Examination Of Intrinsically Motivated Shopping Behaviors Across Contexts

This exploratory research determines the measurement dimensions of intrinsic motivation for shopping behavior contexts.  In addition, the dimensions are suggested to be strongly related and they are assessed for their possible unidimensionality.  Based on findings, this research indeed provides evidence that the dimensions are highly related.  Evidence is also found to support the similarity of intrinsic motivation dimensions across different contexts, such as age and income.  Different future research strategies are suggested for further advancement of inquiry about intrinsic motivation in shopping and intrinsic motivation in general.

Acoustic schwannoma of traumatic origin? A temporal bone study

A tumour of the singular nerve was found on examination of the temporal bones of a child who died 13 months after meningitis. The tumour consisted of a main mass with the appearance of an acoustic neuroma but close by and not connected were some nests of tumour cells inside the vestibule. This very unusual finding raises questions of the aetiology of this tumour which may have a bearing on the aetiology of other tumours of the VIIIth. nerv

States Of Wisdom In Marketing During An Era Of Economic Turbulence

In 1975, Cundiff (1975) wrote an editorial in the Journal of Marketing titled, “What is the Role of Marketing in a Recession?”  The 1974/1975 recession was more damaging to the economy than any recession since the Great Depression.  Implicit in his editorial was the momentary concern corporations would emphasize cost reduction over marketing innovation to insure their short-term survival. Numerous articles were published in response to his article about how marketing and consumers appeared to be changing during the period

Automatic Detection of Seizures with Applications

There are an estimated two million people with epilepsy in the United States. Many of these people do not respond to anti-epileptic drug therapy. Two devices can be developed to assist in the treatment of epilepsy. The first is a microcomputer-based system designed to process massive amounts of electroencephalogram (EEG) data collected during long-term monitoring of patients for the purpose of diagnosing seizures, assessing the effectiveness of medical therapy, or selecting patients for epilepsy surgery. Such a device would select and display important EEG events. Currently many such events are missed. A second device could be implanted and would detect seizures and initiate therapy. Both of these devices require a reliable seizure detection algorithm. A new algorithm is described. It is believed to represent an improvement over existing seizure detection algorithms because better signal features were selected and better standardization methods were used

Applying Multiple Imputation with Geostatistical Models to Account for Item Nonresponse in Environmental Data

Methods proposed to solve the missing data problem in estimation procedures should consider the type of missing data, the missing data mechanism, the sampling design and the availability of auxiliary variables correlated with the process of interest. This article explores the use of geostatistical models with multiple imputation to deal with missing data in environmental surveys. The method is applied to the analysis of data generated from a probability survey to estimate Coho salmon abundance in streams located in western Oregon watersheds

Repeatability of nerve conduction measurements derived entirely by computer methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nerve conduction studies are an objective, quantitative, and reproducible measure of peripheral nerve function and are widely used in the diagnosis of neuropathies. The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability of nerve conduction parameters derived entirely from computer based data acquisition and waveform cursor assignments and to quantify the relative contributions of test variability sources.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty volunteers, some with symptoms suggestive of neuropathies; of these, 29 completed the study. The median, ulnar, deep peroneal, posterior tibial, and sural nerves were evaluated bilaterally at two test sessions 3-7 days apart. Within each session, nerves were tested twice within 10 minutes. The analyzed nerve conduction parameters include motor latencies, motor conduction velocity (CV), compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, F-wave latencies (minimum, mean and maximum), sensory peak latency (DSL), sensory CV, and sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude. The primary outcome measure is variance component analysis and the corresponding coefficient of variation (CoV). The between-session-test variance is the sum of within-session variance and between-session variance, quantifying the total variation between test sessions. Additional statistical measures include the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and relative interval variation (RIV).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Motor and sensory latencies, CV and F-wave latency parameters have low between-session-test CoVs, ranging from 4.2% to 9.8%. Amplitude parameters have a higher between-session-test CoVs in the range of 15.6--19.8%. Between-test CoVs are about 30--80% lower than between-session CoVs with the exception of F-wave latency parameters. Between-test ICC values are 0.96 or above for all parameters. Between-session ICC ranges from 0.98 for F-wave latency to 0.77 for sural sensory CV. All latency-related between-session ICCs have a value 0.83 or above. The RIVs are the tightest for F-wave latency parameters and widest for CMAP amplitude parameters. Repeatability in a sub-group of subjects with more severe symptom grades follows the same trend as the overall study population without substantial quantitative differences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study demonstrates the high repeatability of nerve conduction parameters acquired by modern electrodiagnostic instruments using computer based waveform cursor assignment. The reliability is comparable to benchmark studies in which the nerve conduction measurements were performed manually in controlled multi-center clinical trials. Furthermore, the ranking of reliability, whereby F-wave latencies have the best reproducibility and amplitudes the worst, is also consistent with the benchmark studies.</p

Career Readiness Skills for Marketing Majors: An Examination of Soft Skills, Hard Skills and Course Applications

What are the skills marketing majors need upon graduation from college? In today’s world, many of the skills rely on technology within the field of marketing (technical/hard skills). Other skills (soft skills) can be taught across various curricula. Organizations, educators and professional job search sites are placing increasing emphasis on “workplace” or “career” readiness skills. In this paper, the authors discuss their analysis of 133 pieces of literature from practitioners and academics on the in-demand skills needed by marketing majors. The first section provides a categorization of marketing soft skills to give a broad picture of various soft skill sets that students need to be aware. Next, the paper analyzes different “hard skills”, or technical abilities individuals need to perform to be successful in different marketing careers. The authors then examine the primary soft skills needed to execute different hard skills. Finally, the paper discusses course strategies to implement soft and hard skills in class. Attention is given to developing an integrative and “robust” set of soft and hard skills, and strategies, that can be used in different types, and sizes, of marketing classes

Genetic Structure in the Coral, Montastraea cavernosa: Assessing Genetic Differentiation among and within Mesophotic Reefs

Mesophotic coral reefs (30–150 m) have recently received increased attention as a potential source of larvae (e.g., the refugia hypothesis) to repopulate a select subset of the shallow water (,30 m) coral fauna. To test the refugia hypothesis we used highly polymorphic Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers as a means to assess small-scale genetic heterogeneity between geographic locations and across depth clines in the Caribbean coral, Montastraea cavernosa. Zooxanthellae-free DNA extracts of coral samples (N = 105) were analyzed from four depths, shallow (3–10 m), medium (15– 25 m), deep (30–50 m) and very deep (60–90 m) from Little Cayman Island (LCI), Lee Stocking Island (LSI), Bahamas and San Salvador (SS), Bahamas which range in distance from 170 to 1,600 km apart. Using AMOVA analysis there were significant differences in WST values in pair wise comparisons between LCI and LSI. Among depths at LCI, there was significant genetic differentiation between shallow and medium versus deep and very deep depths in contrast there were no significant differences in WST values among depths at LSI. The assignment program AFLPOP, however, correctly assigned 95.7% of the LCI and LSI samples to the depths from which they were collected, differentiating among populations as little as 10 to 20 m in depth from one another. Discriminant function analysis of the data showed significant differentiation among samples when categorized by collection site as well as collection depth. FST outlier analyses identified 2 loci under positive selection and 3 under balancing selection at LCI. At LSI 2 loci were identified, both showing balancing selection. This data shows that adult populations of M. cavernosa separated by depths of tens of meters exhibits significant genetic structure, indicative of low population connectivity among and within sites and are not supplying successful recruits to adjacent coral reefs less than 30 m in depth

Managing the Global Commons, By William Nordhaus; Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1994

Managing the Global Commons, By William Nordhaus; Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 1994. 213 pp., one Appendix. Reviewed by Jonathan A. Lesser, Green Mountain Power Company, South Burlington, VT 05402-0850