Branding in a Hyperconnected World: Refocusing Theories and Rethinking Boundaries

Technological advances have resulted in a hyperconnected world, requiring a reassessment of branding research from the perspectives of firms, consumers, and society. Brands are shifting away from single ownership to shared ownership, as heightened access to information and people is allowing more stakeholders to cocreate brand meanings and experiences alongside traditional brand owners and managers. Moreover, hyperconnectivity has allowed existing brands to expand their geographic reach and societal roles, while new types of branded entities (ideas, people, places, and organizational brands) are further stretching the branding space. To help establish a new branding paradigm that accounts for these changes, the authors address the following questions: (1) What are the roles and functions of brands?, (2) How is brand value (co)created?, and (3) How should brands be managed? Throughout the article, the authors also identify future research issues that require scholarly attention, with the aim of aligning branding theory and practice with the realities of a hyperconnected world

ASPECTS CONCERNING THE BREEDING OF LIMOUSIN CALVES IN ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM

The aim of the research was to monitor the growth process of the Limousin calves from birth to weaning (six months old). The research was performed on S.C.TAOS.S.R.L situated in Covasna. In this farm, the rearing of the calves was not made by a technological guide. The maintaining system was outdoor, during summer on pasture, and in the winter season, in free stabulation. The calves had been grown along with the mother cows, having free access to the paddock. The base of feeding was represented by semi-hay, corn silage, barley straw and cereals (barley, wheat and corn) and grazing is made on lowland meadow. The introduction of vegetal food into the calves ration is done at 3 weeks old. In the first period (first month old), the daily gain was 666.7 g at heifers and 800 g at calves. In the second period (from one month old until weaning), the daily gain was 1120 g at heifers and 1200 g at calves. The stress of weaning was present only to the young females; for ten days, these were restless, having the desire for sucking and the appetite for feed has decreased. Their bodyweight has decreased with 12%, the differences being significantly (p ≤ 0.05)

Brands in the Labor Market: How Vertical and Horizontal Brand Differentiation Impact Pay and Profits Through Employee-Brand Matching

The primary focus of brand equity research has been on how brand knowledge creates value for firms through customer behavior in product markets. Using archival data and five experiments, this article tests a framework that outlines the unique role brands play in the labor market. The framework distinguishes between vertical and horizontal differentiation and shows that vertical brand differentiation is associated with lower pay, whereas horizontal brand differentiation is associated with higher pay. Employees are also vertically and horizontally differentiated and firms high in horizontal brand differentiation pay more for employees who match their brands differentiating characteristics (i.e., brand-relevant complementarities). Results show that these brand-pay relationships have important downstream effects on employee behavior and, consequently, on firm profits. Specifically, leveraging vertical brand differentiation to lower pay represents a false economy because profits are attenuated by negative effects on employee productivity and retention. In contrast, when managers at firms high on horizontal brand differentiation pay more, profits increase via the same mediating employee behaviors. Six firm strategies and investments that influence firm bargaining power in the employee-brand matching process are found to moderate the brand-pay relationship and downstream effects on profits

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Weak Detonations

Detonation of a three-dimensional reactive non-isotropic molecular crystal is modeled using molecular dynamics simulations. The detonation process is initiated by an impulse, followed by the creation of a stable fast reactive shock wave. The terminal shock velocity is independent of the initiation conditions. Further analysis shows supersonic propagation decoupled from the dynamics of the decomposed material left behind the shock front. The dependence of the shock velocity on crystal nonlinear compressibility resembles solitary behavior. These properties categorize the phenomena as a weak detonation. The dependence of the detonation wave on microscopic potential parameters was investigated. An increase in detonation velocity with the reaction exothermicity reaching a saturation value is observed. In all other respects the model crystal exhibits typical properties of a molecular crystal.Comment: 38 pages, 20 figures. Submitted to Physical Review

The global field of multi-family offices: An institutionalist perspective

We apply the notion of the organisational field to internationally operating multi-family offices. These organisations specialise on the preservation of enterprising and geographically dispersed families’ fortunes. They provide their services across generations and countries. Based on secondary data of Bloomberg’s Top 50 Family Offices, we show that they constitute a global organisational field that comprises two clusters of homogeneity. Clients may decide between two different configurations of activities, depending on their preferences regarding asset management, resource management, family management, and service architecture. The findings also reveal that multi-family offices make relatively similar value propositions all over the world. The distinctiveness of the clusters within the field is not driven by the embeddedness of the multi-family offices in different national environments or their various degrees of international experience. Rather, it is weakly affected by two out of four possible value propositions, namely the exclusiveness and the transparency of services

Sodium atoms and clusters on graphite: a density functional study

Sodium atoms and clusters (N<5) on graphite (0001) are studied using density functional theory, pseudopotentials and periodic boundary conditions. A single Na atom is observed to bind at a hollow site 2.45 A above the surface with an adsorption energy of 0.51 eV. The small diffusion barrier of 0.06 eV indicates a flat potential energy surface. Increased Na coverage results in a weak adsorbate-substrate interaction, which is evident in the larger separation from the surface in the cases of Na_3, Na_4, Na_5, and the (2x2) Na overlayer. The binding is weak for Na_2, which has a full valence electron shell. The presence of substrate modifies the structures of Na_3, Na_4, and Na_5 significantly, and both Na_4 and Na_5 are distorted from planarity. The calculated formation energies suggest that clustering of atoms is energetically favorable, and that the open shell clusters (e.g. Na_3 and Na_5) can be more abundant on graphite than in the gas phase. Analysis of the lateral charge density distributions of Na and Na_3 shows a charge transfer of about 0.5 electrons in both cases.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Memory, post-socialism and the media: nostalgia and beyond

While research on the mediation of post-socialist memory has gained momentum in recent years, the field remains fragmented and limited to small-scale case studies, with little attempt to develop a more general reflection on the nature of the processes investigated. Engagement with the wider literature on the mediatisation of memory has been limited as well, with research typically applying established conceptual frameworks rather than using post-socialist materials to generate new theoretical insights. Given the state of the field, this article has a double aim. First, it offers a critical review of the main trends in existing research, focussing on four key issues: the fascination with nostalgic modes of remembering, the dominance of national frames of analysis, the lack of research on the mediation of personal and vernacular remembering, and the privileging of descriptive over explanatory modes of analysis. Second, the article outlines a new agenda for the field, and proposes three main research trajectories. The first pays attention to how mediated memories at local and national levels interact with transnational processes of remembering the Cold War, the second focusses on to the intersections between personal and public modes of mediated remembering, and the last moves the discussion from description to explanation, using comparative approaches to advance explanations of different modes of mediated post-socialist memories

Reversing Blood Flows Act through klf2a to Ensure Normal Valvulogenesis in the Developing Heart

Heart valve anomalies are some of the most common congenital heart defects, yet neither the genetic nor the epigenetic forces guiding heart valve development are well understood. When functioning normally, mature heart valves prevent intracardiac retrograde blood flow; before valves develop, there is considerable regurgitation, resulting in reversing (or oscillatory) flows between the atrium and ventricle. As reversing flows are particularly strong stimuli to endothelial cells in culture, an attractive hypothesis is that heart valves form as a developmental response to retrograde blood flows through the maturing heart. Here, we exploit the relationship between oscillatory flow and heart rate to manipulate the amount of retrograde flow in the atrioventricular (AV) canal before and during valvulogenesis, and find that this leads to arrested valve growth. Using this manipulation, we determined that klf2a is normally expressed in the valve precursors in response to reversing flows, and is dramatically reduced by treatments that decrease such flows. Experimentally knocking down the expression of this shear-responsive gene with morpholine antisense oligonucleotides (MOs) results in dysfunctional valves. Thus, klf2a expression appears to be necessary for normal valve formation. This, together with its dependence on intracardiac hemodynamic forces, makes klf2a expression an early and reliable indicator of proper valve development. Together, these results demonstrate a critical role for reversing flows during valvulogenesis and show how relatively subtle perturbations of normal hemodynamic patterns can lead to both major alterations in gene expression and severe valve dysgenesis

Piper sarmentosum inhibits ICAM-1 and Nox4 gene expression in oxidative stress-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Aqueous extract of <it>Piper sarmentosum </it>(AEPS) is known to possess antioxidant and anti-atherosclerotic activities but the mechanism responsible for it remains unclear. In early part of atherosclerosis, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) induces the expression of cellular adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and E-selectin. NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4) is the predominant source of superoxide in the endothelial cells whereas superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) are the antioxidant enzymes responsible for inactivating reactive oxygen species. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of AEPS on the gene expression of NF-κB, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, E-selectin, Nox4, SOD1, CAT and GPx in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HUVECs were divided into four groups:- control; treatment with 180 μM hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂); treatment with 150 μg/mL AEPS and concomitant treatment with AEPS and H₂O₂for 24 hours. Total RNA was extracted from all the groups of HUVEC using TRI reagent. Subsequently, qPCR was carried out to determine the mRNA expression of NF-κB, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, E-selectin, Nox4, SOD1, CAT and GPx. The specificity of the reactions was verified using melting curve analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When stimulated with H₂O₂, HUVECs expressed higher level of ICAM-1 (1.3-fold) and Nox4 (1.2-fold) mRNA expression. However, AEPS treatment led to a reduction in the mRNA expression of ICAM-1 (p < 0.01) and Nox4 (p < 0.05) in the H₂O₂-induced HUVECs. AEPS also upregulated the mRNA expression of SOD1 (p < 0.05), CAT (p < 0.01) and GPx (p < 0.05) in oxidative stress-induced HUVECs. There was no significant change in the mRNA expression of VCAM-1 and E-selectin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The expressional suppression of ICAM-1 and Nox4 and induction of antioxidant enzymes might be an important component of the vascular protective effect of AEPS.</p

Androgen Excess Produces Systemic Oxidative Stress and Predisposes to β-Cell Failure in Female Mice

In women, excess production of the male hormone, testosterone (T), is accompanied by insulin resistance. However, hyperandrogenemia is also associated with β-cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes raising the possibility that androgen receptor (AR) activation predisposes to β-cell failure. Here, we tested the hypothesis that excess AR activation produces systemic oxidative stress thereby contributing to β-cell failure. We used normal female mice (CF) and mice with androgen resistance by testicular feminization (Tfm). These mice were exposed to androgen excess and a β-cell stress induced by streptozotocin (STZ). We find that following exposure to T, or the selective AR-agonist dehydrotestosterone (DHT), CF mice challenged with STZ, which are normally protected, are prone to β-cell failure and insulin-deficient diabetes. Conversely, T-induced predisposition to β-cell failure is abolished in Tfm mice. We do not observe any proapoptotic effect of DHT alone or in the presence of H2O2 in cultured mouse and human islets. However, we observe that exposure of CF mice to T or DHT provokes systemic oxidative stress, which is eliminated in Tfm mice. This work has significance for hyperandrogenic women; excess activation of AR by testosterone may provoke systemic oxidative stress. In the presence of a prior β-cell stress, this may predispose to β-cell failure