Socially responsible joint venture, brand misconduct and recovery communication: Implications for relationship quality

There is little doubt that in the past several decades, an increasing number of organisations are seeking out strategic alliances, joint ventures, and an increasing number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in order to gain competitive advantage and enable the organisations to achieve objectives that would not have been possible without the alliance (Das & Teng, 2000; Lacey, Kennett-Hensel, & Manolis, 2014; Nowell & Harrison, 2011; Tjemkes & Furrer, 2010). Increasingly corporations and non-profit organisations or charities are using those relationships and joint projects as critical institutional positioning for achieving mutual goals (Shumate & O'Connor, 2010). These organisations are building ‘ethical brand identifications’ based on the collaborative work they are doing. In fact, as a result of the 2008 economic crash, many companies have increasingly pursued and developed structured ethics programs because those companies engaging in socially responsible activities can gain strength, power, and importance in the global marketplace (Kreng & May-Yao, 2011 945; Uccello, 2009). These CSR initiatives meant to demonstrate a system that values a culture of ethics and support, fulfilling missions, and acting as models for society (Kreng & May-Yao, 2011). Yet despite growing amounts of research analysing relationship quality, corporate social responsibility, crisis communication, and brand misconduct, little research has analysed differences among types of misconduct – for example a transgression where the organisation has broken the law or a transgression where the behaviours are ethically questionable – the relative impact of brand misconduct on corporate and charitable partners in joint venture, nor the effects that response strategies may play in managing the relationships between consumers and these ‘irresponsible’ organisations. In the following section, we describe the literature on CSR joint initiatives and brand misconduct before introducing the relationship marketing dialogue. We then highlight areas of conceptual overlap between relationship marketing, brand misconduct, and crisis response

Killer Coca-Cola vs Pouring on the pounds: Comparing the brand damage potential between negative health messaging and counterbranding strategies

Forget the war on drugs and the fight against tobacco. American public health advocates have a new foe – the soda and beverage industry. Why are sights set on soda consumption? Americans consume a massive amount of high-sugar/fructose corn syrup drinks each year. In fact, half of the U.S. population consumes more than one 12 ounce can of soda each day with some estimates as high as 2.6 glasses consumed each day (Anonymous, 2012a; Ogden, Kit, Carroll, & Park, 2011). Soda consumption is regularly linked with a litany of negative health effects including obesity, type 2 Diabetes, fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, cardiovascular problems, increased risk of stroke, malnutrition, and even cancer (Anonymous, 2012a; Jampolis, 2012; MacVean, 2012). Though the soda industry has agreed to place nutrition information on soda machines (Anonymous, 2012c) and while soda consumption fell by 1% in 2011 (though the price rose by 3% in the same year) (Geller, 2012), the reality is that Americans know it is bad for them yet that knowledge does not quench their thirst (Anonymous, 2012a). A coordinated multi-faceted approach is exactly what organizations like the American Medical Association argue (MacVean, 2012) are necessary if we are to positively affect growing obesity rates in the United States as well as those emerging in many countries around the world (Al-Rethaiaa, Fahmy, & Al-Shwaiyat, 2010; Borgmeier & Westenhofer, 2009; Lawrence et al., 2007). As a result, in recent years arguments for using counterbranding approaches in health campaigns have been growing – lead by research on anti-smoking campaigns – with research demonstrating that negative advertising (i.e., attacks on organizations or industries plus attacks on the behavior) is an effective public health tool in order to promote behavioral change (Apollonio & Malone, 2009; Eisenberg, Ringwalt, Driscoll, Vallee, & Gullette, 2004; Evans, Price, & Blahut, 2005; Farrelly, Davis, Haviland, Messeri, & Healton, 2005; Pralea, 2011; Terblanche-Smit & Terblanch, 2011). In short, a central question emerging among many health advocates is whether manufacturing a crisis for an organization or industry can help to change consumer behaviors. Thus the present study compares the effectiveness of two different approaches – a traditional health belief approach with an emergent counterbranding approach

Individuals living with lupus: findings from the LUPUS UK Members Survey 2014

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex and unpredictable disease which varies greatly among patients and has a significant impact on an individual’s daily living and quality of life. A better understanding of the patients’ experiences with the disease is vital to the effective management of the disease. LUPUS UK, a national UK-registered charity supporting people with systemic and discoid lupus, conducted a UK-wide survey of individuals living with lupus in order to provide foundation information to support and identify gaps needing further research. An anonymous survey was sent to 5660 LUPUS UK members in order to obtain demographic, diagnosis, symptom and treatment information. A total of 2527 surveys were returned by 2371 females (mean age 56.9 years, SD 13.6) and 156 males, (mean age 60.9 years, SD 15.7). Individuals reported a mean (SD) time to diagnosis from the first symptom of 6.4 (9.5) years, with 47% (n ¼ 1186) initially being given a different diagnosis prior to lupus. Fatigue/weakness (91%, n ¼ 2299) and joint pain/swelling (77.4%, n ¼ 1957) were the most common symptoms that interfere with daily activities, while 73% (n ¼ 1836) noted having some problems that make them unable to carry out their usual daily activities. Thirty-two per cent (n ¼ 806) were also seeking support beyond traditional pharmacological treatments, such as acupuncture and massage. This study highlights the range and frequency of symptoms difficult to live with on a daily basis and support areas needing further research to improve patients’ well-being

Spin-crossover, mesomorphic and thermoelectrical properties of cobalt(II) complexes with alkylated N3-Schiff bases

Three new cobalt(ii) complexes, [Co(L12)2](BF4)2 (1), [Co(L14)2](BF4)2·H2O (2) and [Co(L16)2](BF4)2·H2O (3), where L12-16 are N3-Schiff bases appended with linear C12-16 carbon chains at the nitrogen atoms, were obtained in good yields by facile one-pot reactions. The single crystal X-ray structure of complex 1 shows a tetragonally compressed CoN6 coordination geometry. The melting temperatures of 1-3 were lower than 373 K, while their decomposition temperatures were above 473 K. All complexes have high-spin Co(ii) centres at 300 K and exhibit a columnar mesophase above 383 K. Complexes 1 and 3 showed normal thermal spin-crossover behaviour with weak hysteresis loops at about 320 K. Hence, these complexes showed uncoupled phase transitions (class iiia). The values for the Seebeck coefficient (Se) of the cobalt redox couples formed from 1 and 2 were 1.89 ± 0.02 mV K-1 and 1.92 ± 0.08 mV K-1, respectively, identifying them as potential thermoelectrochemical materials

Mediastinal abscess after endobronchial ultrasound with transbronchial needle aspiration: a case report

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) with transbronchial needle aspiration is now becoming widely accepted as a preferred staging technique. It has been perceived as a non-invasive and well tolerated procedure with minimal complications. We report the development and treatment of a severe complication that developed 2 weeks after the initial procedure in the form of a complex mediastinal abscess. EBUS although useful in its non-invasive application for diagnosing mediastinal or hilar disease, must be regarded with caution since the potential exists to develop severe complications

Evaluating regulatory strategies for mitigating hydrological risk in Brazil through diversification of its electricity mix

Hydroelectricity provides approximately 65% of Brazil’s power generating capacity, making the country vulnerable to droughts, which are becoming increasingly frequent. Current energy law and policy responses to the problem rely on a sectorial approach and prioritise energy security and market regulation. Brazil has opted to increase energy security levels during periods of hydrological variability with national grid interconnection and thermal plants backup. Additionally, Brazil has created the Energy Reallocation Mechanism (MRE) to manage the generators’ financial impacts in times of insufficient water. This policy, however, was unable to avoid the high financial exposure of generators in the spot market during the severe droughts experienced in the period 2013-2017. To explore how a more diversified electricity matrix can contribute to reducing hydrological risk, this article uses Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) techniques to analyse future macroeconomic and energy scenarios for Brazil in a global context, aligned with the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We show that the addition of non-hydro renewables is an advantage from the integrated Water-Energy-Food nexus perspective because it reduces trade-offs amongst the water and energy sectors. Our conclusions suggest that a nexus perspective can provide useful insights on how to design energy laws and policies.Philomathia Foundation; Cambridge Humanities Research Grant

Cancer cells exploit an orphan RNA to drive metastatic progression.

Here we performed a systematic search to identify breast-cancer-specific small noncoding RNAs, which we have collectively termed orphan noncoding RNAs (oncRNAs). We subsequently discovered that one of these oncRNAs, which originates from the 3' end of TERC, acts as a regulator of gene expression and is a robust promoter of breast cancer metastasis. This oncRNA, which we have named T3p, exerts its prometastatic effects by acting as an inhibitor of RISC complex activity and increasing the expression of the prometastatic genes NUPR1 and PANX2. Furthermore, we have shown that oncRNAs are present in cancer-cell-derived extracellular vesicles, raising the possibility that these circulating oncRNAs may also have a role in non-cell autonomous disease pathogenesis. Additionally, these circulating oncRNAs present a novel avenue for cancer fingerprinting using liquid biopsies

Immune-mediated competition in rodent malaria is most likely caused by induced changes in innate immune clearance of merozoites

Malarial infections are often genetically diverse, leading to competitive interactions between parasites. A quantitative understanding of the competition between strains is essential to understand a wide range of issues, including the evolution of virulence and drug resistance. In this study, we use dynamical-model based Bayesian inference to investigate the cause of competitive suppression of an avirulent clone of Plasmodium chabaudi (AS) by a virulent clone (AJ) in immuno-deficient and competent mice. We test whether competitive suppression is caused by clone-specific differences in one or more of the following processes: adaptive immune clearance of merozoites and parasitised red blood cells (RBCs), background loss of merozoites and parasitised RBCs, RBC age preference, RBC infection rate, burst size, and within-RBC interference. These processes were parameterised in dynamical mathematical models and fitted to experimental data. We found that just one parameter μ, the ratio of background loss rate of merozoites to invasion rate of mature RBCs, needed to be clone-specific to predict the data. Interestingly, μ was found to be the same for both clones in single-clone infections, but different between the clones in mixed infections. The size of this difference was largest in immuno-competent mice and smallest in immuno-deficient mice. This explains why competitive suppression was alleviated in immuno-deficient mice. We found that competitive suppression acts early in infection, even before the day of peak parasitaemia. These results lead us to argue that the innate immune response clearing merozoites is the most likely, but not necessarily the only, mediator of competitive interactions between virulent and avirulent clones. Moreover, in mixed infections we predict there to be an interaction between the clones and the innate immune response which induces changes in the strength of its clearance of merozoites. What this interaction is unknown, but future refinement of the model, challenged with other datasets, may lead to its discovery

Voxel-wise comparisons of cellular microstructure and diffusion-MRI in mouse hippocampus using 3D Bridging of Optically-clear histology with Neuroimaging Data (3D-BOND)

A key challenge in medical imaging is determining a precise correspondence between image properties and tissue microstructure. This comparison is hindered by disparate scales and resolutions between medical imaging and histology. We present a new technique, 3D Bridging of Optically-clear histology with Neuroimaging Data (3D-BOND), for registering medical images with 3D histology to overcome these limitations. Ex vivo 120 × 120 × 200 μm resolution diffusion-MRI (dMRI) data was acquired at 7 T from adult C57Bl/6 mouse hippocampus. Tissue was then optically cleared using CLARITY and stained with cellular markers and confocal microscopy used to produce high-resolution images of the 3D-tissue microstructure. For each sample, a dense array of hippocampal landmarks was used to drive registration between upsampled dMRI data and the corresponding confocal images. The cell population in each MRI voxel was determined within hippocampal subregions and compared to MRI-derived metrics. 3D-BOND provided robust voxel-wise, cellular correlates of dMRI data. CA1 pyramidal and dentate gyrus granular layers had significantly different mean diffusivity (p > 0.001), which was related to microstructural features. Overall, mean and radial diffusivity correlated with cell and axon density and fractional anisotropy with astrocyte density, while apparent fibre density correlated negatively with axon density. Astrocytes, axons and blood vessels correlated to tensor orientation

Physical and mental health comorbidity is common in people with multiple sclerosis: nationally representative cross-sectional population database analysis

<b>Background</b> Comorbidity in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is associated with worse health and higher mortality. This study aims to describe clinician recorded comorbidities in people with MS. <p></p> <b>Methods</b> 39 comorbidities in 3826 people with MS aged ≥25 years were compared against 1,268,859 controls. Results were analysed by age, gender, and socioeconomic status, with unadjusted and adjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) calculated using logistic regression. <p></p> <b>Results</b> People with MS were more likely to have one (OR 2.44; 95% CI 2.26-2.64), two (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.38-1.62), three (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.69-2.04), four or more (OR 1.61; 95% CI 1.47-1.77) non-MS chronic conditions than controls, and greater mental health comorbidity (OR 2.94; 95% CI 2.75-3.14), which increased as the number of physical comorbidities rose. Cardiovascular conditions, including atrial fibrillation (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.36-0.67), chronic kidney disease (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.40-0.65), heart failure (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.45-0.85), coronary heart disease (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.52-0.71), and hypertension (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.59-0.72) were significantly less common in people with MS. <p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> People with MS have excess multiple chronic conditions, with associated increased mental health comorbidity. The low recorded cardiovascular comorbidity warrants further investigation