Arab consumer attitutes towards international marketing as a result of the ongoing Arab Spring : a systematic literature review

Paper from the International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues (ICCI), Thessaloniki, 13-15 June 2012 The Middle East has been recently and continues to be affected by a phenomenon referred to popularly as the ‘Arab Spring’. The phenomenon appears to have sparked a wave of candidness amongst Arab consumers in a way that hitherto was not apparent. A question as to whether the uprisings are about the pursuit of democracy, political reform or freedom of speech remains to be settled. The purpose of this discussion paper is to ask what effects the Arab Spring may have on marketing theory and practice. To that end, the paper presents the results of a systematic literature review pertaining to marketing in the Middle East. A quantitative bibliometric method of citation analysis is deployed to identify the range of themes that have been previously researched. From this review, the paper identifies the particular relevance of the Arab Spring phenomenon to international marketing theory and practice. Thus, this study makes the first attempt to conceptualize what the Arab Spring means for future international marketing theory and practice and marks the start of a first investigation, and potential beginning of a longitudinal study into the phenomenon as it continues to unfold, grounded firmly in the marketing discipline

The evolution and structure of internet-based consumer research : a citation analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review into the evolution and structure of internet-based ethnographic consumer research during the twenty-year period between 1996 and 2015. The results of a quantitative citation analysis and a qualitative synthesis are presented which demonstrate the limited engagement that marketing researchers have had with the discipline and the limited degree to which the discipline has influenced that literature. This hitherto lack of research presents a significant lacuna and a significant opportunity for marketing scholarship to engage further with that literature. Similarly, there are particular thematic areas where knowledge is currently lacking. Taken together, the quantitative citation analysis and qualitative synthesis demonstrate that netnography is very much an emerging trend in the consumer research literature and there are many theoretical, empirical and practical bases upon which it may be applied, especially in the context of future studies. Keywords: citation analysis, consumer research, netnography, systematic literature revie

The Evolution and Structure of Consumer Research in Cyberspace: A Citation Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review into the evolution and structure of internet-based ethnographic consumer research during the twenty-year period between 1996 and 2015. The results of a citation analysis and qualitative synthesis are presented which demonstrate the limited engagement that marketing researchers have had with the discipline and the limited degree to which the discipline has influenced that literature. This hitherto lack of research presents a significant lacuna and a significant opportunity for marketing scholarship to engage further with that literature. Similarly, there are particular thematic areas where knowledge is currently lacking. Taken together, the citation analysis and qualitative synthesis demonstrate that netnography is very much an emerging trend in the consumer research literature and there are many theoretical, empirical and practical bases upon which it may be applied, especially in the context of future studies

The Evolution and Structure of Consumer Research in Cyberspace: A Citation Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic literature review into the evolution and structure of internet-based ethnographic consumer research during the twenty-year period between 1996 and 2015. The results of a citation analysis and qualitative synthesis are presented which demonstrate the limited engagement that marketing researchers have had with the discipline and the limited degree to which the discipline has influenced that literature. This hitherto lack of research presents a significant lacuna and a significant opportunity for marketing scholarship to engage further with that literature. Similarly, there are particular thematic areas where knowledge is currently lacking. Taken together, the citation analysis and qualitative synthesis demonstrate that netnography is very much an emerging trend in the consumer research literature and there are many theoretical, empirical and practical bases upon which it may be applied, especially in the context of future studies

Arab Consumer Attitudes towards International Marketing as a Result of the Ongoing Arab Spring: A Systematic Literature Review

The Middle East has been recently and continues to be affected by a phenomenon referred to popularly as the ‘Arab Spring’. The phenomenon appears to have sparked a wave of candidness amongst Arab consumers in a way that hitherto was not apparent. A question as to whether the uprisings are about the pursuit of democracy, political reform or freedom of speech remains to be settled. The purpose of this discussion paper is to ask what effects the Arab Spring may have on marketing theory and practice. To that end, the paper presents the results of a systematic literature review pertaining to marketing in the Middle East. A quantitative bibliometric method of citation analysis is deployed to identify the range of themes that have been previously researched. From this review, the paper identifies the particular relevance of the Arab Spring phenomenon to international marketing theory and practice. Thus, this study makes the first attempt to conceptualize what the Arab Spring means for future international marketing theory and practice and marks the start of a first investigation, and potential beginning of a longitudinal study into the phenomenon as it continues to unfold, grounded firmly in the marketing discipline

Spearhead Nanometric Field-Effect Transistor Sensors for Single-Cell Analysis.

Nanometric field-effect-transistor (FET) sensors are made on the tip of spear-shaped dual carbon nanoelectrodes derived from carbon deposition inside double-barrel nanopipettes. The easy fabrication route allows deposition of semiconductors or conducting polymers to comprise the transistor channel. A channel from electrodeposited poly pyrrole (PPy) exhibits high sensitivity toward pH changes. This property is exploited by immobilizing hexokinase on PPy nano-FETs to give rise to a selective ATP biosensor. Extracellular pH and ATP gradients are key biochemical constituents in the microenvironment of living cells; we monitor their real-time changes in relation to cancer cells and cardiomyocytes. The highly localized detection is possible because of the high aspect ratio and the spear-like design of the nano-FET probes. The accurately positioned nano-FET sensors can detect concentration gradients in three-dimensional space, identify biochemical properties of a single living cell, and after cell membrane penetration perform intracellular measurements

Compartment-specific immunity in the human gut: Properties and functions of dendritic cells in the colon versus the ileum

© 2015 The Authors. Published by BMJ. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2014-307916Objective Dendritic cells (DC) mediate intestinal immune tolerance. Despite striking differences between the colon and the ileum both in function and bacterial load, few studies distinguish between properties of immune cells in these compartments. Furthermore, information of gut DC in humans is scarce. We aimed to characterise human colonic versus ileal DC. Design Human DC from paired colonic and ileal samples were characterised by flow cytometry, electron microscopy or used to stimulate T cell responses in a mixed leucocyte reaction. Results A lower proportion of colonic DC produced pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-a and interleukin (IL)-1ß) compared with their ileal counterparts and exhibited an enhanced ability to generate CD4+FoxP3+IL-10+ (regulatory) T cells. There were enhanced proportions of CD103+Sirpa- DC in the colon, with increased proportions of CD103+Sirpa+ DC in the ileum. A greater proportion of colonic DC subsets analysed expressed the lymph-node-homing marker CCR7, alongside enhanced endocytic capacity, which was most striking in CD103+Sirpa+ DC. Expression of the inhibitory receptor ILT3 was enhanced on colonic DC. Interestingly, endocytic capacity was associated with CD103+ DC, in particular CD103+Sirpa+ DC. However, expression of ILT3 was associated with CD103- DC. Colonic and ileal DC differentially expressed skin-homing marker CCR4 and small-bowel-homing marker CCR9, respectively, and this corresponded to their ability to imprint these homing markers on T cells. Conclusions The regulatory properties of colonic DC may represent an evolutionary adaptation to the greater bacterial load in the colon. The colon and the ileum should be regarded as separate entities, each comprising DC with distinct roles in mucosal immunity and imprinting.This research was funded by St. Mark's Foundation (Harrow, UK), The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; BB/J004529/1) and The National Institutes of Health (NIH; US) including The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH/NIDDK; T32-DK07632 and P01-DK072084) and The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIH/NIAID; R21-AI094033). We also gratefully acknowledge funding support from The Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centre at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, US.Published versio

Bioengineering commensal bacteria-derived outer membrane vesicles for delivery of biologics to the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract

Gram-negative bacteria naturally produce and secrete nanosized outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). In the human gastrointestinal tract, OMVs produced by commensal Gram-negative bacteria can mediate interactions amongst host cells (including between epithelial cells and immune cells) and maintain microbial homeostasis. This OMV-mediated pathway for host-microbe interactions could be exploited to deliver biologically active proteins to the body. To test this we engineered the Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt), a prominent member of the intestinal microbiota of all animals, to incorporate bacteria-, virus- and human-derived proteins into its OMVs. We then used the engineered Bt OMVs to deliver these proteins to the respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI)-tract to protect against infection, tissue inflammation and injury. Our findings demonstrate the ability to express and package both Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium-derived vaccine antigens and influenza A virus (IAV)-derived vaccine antigens within or on the outer membrane of Bt OMVs. These antigens were in a form capable of eliciting antigen-specific immune and antibody responses in both mucosal tissues and systemically. Furthermore, immunisation with OMVs containing the core stalk region of the IAV H5 hemagglutinin from an H5N1 strain induced heterotypic protection in mice to a 10-fold lethal dose of an unrelated subtype (H1N1) of IAV. We also showed that OMVs could express the human therapeutic protein, keratinocyte growth factor-2 (KGF-2), in a stable form that, when delivered orally, reduced disease severity and promoted intestinal epithelial repair and recovery in animals administered colitis-inducing dextran sodium sulfate. Collectively, our data demonstrates the utility and effectiveness of using Bt OMVs as a mucosal biologics and drug delivery platform technology

Bioengineering commensal bacteria-derived outer membrane vesicles for delivery of biologics to the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract.

Gram-negative bacteria naturally produce and secrete nanosized outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). In the human gastrointestinal tract, OMVs produced by commensal Gram-negative bacteria can mediate interactions amongst host cells (including between epithelial cells and immune cells) and maintain microbial homeostasis. This OMV-mediated pathway for host-microbe interactions could be exploited to deliver biologically active proteins to the body. To test this we engineered the Gram-negative bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt), a prominent member of the intestinal microbiota of all animals, to incorporate bacteria-, virus- and human-derived proteins into its OMVs. We then used the engineered Bt OMVs to deliver these proteins to the respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI)-tract to protect against infection, tissue inflammation and injury. Our findings demonstrate the ability to express and package both Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium-derived vaccine antigens and influenza A virus (IAV)-derived vaccine antigens within or on the outer membrane of Bt OMVs. These antigens were in a form capable of eliciting antigen-specific immune and antibody responses in both mucosal tissues and systemically. Furthermore, immunisation with OMVs containing the core stalk region of the IAV H5 hemagglutinin from an H5N1 strain induced heterotypic protection in mice to a 10-fold lethal dose of an unrelated subtype (H1N1) of IAV. We also showed that OMVs could express the human therapeutic protein, keratinocyte growth factor-2 (KGF-2), in a stable form that, when delivered orally, reduced disease severity and promoted intestinal epithelial repair and recovery in animals administered colitis-inducing dextran sodium sulfate. Collectively, our data demonstrates the utility and effectiveness of using Bt OMVs as a mucosal biologics and drug delivery platform technology