Professionals are frequently consulted to diagnose and predict human behavior; optimal treatment and planning often hinge on the consultant's judgmental accuracy. The consultant may rely on one of two contrasting approaches to decision-making--the clinical and actuarial methods. Research comparing these two approaches shows the actuarial method to be superior. Factors underlying the greater accuracy of actuarial methods, sources of resistance to the scientific findings, and the benefits of increased reliance on actuarial approaches are discussed.

A study in Monastir, Tunisia estimated the prevalence of smoking and analysed the determinants of tobacco use among adolescents aged 10-19 years. An observational cross-sectional study was performed in the 8 colleges and high schools of Monastir city in 2004. The mean age of the 900 respondents was 15.8 (SD 2.2) years and 47.7% were aged under 16 years. The overall prevalence of cigarette use during the past year was 16.0% (30.2% among males and 4.6% among females). The first smoking experience was initiated by friends in 45.8% of cases, at a mean age of 13.8 (SD 2.3) years. One-fifth of smokers (21.5%) had used other forms of tobacco. In multivariate analysis, male sex, academic failure, poor family management, antisocial behaviour and addictive behaviour were the main predictors of adolescent smoking status. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents in Monastir is high and requires targeted action.

The automation of services is rapidly growing, led by sectors such as banking and financial investment. The growing number of investments managed by artificial intelligence (AI) suggests that this technology-based service will become increasingly popular. This study examines how customers' technology readiness and service awareness affect their intention to use analytical AI investment services.

The purpose of this paper is to further the understanding of innovation resistance by dividing internet banking non‐adopters into three groups based on their intentions to use the innovation. Thereafter, the aim is to identify how the resistance differs in these customer groups.

Even though computational algorithms often outperform human judgment, received wisdom suggests that people may be skeptical of relying on them (Dawes, 1979). Counter to this notion, results from six experiments show that lay people adhere more to advice when they think it comes from an algorithm than from a person. People showed this effect, what we call algorithm appreciation, when making numeric estimates about a visual stimulus (Experiment 1A) and forecasts about the popularity of songs and romantic attraction (Experiments 1B and 1C). Yet, researchers predicted the opposite result (Experiment 1D). Algorithm appreciation persisted when advice appeared jointly or separately (Experiment 2). However, algorithm appreciation waned when: people chose between an algorithm's estimate and their own (versus an external advisor's; Experiment 3) and they had expertise in forecasting (Experiment 4). Paradoxically, experienced professionals, who make forecasts on a regular basis, relied less on algorithmic advice than lay people did, which hurt their accuracy. These results shed light on the important question of when people rely on algorithmic advice over advice from people and have implications for the use of "big data" and algorithmic advice it generates.

Despite the promised benefits of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) to address the digital divide and promote equity in educational opportunities, the use of MOOCs is still lagging especially in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers underlying the adoption of MOOCs in the context of a developing country. Drawing from the theoretical framework of innovation resistance theory, this study conducted focus group discussions with 69 college students in China, a major developing country in Asia. It was found that innovation resistance theory is plausible to explain the barriers to adopting MOOCs. Our results showed that the main barriers in the adoption of MOOCs encountered by students in a developing country are usage barrier, value barrier, and tradition barrier. Furthermore, to complement the perspective of innovation resistance theory, this study also conducted an inductive analysis to identify other types of obstacles hindering students' use of MOOCs. It was found that individual factors (e.g., self-control and attitude) as well as the environment (e.g., promotion and economical circumstance) are also barriers to the use of MOOCs. Implications and suggestions for practice are also discussed.

The Technology Readiness Index (TRI), a 36-item scale to measure people’s propensity to embrace and use cutting-edge technologies, was published in the Journal of Service Research over a decade ago. Researchers have since used it in a variety of contexts in over two dozen countries. Meanwhile, several revolutionary technologies (mobile commerce, social media, and cloud computing) that were in their infancy just a decade ago are now pervasive and significantly impacting people’s lives. Based on insights from extensive experience with the TRI and given the significant changes in the technology landscape, the authors undertook a two-phase research project to update and streamline the TRI. After providing a brief overview of technology readiness and the original TRI, this article (a) describes the multiple research stages and analyses that produced TRI 2.0, a 16-item scale; (b) compares TRI 2.0 with the original TRI in terms of content, structure, and psychometric properties; and (c) demonstrates TRI 2.0’s reliability, validity, and usefulness as a customer segmentation tool. The article concludes with potential applications of TRI 2.0 and directions for future research.

The study is aimed at determining the effect of celebrity endorsement, electronic word of mouth, brand trust on buying habits. The development of fashion products is currently growing rapidly along with technological advancements. Many companies compete to increase buying habits. With good buying habits, it can affect sales. There are several things that can increase buying habits including celebrity endorsement, electronic word of mouth, brand trust. The type of data is quantitative data. Data collection techniques in this study were using questionnaires and documentation studies. The instruments in this study used validity and reliability tests. The data analysis technique used in this study is multiple linear regression and uses SPSS version 20.0. The results of the t-test in this study were celebrity endorsement of 0.006, electronic word of mouth of 0.020, the brand trust of 0.019. This shows that partially the three variables have a positive and significant effect on buying habits. The results of the f test in this study are 2.73, which means that the variable celebrity endorsement, electronic word of mouth and brand trust simultaneously have a positive and significant effect on buying habits.

Gower and Krzanowski (1999) described the analysis of a multivariate dataset that violated the assumptions of normality for multivariate analysis of variance. They developed a method comprising two aspects: a graphical representation of the points in a fewer number of dimensions, known as principal coordinate analysis; and a technique similar to MANOVA except that it was based on partitioning the distances between subjects, rather than sums of squares, and did not assume that the data followed any particular distribution. This article summarizes both aspects of their analysis and describes the Stata pco and aod commands, which perform principal coordinate analysis and analysis of distance.

A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses. The 15 articles in this millennial issue of the American Psychologist discuss such issues as what enables happiness, the effects of autonomy and self-regulation, how optimism and hope affect health, what constitutes wisdom, and how talent and creativity come to fruition. The authors outline a framework for a science of positive psychology, point to gaps in our knowledge, and predict that the next century will see a science and profession that will come to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.