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The purpose of this study aims to identify the impact of verbal-visual cognitive styles on the level of satisfaction and behavior in the textual and content search of Google Images.

“Riding” cognitive style test and satisfaction questionnaire were used as data collection tools. Also, to collect data related to the image search behavior, the subjects’ transaction files were recorded using Camtasia software and then the files observed and reviewed. The research sample was 90 postgraduate students of Shiraz University.

The results showed that cognitive styles in interaction with the text-based and content-based search system of “Google Images” affected user’s satisfaction. Text-based image retrieval, in which vocabulary-based information needs were expressed, was more compatible with the verbal cognitive style and resulted in greater satisfaction. In contrast, in content-based image retrieval, where it was possible to express information needs in the form of images, users were more satisfied with the visual cognitive style. Verbal users performed more positively in text-based search and visual users in content-based search.

Considering the research gap, which has identified the performance of visual text-based and content-based systems in terms of satisfaction and cognitive style search behavior, the present study could be considered a small effort to promote science.

The purpose of this paper is to determine if “fit” and “non-fit” between authoritarian versus demonstrator teaching and visual versus verbal learning preferences differ in impact on Chinese MBA student academic performance in a large local urban Chinese university setting. In addition, the role of Chinese cultural behavioral tendencies in dictating specific teaching and learning style preferences among Chinese MBA students is also examined.

Subjects were 135 Chinese MBA students that indicated their learning style preference (verbal or visual) and predominant teaching style encountered (authoritarian or demonstrator). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) main effects were used to identify the best teaching style and best learning style. ANOVA interaction effects were used to test the meshing hypothesis (i.e. teaching-learning style “fit” versus “non-fit” conditions).

The results provided support for the mesh hypothesis – teaching style – learning style fit does matter. In general, authoritarian teaching was superior to demonstrator, and verbal learning was superior to visual. Findings also suggest that the demonstrator teaching style may better handle different learning styles (e.g. both verbal and visual) simultaneously as compared to the classic authoritarian teaching style.

The findings support and contribute to the body of knowledge about the mesh hypothesis and provide the foundations for further longitudinal studies evaluating teaching and learning styles learning styles in a multicultural and cross-cultural context. A limitation of the study is that self-report responses were used and the data were collected at one Chinese university.

The results suggest that instructors are likely to reach only a selected few students if it is assumed that all students learn in the same way or based on cultural orientation alone. University administrators should be aware of the role of cultural tendencies related to teaching and learning and how cross-cultural communication and multicultural awareness can provide insights into strategies for social and academic integration of foreign students.

To date, the meshing hypothesis has received far less theoretical or empirical attention than the general learning style and teaching style hypotheses. This study addresses that gap.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of verbal-imagery cognitive styles of information searching behavior of users in using the Web.

In all, 44 participants were recruited for this study. The participants’ cognitive styles were measured by using Riding's Cognitive Style Analysis test. Three search tasks were designed based on Kim's search task definitions. Moreover, an individual lab session was arranged and then participants’ memos were analyzed using content analysis.

In all, 48 strategies in four categories of behaviors in searching the Web were identified. There were associations between users’ cognitive styles and their information searching behavior. The participants’ selection of the search initiation behaviors varied, so that imagers suffered from more varied initial behavior than verbalizers. The verbalizers tended to search in a narrow area, then broadening the area and following structured navigation and reading behavior to process information, while imagers tended to search in a general area, then narrowing down the search and adopting mixed navigational styles and mixed behaviors to process information. This study revealed that there was a difference in search performance of verbalizers and imagers descriptively, as verbalizers spent more time compared to imagers and imagers visited more nodes than verbalizers for the tasks completion. In addition, the task was an important variable influencing the search performance. Based on the key findings (search initiation behaviors, formulating search queries, navigational behaviors, information processing behaviors), a conceptual pattern of Web searching and cognitive styles is presented.

The study provides a new understanding of Web users’ information search behavior based on cognitive styles which contributes to the theoretical basis of Web search research. It also raises various questions within the context of user studies

The paper adopted a mixed approach in the area of information searching on the Web. A valuable contribution lies in the methods developed.

Missing in most of the research on selling has been an examination of the process from the point of view of the customer. When satisfaction in selling has been considered, researchers have focused on the satisfaction of the salesperson with his job and/or the impact of this job satisfaction on performance (e.g. Bluen, Barling & Burns, 1990; Churchill, Ford & Walker, 1979; Pruden & Peterson, 1971). To concentrate on salesperson performance while neglecting customers is to ignore the most important half of the relationship between buyers and sellers and entirely disregards the marketing concept and the streams of research in customer satisfaction. This research takes a different approach and examines customers’ satisfaction with salespeople.

Learning styles based education is becoming influential at higher education institutions around the world. Learning styles are characteristics of how students prefer to learn; they draw their origin from both biological and experiential conditions that make each student unique in the way he/she learns. An important first step in improving learning is to identify or assess students’ learning styles, and there are several instruments that can be used for this purpose. This is necessary for teachers and students who wish to improve learning and study strategies. Students who perform poorly in a conventional educational setting may suffer from a mismatch of learning and teaching styles; for example kinesthetic learners may not adapt to learning by listening or by reading. When we teach tactual and/or kinesthetic students by talking, they focus for only a brief amount of time and then wander off into their own thoughts and quickly forget (Burke & Dunn, 2002). We can improve students’ academic performance by providing them with alternative strategies and activities that respond to their learning style needs (Dunn & Dunn, 1993). In spring 2008, the learning styles of over 700 Zayed University students were assessed using the BE (Building Excellence) survey developed by Rundle & Dunn. The data collected is being analyzed with a view to making recommendations for teachers, students and parents to improve students’ learning. This paper represents the first in a series of publications on this subject; it reviews the survey process, and focuses on the nature and learning preferences of ZU students in perceptual elements (e.g. visual, auditory) and cognitive elements (e.g. Analytic-sequential (left-brain) vs. Global-simultaneous (right-brain) preferences).

This paper aims to examine, through the lens of language expectancy theory (LET), how sustainability assurors use optimism and certainty in possible persuasion attempts. The paper also explores a number of explanatory variables that could offer insights into the use of these verbal tones in sustainability assurance reports.

First, the paper relies on DICTION standard normalised optimism and certainty ranges in conjunction with descriptive statistics to analyse how sustainability assurors use optimism and certainty. Second, the paper uses quantile regression with robust standard errors to investigate the association between the measures of verbal tone used in this study and several possible explanatory variables.

Consistent with LET, the study documents that sustainability assurors exercise caution in using both certainty and optimism in persuasion attempts. The paper also finds that possible explanatory variables significantly associated with optimism include praise, assurance level, legal system and report location. However, reference to sustainability management control (SMC), status of assurance providers, praise, legal system and financial performance appear to explain the use of certainty.

The paper does not, at this stage, claim causality between the two measures of verbal tone, on the one hand, and the possible explanatory variables explored, on the other hand. It rather reports their possible associations. Furthermore, the study only measures reference to management control system and not reliance on it.

The main findings of this study imply that the use of optimism and certainty exhibits likely cautious practice by assurors. Nevertheless, assurors are more likely to use certainty more flexibly and appear more discreet when using optimism.

The findings of this paper also indicate how societal expectations play an important role in ensuring cautious persuasive behaviour by sustainability assurors in using verbal tones within sustainability assurance statements. This suggests that stakeholders may place reliance on attestations expressed in these statements.

The paper represents the first attempt to test LET in sustainability accounting by analysing verbal tones used by sustainability assurance providers. It contributes to the sustainability assurance literature in that it empirically demonstrates how sustainability assurors, as expert communicators, use optimistic tone and verbal certainty in careful persuasion attempts.

This study aims to use eye-tracking technology to conduct an empirical study about online learning process analysis, thus aiming to understand the attentional preferences and learning paths in online learners.

With eye movement tracking and data analysing technology, the Tobii X120 eye-tracking instrument, Tobii studio and online learning platform are used to record and visualise data of eye moving and learning steps during the real task-based online learning processes of 14 online learners. According to Barbara A. Soloman’s learning style classification framework, these learners’ learning style was presented in four dimensions. Based on data of eye moving, leaning style and operation in online course, the correlation about learners’ preferences of learning content, online learning paths and learning style were analysed based on according data.

The paper provides empirical insights about how change is brought about during online learning. It is found that there is no significant difference in attention preference between the students with the difference on the learning style of visual-verbal, although each person has a different attention preference on the learning content.

The limitation of this study is that only one common type of video learning process is studied. The learning process of various types of instructional videos in online learning will be done in future research.

In this study, eye-movement tracking technology is used to understand students’ learning path and learning preference in the online learning process, which is helpful to optimise the online learning process and improve the efficiency of online learning.

This research findings have been approved by relevant experts and have won the first prize in the school-level competition of South China Normal University in China.

In this study, the technology of psychology (eye-tracking technology) is introduced into the study of real task-based online learning process in the subject of educational technology, realising the integration of multi-disciplinary research techniques and methods.

Learning styles are incorporated more and more in e‐education, mostly in order to provide adaptivity with respect to the learning styles of students. For identifying learning styles, at the present time questionnaires are widely used. While such questionnaires exist for most learning style models, their validity and reliability is an important issue and has to be investigated to guarantee that the questionnaire really assesses what the learning style theory aims at. In this paper, we focus on the Index of Learning Styles (ILS), a 44‐item questionnaire to identify learning styles based on Felder‐ Silverman learning style model. The aim of this paper is to analyse data gathered from ILS by a data‐driven approach in order to investigate relationships within the learning styles. Results, obtained by Multiple Correspondence Analysis and cross‐validated by correlation analysis, show the consistent dependencies between some learning styles and lead then to conclude for scarce validity of the ILS questionnaire. Some latent dimensions present in data, that are unexpected, are discussed. Results are then compared with the ones given by literature concerning validity and reliability of the ILS questionnaire. Both the results and the comparisons show the effectiveness of data‐driven methods for patterns extraction even when unexpected dependencies are found and the importance of coherence and consistency of mathematical representation of data with respect to the methods selected for effective, precise and accurate modelling.

The purpose of this paper is to identify cultural preferences in advertising style in the UK and Greece through the comparison of advertisements for food products of local brands.

In total, 39 advertisements were collected from local food magazines in 2012-2013. Each copy was content-analyzed based on three dimensions of advertising style: advertising forms, appeals, and verbal communication style.

The analysis of the copies shows a tendency for Greek advertisements to adopt a forceful style and to convey an abundance of factual information in direct forms, combined with emotional appeals emphasizing local origin, nostalgia, and long-standing cultural traditions. On the contrary, UK copies tend to emphasize the entertainment value of advertisements, while communicating rational appeals in an informal register.

The variations in advertising style for the promotion of food products in the UK and Greece reflect the different ways in which advertising works, and potential differences in consumers’ decision making when it comes to the purchase of the products. The findings could have relevance for the design and transcreation of multinational food campaigns, and they could facilitate the development of research questions to be addressed in food marketing and advertising and consumer behaviour research.

The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the copies and the interpretation of findings, which draws on marketing and advertising and integrates a linguistic analysis of the text. By focusing on a particular product category and origin, it attempts to comprehensively account for their effect on advertising practices.

Salespeople over the years often develop a regular pattern for dealing with prospective customers (prospects). They try out an approach — it works — so they continue with it. At least, it works with most people, and it works in most situations. In order to make effective use of their time, salespeople learn to recognise and avoid time‐wasting prospects and unpromising situations. Perhaps they are missing a lot of business.