Festival Personality and How It Influences Visitor Attitude and Intention

This study explores festival personality for its impacts on visitor attitude and intention toward festivals. Two distinct and popular festivals held at a botanic park in Western Australia were selected for the research. A total of 481 local and international visitors participated in the self-administered, pen-and-paper and online surveys. The Excitement personality attribute was unique to the Chili Festival, whereas the Cheerfulness personality attribute was unique to the Tulip Festival. Both festivals embodied the Imagination personality attribute, suggesting the place in which a festival is held may embody its own attributes, which contribute to the holistic personality of the festival. For both festivals, the personality attributes had significant impact on favorable visitor attitude, resulting in their positive intention toward these festivals. The study paves the way for researchers to extend brand personality research to the event tourism domain, particularly in the niche sector of festivals. The enhanced understanding lends input into how festival organizers, brand managers, and marketers can manage the positioning, differentiation, and communication strategies of their festivals in this competitive sector

Use of thiopurines in inflammatory bowel disease : an update

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), once considered a disease of the Western hemisphere, has emerged as a global disease. As the disease prevalence is on a steady rise, management of IBD has come under the spotlight. 5-Aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, immunosuppressive agents and biologics are the backbone of treatment of IBD. With the advent of biologics and small molecules, the need for surgery and hospitalization has decreased. However, economic viability and acceptability is an important determinant of local prescription patterns. Nearly one-third of the patients in West receive biologics as the first/initial therapy. The scenario is different in developing countries where biologics are used only in a small proportion of patients with IBD. Increased risk of reactivation of tuberculosis and high cost of the therapy are limitations to their use. Thiopurines hence become critical for optimal management of patients with IBD in these regions. However, approximately one-third of patients are intolerant or develop adverse effects with their use. This has led to suboptimal use of thiopurines in clinical practice. This review article discusses the clinical aspects of thiopurine use in patients with IBD with the aim of optimizing their use to full therapeutic potential.Peer reviewe

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

Dental perspective on biomedical waste and mercury management: A knowledge, attitude, and practice survey

Context: Management of waste generated in any health-care facility is a critical issue as it poses a direct threat to human health as well as to the environment. The biomedical waste generated in the dental scenario includes sharps, used disposable items, infectious waste (blood-soaked cotton, gauze, etc.), hazardous waste (mercury, lead), and chemical waste (such as spent film developers, fixers, and disinfectants). A major concern in our field is management and disposal of mercury. Aims: To obtain information about the knowledge, attitude, and practices of dental institutions and dental practitioners in the disposal of waste. Settings and design: A self-administered questionnaire, composed of 50 questions was designed. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire was distributed among the participants, chosen randomly, including dental students, faculty from dental colleges and private practitioners in and around Delhi, India. Statistical analysis used: The percentage response for each question from all the participants was obtained and the data was calculated. Results: Many dentists have knowledge about the waste management but they lack in the attitude and practice. Conclusions: There is need for education regarding hazards associated with improper waste disposal at all levels of dental personnel. It is imperative that waste should be segregated and disposed off in a safe manner to protect the environment as well as human health

Hedonic Engagement & Adaptation to Cosmetic Procedures

Hedonic engagement and hedonic adaptation to cosmetic procedures were explored in the research. First, the research conceptualised and operationalised hedonic adaptation to repeated engagement with a cosmetic procedure. Second, it proposed a decision-making framework, the Hedonic Engagement Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour (HEMGB), to explain hedonic engagement with a cosmetic procedure. Finally, it developed a segmentation typology of consumers who engaged with cosmetic procedures according to their perceived risk profile

Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Consumers' Intention to Engage in Cosmetic Surgery

This study examined the predictors of intention to engage in a cosmetic surgery. A convenience sampling approach utilizing a self-administered pen-and-paper and online survey was used to collect 214 responses in Australia. Favorable attitude had a significant positive effect on intention to engage in a cosmetic procedure for female respondents. On the other hand, subjective norms had a significant positive effect on intention to engage in a cosmetic procedure for male respondents. Managerially, findings will help practitioners in the cosmetic surgery industry to implement marketing strategies that target this growing consumer segment

Through the looking glass: perceiving risk and emotions toward cosmetic procedure engagement

Purpose: This research aims to develop a user risk segmentation typology and implement a method that traces how user emotions adapt before, after and toward a next cosmetic procedure. It introduces the user risk segments to an empirical framework to explain re-engagement with the procedure. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was self-administered to online consumer panels in the USA. The survey targeted users who had previously undertaken one of three elective procedures, namely, Botox (N = 550), hair transplant (N = 350) or liposuction (N = 350). Findings: The typology identified timid image seekers, daring image crafters, approval-seeking socialites and mainstream image adopters. The method tracking user emotions found significant differences before, after and toward a next cosmetic procedure in the user risk segments. The framework predicted user re-engagement with the procedure for each segment. Research limitations/implications: The typology presents more sophisticated user risk profiles. The method maps adapting user emotions toward engagement pre- and post-procedure. However, findings are limited to the USA and three cosmetic procedures. Practical implications: The typology offers a profile of users and their risk perceptions of a behavior. The method presents an instrument that follows how user emotions adapt. The framework advances understanding of user re-engagement with the behavior. Originality/value: Arguably, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research to explore how perceived risk operates on emotional states and adaptation, which manifest user well-being and impact user behavior

Principles of occlusion in implant dentistry

Dental implants require different biomechanical considerations from natural teeth. Also, with one of the criteria for long-term implant success being “occlusion,” it becomes imperative for the clinician to be well versed with the different concepts when rehabilitating with an implant prosthesis. All endeavors must be made to reduce the overload and noxious forces on implants during mandibular movements. The occlusal rehabilitation schemes for implant-supported prostheses are derivatives of the occlusal scheme for natural dentition. The implant-protected occlusion (IPO) scheme has been designed to ensure the longevity of both prosthesis and implant. The article reviews the concepts of IPO and their applicability in different clinical scenarios

Exploring personality and fit for garden festivals and parks: a Best-Worst Scaling approach

The current study explores the personality attributes and fit between garden festivals and parks that host them. The research adopted a bottom-up approach, inviting stakeholder participation in six focus groups, two expert panels, a pilot study and three main studies to examine Araluen Botanic Park, Western Australia as well as its Chilli Festival and Tulip Festival. A total of 878 completed surveys were collected. The personality attributes of the Chilli Festival identified as being Contemporary and Competent, and the Tulip Festival, as being Tranquil. Both garden festivals shared the Genuine attribute, demonstrating some personality fit. However, the personality attributes of the park remained undetermined. By adopting the theoretical underpinnings of the Brand Personality Scale (BPS) and the methodological approach of Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) to identify the personality attributes, the study presents a framework to access much needed information effectively. The information guides pragmatic branding strategies for differentiating and creating connections with visitors

Impact of COVID-19 on medical practice

Initiating from China, the contagious virus namely COVID-19 spread at really high rate all over the world. In the starting stage, healthcare officials were considered as front-line warriors. The current study focuses on analysing the impact of COVID-19 on medical officials in order to identify the risks and protective factors of their mental health stress level. The parameters considered were socio-demographic variables, exposure to the patients suffering from COVID-19 and the strategies employed for coping with and deal with distress. A total of 100 healthcare professionals enrolled in the current study and completed the all the parameters. This study has demonstrated that positive attitude towards the stressed situation. Comprehensively, it is found that has been emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlighted the major coping strategies employed by healthcare professionals to get rid of highly stressful situation caused by COVID-19 outbreak