A Content Analysis of Online Brand Personality of 4 Universities in Ghana

The purpose of the study is to understand brand personality of four (4) universities in Ghana as communicated via their websites. Data was extracted from the websites of the 4 universities unto a word document. The text was analyzed using a content analysis technique. The Nvivo software version 12 was used to code the data. The results showed that the four (4) universities exhibit certain brand personality traits on their websites.  For example, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Business (KNUST Business School) and the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) portrayed the following brand personality traits; competence, excitement, ruggedness, sincerity and sophistication.  The University of Cape Coast School of Business (UCC School of Business) and the University of Education Winneba Faculty of Business (UEW Faculty of Business) exhibited the following brand personality traits; competence, ruggedness, sincerity and sophistication. The study concludes that the universities understand brand personality and strategically communicate them on their websites. Keywords: brand personality, branding, Universities in Ghana, content analysis DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-3-0

Franklin Enterprises: The New Division

Franklin Enterprises, a leading supplier of industry plumbing, heating and cooling equipment, decided to set up an eBusiness division, Franklin Online (FOL), to develop online services for corporate account holders. Cody Lewis, an exemplary inside sales person, was appointed a Regional Business Development Manager (RBDM) for the newly established eBusiness division. With his sales skills, he created a team of sales people in his region that helped increase sales significantly through much quicker market penetration activities. He also worked closely with the other RBDM’s in order to maximize the success of each territory. The very significant growth of the eBusiness division for corporate accounts led Franklin Enterprises to subsequently extend the service to the non-account consumer market as well

Health Conditions Among Unsheltered Adults in the U.S.

The California Policy Lab analyzed responses from more than 64,000 adults in the United States experiencing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. Unsheltered adults are far more likely to report suffering from chronic health conditions, mental health issues, and experiences with trauma and substance abuse problems as compared to homeless people who are living in shelters. As policymakers design interventions for unsheltered individuals and balance investments in emergency housing and permanent housing, they will need to consider whether emergency housing is adequate or appropriate for a highly vulnerable population, half of whom are trimorbid.This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grant MRP-19-60077

The combined effects of rivers and refugia generate extreme cryptic fragmentation within the common ground skink (Scincella lateralis)

Rivers can act as both islands of mesic refugia for terrestrial organisms during times of aridification and barriers to gene flow, though evidence for long-term isolation by rivers is mixed. Understanding the extent to which riverine barrier effects can be heightened for populations trapped in mesic refugia can help explain maintenance and generation of diversity in the face of Pleistocene climate change. Herein, we implement phylogenetic and population genetic approaches to investigate the phylogeographic structure and history of the ground skink, Scincella lateralis, using mtDNA and eight nuclear loci. We then test several predictions of a river-refugia model of diversification. We recover 14 well-resolved mtDNA lineages distributed east-west along the Gulf Coast with a subset of lineages extending northward. In contrast, ncDNA exhibits limited phylogenetic structure or congruence among loci. However, multilocus population structure is broadly congruent with mtDNA patterns and suggests that deep coalescence rather than differential gene flow is responsible for mtDNA-ncDNA discordance. The observed patterns suggest that most lineages originated from population vicariance due to riverine barriers strengthened during the Plio-Pleistocene by a climate-induced coastal distribution. Diversification due to rivers is likely a special case, contingent upon other environmental or biological factors that reinforce riverine barrier effects. © 2009 The Society for the Study of Evolution

Inferring the evolutionary history of divergence despite gene flow in a lizard species, Scincella lateralis (Scincidae), composed of cryptic lineages

Although recent radiations are fruitful for studying the process of speciation, they are difficult to characterize and require the use of multiple loci and analytical methods that account for processes such as gene flow and genetic drift. Using multilocus sequence data, we combine hierarchical cluster analysis, coalescent species tree inference, and isolation-with-migration analysis to investigate evolutionary relationships among cryptic lineages of North American ground skinks. We also estimate the extent that gene flow has accompanied or followed diversification, and also attempt to account for and minimize the influence of gene flow when reconstructing relationships. The data best support seven largely parapatric populations that are broadly concordant with mitochondrial (mt)DNA phylogeography throughout most of the species range, although they fail to fully represent extensive mtDNA divergence along the Gulf Coast. Relationships within and among three broad geographical groups are well supported, despite evidence of gene flow among them. Rejection of an allopatric divergence model partially depends on the inclusion of samples from near parapatric boundaries in the analyses, suggesting that allopatric divergence followed by recent migration may best explain migration rate estimates. Accounting for geographical variation in patterns of gene flow can improve estimates of migration-divergence parameters and minimize the influence of contemporary gene flow on phylogenetic inference. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London