Cultivated Experimental Farm

Applying organic amendment (OA) containing humic compounds (HC) and phytohormones is a promising solution to intensify sustainable food production under increasing global food needs, declining environmental carrying capacity and changing climate. However, most positive claims on OA efficacy often came from controlled, greenhouse experiments. The field trial was conducted on an intensively cultivated experimental farm station, Department of Soil Science and Land Resources, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University. The OA testing was done on sweet maize (Zea mays L. saccharata) using a fractional factorial randomized block design by comparing five rates of the organic amendment (0, ½, 1, 1½, and 2 standards OA) with three rates of NPK fertilizer (0, 1, and ¾ standards NPK). The results revealed that a single OA application did not significantly boost the growth and biomass of sweet maize, especially when applied to an old and intensively cultivate and organically manured farm. OA had significant interaction with NPK at most of the yields and biomass parameters. Amending soils more than 12 L OA ha-1 could improve the sweet maize’s growth and development while saving 25% NPK fertilizers. Linear mixed effect model and multivariate analysis uncovered higher heterogeneity in trial plots controlled maize growth, biomass, and agronomic effectivity, regardless of the given treatments. This study highlighted three important marks for future research: (1) soil plowing, harrowing and mixing must be intensively done across plots, (2) adequate HC contents must be increased from the OA current rate, and (3) the greater role of phytohormone in stimulating maize growth and production at the OA current rate.

Means to valuable exploration II: How to explore data to modify existing claims and create new ones

Transparent exploration in science invites novel discoveries by stimulating new or modified claims about hypotheses, models, and theories. In this second article of two consecutive parts, we outline how to explore data patterns that inform such claims. Transparent exploration should be guided by two contrasting goals: comprehensiveness and efficiency. Comprehensivenes calls for a thorough search across all variables and possible analyses as to not to miss anything that might be hidden in the data. Efficiency adds that new and modified claims should withstand severe testing with new data and give rise to relevant new knowledge. Efficiency aims to reduce false positive claims, which is better achieved if a bunch of results is reduced into a few claims. Means for increasing efficiency are methods for filtering local data patterns (e.g., only interpreting associations that pass statistical tests or using cross-validation) and for smoothing global data patterns (e.g., reducing associations to relations between a few latent variables). We suggest that researchers should condense their results with filtering and smoothing before publication. Coming up with just a few most promising claims saves resources for confirmation trials and keeps scientific communication lean. This should foster the acceptance of transparent exploration. We end with recommendations derived from the considerations in both parts: an exploratory research agenda and suggestions for stakeholders such as journal editors on how to implement more valuable exploration. These include special journal sections or entire journals dedicated to explorative research and a mandatory separate listing of the confirmed and new claims in a paper’s abstract.

Neural networks for quantile claim amount estimation: a quantile regression approach

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss the estimation of conditional quantiles of aggregate claim amounts for non-life insurance embedding the problem in a quantile regression framework using the neural network approach. As the first step, we consider the quantile regression neural networks (QRNN) procedure to compute quantiles for the insurance ratemaking framework. As the second step, we propose a new quantile regression combined actuarial neural network (Quantile-CANN) combining the traditional quantile regression approach with a QRNN. In both cases, we adopt a two-part model scheme where we fit a logistic regression to estimate the probability of positive claims and the QRNN model or the Quantile-CANN for the positive outcomes. Through a case study based on a health insurance dataset, we highlight the overall better performances of the proposed models with respect to the classical quantile regression one. We then use the estimated quantiles to calculate a loaded premium following the quantile premium principle, showing that the proposed models provide a better risk differentiation.

Исследование эффекта применения трехчастных конструкций «правила трех» в рекламе

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective. </strong>To get closer to understanding the possibility of using the effect of three-part constructions in advertising in relation to the Russian segment of consumers. To consider the effect of the effect of three-part constructions in advertising relative to the level of education and consumer skepticism.<br><strong>Background. </strong>The credibility of an advertising message consists of many factors. One of them is the number of positive reviews about the advertised product. As for the theory of American psychologists S.B. Shu and K.A. Carlson, three-part constructions or the "rule of three" suggest that a construction of three positive statements about a product is the most favorable combination for consumers, while a large number of statements causes skepticism and distrust of advertising. This study was conducted in the Russian segment of consumers with higher and incomplete higher education. The study of the effectiveness of advertising in relation to its reliability in relation to consumers is certainly an urgent topic in relation to marketing.<br><strong>Study design. </strong>The study examined the relationship between higher education, impression skepticism, and the number of positive product claims in advertising. The presence and nature of the relationship were checked through the construction of a linear regression model.<br><strong>Participants. </strong>Russian sample (pilot study): 24 people, of which 14 are women and 10 are men. Participant’s ages ranged from 20 to 76 years (<em>M</em> = 27,0; <em>SD</em> = 13,9). Study: 110 people, of which 72 are women and 38 are men aged 18 to 76 years (<em>M</em> = 30,0; <em>SD</em> = 12,6). The number of respondents with higher education was 56 people, without higher education – 54 people.<br><strong>Measurements </strong>Analysis of the regression model. The method of expert assessments. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov criteria were used to assess the nature of the data distribution.<br><strong>Results. </strong>The impressions from advertising with one positive statement about the product are higher among respondents with higher education; the impression of advertising with three and four statements is not interconnected with the presence of higher education; in relation to advertising with five statements, it was found that the impression is better for people without higher education. Low skepticism subjects were found to prefer ads with more product descriptions (5 or 6). In the group of respondents with higher education and a low level of skepticism, a predisposition to advertising with one and two positive statements about the product was found. Regarding the group of respondents with incomplete higher education and low level of skepticism, there was a tendency to advertise with five statements.<br><strong>Conclusions. </strong>The hypotheses that were confirmed showed that the presence of low levels of skepticism among respondents is associated with a stronger impression of advertising with one, two, five and six positive statements about the product. Regarding the three and four positive statements, the phenomenon was not observed. The study did not find any relationship between the level of education and the effect of the “effect of three” in the advertising message, which suggests the presence of this feature among the Russian segment of consumers.</p>

Conscientious commitment, professional obligations and abortion provision after the reversal of Roe v Wade

We argue that, in certain circumstances, doctors might be professionally justified to provide abortions even in those jurisdictions where abortion is illegal. That it is at least professionally permissible does...

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN CLAIM SETTLEMENTS IN A NON-LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Delivering high quality service is a winning strategy in every business. However, many struggle to improve their services. Quality service is essential for a competitive business advantage as it sustains customers. This study aimed to determine the customer satisfaction in claim settlements in a non-life insurance corporation. Specifically, it seeks to answer the factors affecting the company in terms of insurance line, years as policyholder, reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy, and responsiveness or RATER Metrics and to develop an action plan on how insurance company can increase customer satisfaction in terms of claim settlement. A total of fifty (50) insured members from head office and branches were the participants of this quantitative study. Descriptive method was used to achieve its objectives which primarily focuses on determining the customer satisfaction in claim settlements. The survey questionnaire was the main research instrument used. The following conclusion were drawn: 1) Most of the participants/policyholders belonged to the age group of 31-40, male, married, college graduate, filed motor claim and insured member for more than 6 years. 2) The results showed that the participants were somewhat satisfied in terms of empathy; satisfied in tangibility and responsiveness; very satisfied in reliability and assurance. 3) There is no significant difference between the extent of customer satisfaction when grouped according to gender, civil status, educational attainment, insurance line and years as an insured. On the other hand, there is a seen significance on the assessments when the participants are grouped according to age with p-value of 0.002. The study recommends annual training for employees, agents, and insurance brokers to disseminate the proper procedures in processing claims to insured members to improve positive claims experience. Adapt to the new normal and identify, formulate, and implement appropriate strategies.