Giving voters what they want? Party orientation perceptions and preferences in the British electorate

Some of the most important propositions in the political marketing literature hinge on assumptions about the electorate. In particular, voters are presumed to react in different ways to different orientations or postures. Yet there are theoretical reasons for questioning some of these assumptions, and certainly they have seldom been empirically tested. Here, we focus on one prominent example of political marketing research: Lees-Marshment’s orientations’ model. We investigate how the public reacts to product and market orientation, whether they see a trade-off between the two (a point in dispute among political marketing scholars), and whether partisans differ from non-partisan voters by being more inclined to value product over market orientation. Evidence from two mass sample surveys of the British public (both conducted online by YouGov) demonstrates important heterogeneity within the electorate, casts doubt on the core assumptions underlying some political marketing arguments and raises broader questions about what voters are looking for in a party

A monument to the player: Preserving a landscape of socio-cultural capital in the transitional MMORPG

This is the pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the links below - Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis LtdMassively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) produce dynamic socio-ludic worlds that nurture both culture and gameplay to shape experiences. Despite the persistent nature of these games, however, the virtual spaces that anchor these worlds may not always be able to exist in perpetuity. Encouraging a community to migrate from one space to another is a challenge now facing some game developers. This paper examines the case of Guild Wars® and its “Hall of Monuments”, a feature that bridges the accomplishments of players from the current game to the forthcoming sequel. Two factor analyses describe the perspectives of 105 and 187 self-selected participants. The results reveal four factors affecting attitudes towards the feature, but they do not strongly correlate with existing motivational frameworks, and significant differences were found between different cultures within the game. This informs a discussion about the implications and facilitation of such transitions, investigating themes of capital, value perception and assumptive worlds. It is concluded that the way subcultures produce meaning needs to be considered when attempting to preserve the socio-cultural landscape

Determination of Omega_b From Big Bang Nucleosynthesis in the Presence of Regions of Antimatter

Production of regions of antimatter in the early universe is predicted in many baryogenesis models. Small scale antimatter regions would annihilate during or soon after nucleosynthesis, affecting the abundances of the light elements. In this paper we study how the acceptable range in Omega_b changes in the presence of antimatter regions, as compared to the standard big bang nucleosynthesis. It turns out that it is possible to produce at the same time both a low 4He value (Y_p < 0.240) and a low D/H value (D/H < 4e-5), but overproduction of 7Li is unavoidable at large Omega_b.Comment: 9 pages, PRD version, ref. 6 correcte

Cattle handling technique can induce fatigued cattle syndrome in cattle not fed a beta adrenergic agonist

Citation: Frese, D. A., Reinhardt, C. D., Bartle, S. J., Rethorst, D. N., Hutcheson, J. P., Nichols, W. T., . . . Thomson, D. U. (2016). Cattle handling technique can induce fatigued cattle syndrome in cattle not fed a beta adrenergic agonist. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 581-591. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9824Angus crossbred steers (n = 40; 563 +/- 44 kg) were used to examine the effects of handling method and fat thickness on the blood chemistry and physiology of market steers. Steers were blocked by backfat (BF) thickness and were randomly assigned to treatment groups: low-stress handling (LSH) and aggressive handling (AH). Cattle were then ran-domly assigned to one of 5 blocks containing 4 steers from the LSH and AH treatments. Steers in the LSH treatment were walked and AH cattle were run through a course of 1,540 m. Blood samples were obtained via jugular venipuncture before handling (BASE), at 770 m (LAP1), at 1,540 m (LAP2), and at1 h (1H) and 2 h (2H) after finishing the course. Blood samples were analyzed for plasma lactate (LAC), creatinine kinase (CK), base excess (BE), blood pH (pH), serum cortisol (CORT) concentrations, and venous carbon dioxide (PvCO2) and oxygen (PvO2) pressures. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and rectal temperature (TEMP) were measured at the same intervals. Cattle in the AH treatment had greater (P 0.14). Blood pH in AH cattle was decreased compared with that in LSH cattle (P 0.13) at BASE, 1H, or 2H. Heart rate and TEMP were increased in AH cattle compared to LSH (P > 0.01). Serum cortisol was increased (P < 0.05) in AH compared to that in LSH cattle at LAP1 (87.5 vs. 58.9 nmol/ L), LAP2 (144.4 vs. 93.1 nmol/ L), and 1H (113.5 vs. 53.1 nmol/ L). Although RR was not differ-ent between LSH and AH, PvCO2 was decreased in AH compared to that in LSH (P < 0.05) at LAP2 (30.6 vs. 39.3 mmHg) and PvO2 was increased at LAP1 (42.7 vs. 33.5 mmHg) and at LAP2 (51.5 vs. 36.6 mmHg). Lactate was increased in AH cattle in the thicker BF group at 1H (P < 0.05), and blood pH was decreased at LAP1, LAP2, and 1H (P < 0.05) compared to the thinner BF cohorts. Four AH steers became exhausted (EXH) and did not complete the course. Increased CK, decreased PvCO2, and muscle tremors occurred in EXH steers compared to non-exhausted AH cohorts. Results of this study show that AH causes physiologic and blood chemistry changes in steers, which can be potentially detrimental to cattle, emphasizing the need for lowstress handling practices

Toward a conceptual framework of emotional relationship marketing: an examination of two UK political parties

The purpose of this paper is to review the notion of branding and evaluate its applicability to political parties. As ideological politics is in decline, branding may provide a consistent narrative where voters feel a sense of warmth and belonging. The paper aims to build an understanding of the complexity of building a political brand where a combination of image, logo, leadership, and values can all contribute to a compelling brand narrative. It investigates how competing positive and negative messages attempt to build and distort the brand identity. A critical review of bran ding, relationship marketing, and political science literature articulates the conceptual development of branding and its applicability to political parties. The success or failure of negative campaigning is due to the authenticity of a political party’s brand values — creating a coherent brand story — if there is no distance between the brand values articulated by the political party and the values their community perceives then this creates an "authentic" brand. However, if there is a gap this paper illustrates how negative campaigning can be used to build a "doppelganger brand," which undermines the credibility of the authentic political brand. The paper argues that political parties need to understand how brand stories are developed but also how they can be used to protect against negative advertising. This has implications for political marketing strategists and political parties. This paper draws together branding theory and relationship marketing and incorporates them into a framework that makes a contribution to the political marketing literature

An EMA analysis of the effect of increasing word length on consonant production in apraxia of speech: A case study

The effect of increasing word length on the articulatory dynamics (i.e. duration, distance, maximum acceleration, maximum deceleration, and maximum velocity) of consonant production in acquired apraxia of speech was investigated using electromagnetic articulography (EMA). Tongue-tip and tongue-back movement of one apraxic patient was recorded using the AG-200 EMA system during word-initial consonant productions in one, two, and three syllable words. Significantly deviant articulatory parameters were recorded for each of the target consonants during one, two, and three syllables words. Word length effects were most evident during the release phase of target consonant productions. The results are discussed with respect to theories of speech motor control as they relate to AOS

Theoretical calculations and analysis for n + 6

R-matrix theory is an important methodology for applications on light, medium and heavy mass nuclides nuclear reaction in the resonance energy range. Full R-matrix formalism contains the diagonal elements of the energy levels matrix and it is a rigorous theory. Because of different assumptions and approximations, many kinds of R-matrix derived methods are obtained. The new R-matrix code FDRR is presented and includes 4 kinds of R-matrix applications. It can be used for calculating integral cross sections and angular distributions of 2-bodies reactions. The cross sections and angular distributions of n+ 6Li reaction are calculated and analyzed by FDRR code. The results are in good agreement with experimental data below 20 MeV

Enteral lactoferrin supplementation for very preterm infants: a randomised placebo-controlled trial

Background Infections acquired in hospital are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in very preterm infants. Several small trials have suggested that supplementing the enteral diet of very preterm infants with lactoferrin, an antimicrobial protein processed from cow's milk, prevents infections and associated complications. The aim of this large randomised controlled trial was to collect data to enhance the validity and applicability of the evidence from previous trials to inform practice. Methods In this randomised placebo-controlled trial, we recruited very preterm infants born before 32 weeks' gestation in 37 UK hospitals and younger than 72 h at randomisation. Exclusion criteria were presence of a severe congenital anomaly, anticipated enteral fasting for longer than 14 days, or no realistic prospect of survival. Eligible infants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either enteral bovine lactoferrin (150 mg/kg per day; maximum 300 mg/day; lactoferrin group) or sucrose (same dose; control group) once daily until 34 weeks' postmenstrual age. Web-based randomisation minimised for recruitment site, gestation (completed weeks), sex, and single versus multifetal pregnancy. Parents, caregivers, and outcome assessors were unaware of group assignment. The primary outcome was microbiologically confirmed or clinically suspected late-onset infection (occurring >72 h after birth), which was assessed in all participants for whom primary outcome data was available by calculating the relative risk ratio with 95% CI between the two groups. The trial is registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number 88261002. Findings We recruited 2203 participants between May 7, 2014, and Sept 28, 2017, of whom 1099 were assigned to the lactoferrin group and 1104 to the control group. Four infants had consent withdrawn or unconfirmed, leaving 1098 infants in the lactoferrin group and 1101 in the sucrose group. Primary outcome data for 2182 infants (1093 [99·5%] of 1098 in the lactoferrin group and 1089 [99·0] of 1101 in the control group) were available for inclusion in the modified intention-to-treat analyses. 316 (29%) of 1093 infants in the intervention group acquired a late-onset infection versus 334 (31%) of 1089 in the control group. The risk ratio adjusted for minimisation factors was 0·95 (95% CI 0·86–1·04; p=0·233). During the trial there were 16 serious adverse events for infants in the lactoferrin group and 10 for infants in the control group. Two events in the lactoferrin group (one case of blood in stool and one death after intestinal perforation) were assessed as being possibly related to the trial intervention. Interpretation Enteral supplementation with bovine lactoferrin does not reduce the risk of late-onset infection in very preterm infants. These data do not support its routine use to prevent late-onset infection and associated morbidity or mortality in very preterm infants. Funding UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme (10/57/49)

Non-polynomial Worst-Case Analysis of Recursive Programs

We study the problem of developing efficient approaches for proving worst-case bounds of non-deterministic recursive programs. Ranking functions are sound and complete for proving termination and worst-case bounds of nonrecursive programs. First, we apply ranking functions to recursion, resulting in measure functions. We show that measure functions provide a sound and complete approach to prove worst-case bounds of non-deterministic recursive programs. Our second contribution is the synthesis of measure functions in nonpolynomial forms. We show that non-polynomial measure functions with logarithm and exponentiation can be synthesized through abstraction of logarithmic or exponentiation terms, Farkas' Lemma, and Handelman's Theorem using linear programming. While previous methods obtain worst-case polynomial bounds, our approach can synthesize bounds of the form $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$ as well as $\mathcal{O}(n^r)$ where $r$ is not an integer. We present experimental results to demonstrate that our approach can obtain efficiently worst-case bounds of classical recursive algorithms such as (i) Merge-Sort, the divide-and-conquer algorithm for the Closest-Pair problem, where we obtain $\mathcal{O}(n \log n)$ worst-case bound, and (ii) Karatsuba's algorithm for polynomial multiplication and Strassen's algorithm for matrix multiplication, where we obtain $\mathcal{O}(n^r)$ bound such that $r$ is not an integer and close to the best-known bounds for the respective algorithms.Comment: 54 Pages, Full Version to CAV 201