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The rapid progress of neuroscience and the interdisciplinary collaboration between neuroscience and psychology have begun to provide valuable insights for understanding the dynamic and implicit nature of human motivation by identifying the in vivo neural mechanism of motivation. One of the fundamental questions in the field of the neuroscience of motivation is what neural mechanisms underlie the direction, intensity, and guidance of our motivation and subsequent actions. This prologue explains how neuroscience can contribute to the understanding of human motivation. To accomplish this purpose, we present what neuroscientific data look like, identify 13 key motivation-relevant brain structures, and introduce 3 key motivation-centric brain circuits – namely, the reward circuit, the value-based decision-making pathway, and the self-regulation/self-control network.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of parental and peer norms on idol worship as well as the effect of idol worship on the intention to purchase and obtain the idol’s music products legally and illegally.

A stratified, two-stage, cluster sampling procedure was applied to a list of high schools obtained from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. A return rate of 80 per cent yielded 723 usable questionnaires, the data from which were analysed by the LISREL structural equation modelling software.

The results suggest that both social worship and personal worship have a significant and positive impact on the intention to purchase music. However, personal worship has a negative impact on the intention to pirate music while social worship appears to strengthen it.

The findings suggest that idol worship is more complex than previously understood. The constructs chosen in this research should be seen only as a snapshot but other variables such as vanity trait, autonomy, romanticism or involvement are not taken into account. Future studies would benefit from inclusion of these variables and a wider geographical scope.

The findings contain many implications to help marketing executives and planners better revise their existing marketing and communication strategies to increase their revenue.

Existing research has tended to examine the impact of idol worship as a whole on the reduction of music piracy, but overlook the two-dimensional aspects of idol worship, hence ignoring the fact that many music firms have not properly utilised idol worship to deal with the challenges associated with music piracy. The findings broaden existing understanding about the causes of two different dimensions of idol worship and their different impacts on the intention to music piracy.

Brand love is perceived as one of the main objectives in brand management. Nevertheless, research into the factors influencing brand love are scarce. This paper aims to apply the theory of planned behaviour to the context of brand love and investigate the influence of several factors on brand love, including attitude towards loving a brand, subjective norm and perceived control factors, namely, the propensity to anthropomorphise and the affordability of the brand. Further, the influence of brand love on brand forgiveness is proven. Additionally, this research investigates the influence of involvement with the product category on the proposed relationship.

A survey (N = 274) was used to test the model in the context of fashion industry with the help of a convenience sample. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and (multi-group) structural equation modelling techniques assessed the proposed model.

Results show that the proposed model gives valuable insights to brand love, where involvement serves as a moderator. While the attitude towards loving a brand has a strong influence on brand love for both high and low involved consumers, affordability only plays a minor role for experiencing brand love. Subjective norm is found to facilitate brand love for high-involved consumers, while propensity to anthropomorphise leads to higher brand love for low involved consumers.

This paper demonstrates the applicability of the theory of planned behaviour to a consumer–brand relationship context. This adds to a deeper theoretical understanding of the managerially relevant construct of brand love. Further, the study demonstrates that brand lovers are more forgiving in times of disappointment. Introducing involvement into the research model provides valuable insights into the processes underlying brand love.

This study aims to examine the effects of self-image congruities (i.e. the match between the image of a product or brand and a customer’s image of themselves) as an affective psychological process in the context of a restaurant setting. The study proposed that a customer’s perception of congruity between his or her self-image and a restaurant could be a salient antecedent for eliciting positive affects toward restaurants, which may influences customers’ evaluations of the functional attributes of a restaurant. The relative effects of actual versus ideal self-image congruity on positive affects, along with the moderating effect of the type of restaurant, were also investigated.

An online survey was developed and distributed to randomly selected respondents in the USA and a total of 376 responses were used for the data analyses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the relationships among five constructs: actual self-image congruity, ideal self-image congruity, positive affect, evaluation of the restaurant experience and revisiting intentions. To investigate the moderating effect of the restaurant type – more specifically, to examine differences in relative importance of actual versus ideal self-image congruity based on the type of restaurant (casual dining versus fine dining) – multiple group analyses were executed.

The results showed that both actual and ideal self-image congruity significantly influence positive affect, which has a significant influence on customers’ evaluations of the functional attributes of a restaurant. Actual self-image congruity effect on positive affect was significant in casual dining restaurants, but it was not significant in fine-dining restaurants. Ideal self-image congruity effect on positive affect was significant in both casual and fine-dining restaurant.

This study provides practical implications for developing an effective marketing communication in terms of promoting different segments of restaurant (casual dining vs fine-dining) based upon the customers’ perception of self-image congruity.

This paper includes a theoretical model that explains whether self-image congruity is a salient antecedent influencing restaurant customers’ positive feelings toward a restaurant brand. It also examined the relative effects of actual versus ideal self-image congruities in different restaurant settings.

TO define the science of photo‐elasticity we need but say that, with the aid of certain optical equipment, it enables us to see the pattern of stress simultaneously over the entire extent of a scale model under test. If desired, the pattern may be seen in all the delicate hues of the spectrum, but for exact analytical measurement it is sometimes preferable to obtain the sharp‐edged black and white tracing by means of monochromatic light. We might with reason add that the pattern so depicted is complete down to the last detail and represents, in many cases, a unique solution of a complex mathematical problem in elastic deformation. Its application to mechanical engineering design has been widespread and is still reaching out into new fields. By its use it is now possible to trace and measure the intensity and internal distribution of stress in loaded components far more speedily and accurately than can be achieved by any other method.

This paper aims to investigate infant sensory patterns and their associations with previous perinatal loss, maternal-foetal attachment and postnatal maternal sensory patterns.

In a prospective cohort study, women with and without perinatal loss (N = 57) were recruited from an Australian public hospital. Participants were surveyed during pregnancy (maternal-foetal attachment, loss) and again postnatally (maternal/infant sensory patterns). Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses controlling for previous perinatal loss were conducted with infant sensory patterns as outcome variables.

“More than typical” infant low registration was associated with poorer quality of maternal-foetal attachment. “More than typical” infant sensory seeking was associated with previous perinatal loss and higher levels of maternal sensory seeking. “More than typical” infant sensory sensitivity was linked with previous perinatal loss, poorer quality of maternal-foetal attachment and higher maternal low registration. “More than typical” infant sensory avoidance was associated with poorer quality of maternal-foetal attachment and higher levels of maternal sensory sensitivity.

To support more typical infant sensory patterns, results point to the potential benefit of occupational therapists supporting pregnant women with previous perinatal loss; facilitating favourable maternal-foetal attachment; and educating new mothers on how their sensory patterns impact on interactions with their infant. Sensory modulation strategies that consider the sensory patterns of both mother and infant may be beneficial to promote engagement in co-occupations.

These findings are the first to suggest that previous perinatal loss, poorer quality of maternal-foetal attachment and higher levels of maternal postnatal sensory patterns represent risk factors for infant sensory patterns that are “more than typical.”

PHOTO‐ELASTICITY is not a new subject. In recent years much progress has been made towards a simplified technique, so that this method of stress analysis is now becoming popular in industry, and is giving valuable information about the failure of engineering parts. There is no mystery about the method; the application of photo‐elasticity is found to require not so much the learned scientist for its satisfactory execution, but rather the man with a sound common sense and a knowledge of the fundamental principles underlying engineering problems. It is found, too, that if the method is intelligently applied it is comparatively cheap and can well repay itself by saving thousands of pounds worth of damage caused by failures under service conditions. To the practical designer photo‐elasticity provides him with one of the most powerful weapons by which he may analyse the stresses existing in complicated engineering parts. In effect the responsibility of a design is passed from the intuitive thought within a designer's mind to the certainty of facts.

Purpose – This chapter addresses the nature, formalization, and neural bases of (affective) social ties and discusses the relevance of ties for health economics. A social tie is defined as an affective weight attached by an individual to the well-being of another individual (‘utility interdependence’). Ties can be positive or negative, and symmetric or asymmetric between individuals. Characteristic of a social tie, as conceived of here, is that it develops over time under the influence of interaction, in contrast with a trait like altruism. Moreover, a tie is not related to strategic behavior such as reputation formation but seen as generated by affective responses.

Methodology/approach – A formalization is presented together with some supportive evidence from behavioral experiments. This is followed by a discussion of related psychological constructs and the presentation of suggestive existing neural findings. To help prepare the grounds for a model-based neural analysis some speculations on the neural networks involved are provided, together with suggestions for future research.

Findings – Social ties are not only found to be important from an economic viewpoint, it is also shown that they can be modeled and related to neural substrates.

Originality/value of the chapter – By providing an overview of the economic research on social ties and connecting it with the broader behavioral and neuroeconomics literature, the chapter may contribute to the development of a neuroeconomics of social ties.

In North America, delegated practice “medical direction” models are often used as a proxy for clinical quality and safety in paramedic services. Other developed countries favor a combination of professional regulatory boards and clinical governance frameworks that feature paramedics taking lead clinician roles. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the evidence for medical direction and clinical governance in paramedic services through the prism of paramedic self-regulation.

This narrative synthesis critically examines the long-established North American Emergency Medical Services medical direction model and makes some comparisons with the UK inspired clinical governance approaches that are used to monitor and manage the quality and safety in several other Anglo-American paramedic services. The databases searched were CINAHL and Medline, with Google Scholar used to capture further publications.

Synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature found little high quality evidence supporting the effectiveness of medical direction. The literature on clinical governance within paramedic services described a systems approach with shared responsibility for quality and safety. Contemporary paramedic clinical leadership papers in developed countries focus on paramedic professionalization and the self-regulation of paramedics.

The lack of strong evidence supporting medical direction of the paramedic profession in developed countries challenges the North American model of paramedics practicing as a companion profession to medicine under delegated practice model. This model is inconsistent with the international vision of paramedicine as an autonomous, self-regulated health profession.

This study aims to examine the effect of actual and persona self-congruence on luxury brand attachment and the effects of luxury brand attachment on attitude toward luxury brands and purchase intentions using empirical data on Metaverse users.

The authors recruited 300 Metaverse users from South Korea to participate in the survey. Participants were asked whether the participants had experienced Metaverse, including Roblox and Zepeto, before participating in the survey. The Gucci Garden was suggested as a luxury brand in the Metaverse for the participants.

The findings clarify the concept of persona self-congruence and support the congruence's effects on luxury brand attachment in the Metaverse context. This study found a positive relationship between persona self-congruence and luxury brand attachment that influences attitude and purchase intentions in the context of Metaverse, contributing to the theoretical and practical implications for luxury brand management.

This study contributes to luxury brand marketing in the Metaverse context by clarifying the concept of persona self-congruence and articulating the congruence's effects on luxury brand attachment in the context of the Metaverse.

In the post-pandemic world, this study offers luxury brand practitioners new insights to help the practitioners develop and manage luxury brand strategies by understanding the influence of persona self-congruence and luxury brand attachment on luxury brand evaluation in the Metaverse context.

This study addresses an innovative and practical issue related to the impact of persona self-congruence on luxury brand attachment in the Metaverse, offering new insights for luxury brand management in the post-pandemic world.