Burning down the House: Emotional Labor, Burnout and Real Estate Sales Professionals

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of emotional labor on instances of burnout by specifically focusing on real estate sales professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008) cites the purchase or sale of a home as one of the most substantial and complicated financial events most people ever experience, thereby magnifying the challenges of work and communication in the real estate sales profession and providing a rich framework for understanding the concepts of emotional labor and burnout. A three part questionnaire focused on emotional labor and burnout was distributed to 450 real estate sales professionals in early March, 2008. Linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the predictive values of emotional labor components with burnout components. Findings in this study indicated that real estate sales professionals may rarely be required to display feelings in prescribed ways due to the autonomous nature of real estate sales work. Various implications and suggestions related to identification and empathy surfaced in the discussion chapter as components of emotional labor and burnout were considered in the context of the real estate sales profession

Enhancing patient experience by training local trainers in fundamental communication skills

Medical centers have a vested interest in improving patient experience through enhancing communication skills. The American Academy on Communication in Healthcare has helped institutions across the country establish internal expertise through delivering train-the-trainer programs. The phases of the program include preparing for implementation of the program, having program participants undergo a fundamental communication skills workshop and then understanding the theoretical and practical rationales underlying the workshop, setting up practice sessions for participants to achieve mastery, and ensuring long-term viability of a communication skills improvement initiative. Outcomes for participants include increased self-assessed personal communication skill, optimism about rolling out a communication skills program, and enhanced communication and hopefulness in working with colleagues. Train-the-trainer programs are a viable way to create enduring communities of local experts who can implement and support institutions’ commitments to excellence in the communication skills of their providers

An Analysis of International Student Recruitment for UK Business Schools: A Chinese and Indian Cultural Perspective

This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of understanding international higher education services within the UK, which is underpinned by marketing theories and serves to provide managerial implications for education marketers. This is undertaken within the specific context of Chinese and Indian's decision making process of choosing to study a UK business degree. The purpose of this dissertation is to systematically examine and critically evaluate literature in international higher education services, the consumers decision making process and underlying characteristic of Chinese and Indian culture which influences their decisions. A proposed model was developed based on the existing literature derived from the decision making process of international students and Chinese and Indian cultural value systems. Furthermore, the researcher empirically tested these frameworks on Chinese and Indian students' choice of behaviour, which in turn supports revised models. These serve to provide managerial implications for both UK higher educational institutions in general and business school management and marketers. This study consists of three main sections. The 1st section (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) comprise the literature review which contains an outline of the service characteristics in the higher education sector. Chapter 2 begins by providing an overview of the main education exports, the USA, UK before then focusing on the increasing trend of internationalisation of education, including the preferred study of business and increasing demand from emerging markers, namely China and India. The 1st section then moves on to critically assess and evaluate existing decision-making models before the author proposes an new and extended model which hopes to identify gaps in the literature. This part of the study draws to a close by recognising culture as a significant influence on the decision making process of Chinese and Indian students. The second section of this study includes the research methodology (Chapter 5). Research paradigms are discussed, followed by an evaluation of the effectiveness of the qualitative in- depth interview as the main method of this study. Finally, the 2nd section examines the questionnaire design, its modification, sampling, and measurement procedures. The third section presents the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained in reference to the literature review and the model proposed by the author. The final sections also summarises the main research contributions and conclusions of this study, discusses the managerial implications and outlines the limitations and suggests future research directions

Use of formative research in developing a knowledge translation approach to rotavirus vaccine introduction in developing countries

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the leading cause of diarrheal disease mortality among children under five, resulting in 450,000 to 700,000 deaths each year, and another 2 million hospitalizations, mostly in the developing world. Nearly every child in the world is infected with rotavirus at least once before they are five years old. Vaccines to prevent rotavirus or minimize its severity are now becoming available, and have already been introduced into the public vaccine programs of several Latin American countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has made rotavirus vaccine introduction in developing countries a high priority. The WHOs Guidelines for Vaccine Introduction indicates that a key determinant to achieving vaccine introduction is the public health priority of the disease, suggesting that where the disease is not a priority uptake of the vaccine is unlikely. WHO recommends conducting a qualitative analysis of opinions held by the public health community to determine the perceptions of the disease and the priority given to the vaccine. METHODS: This paper presents the formative research results of a qualitative survey of public health providers in five low- and middle-income countries to determine if and to what degree rotavirus is perceived to be a problem and the priority of a vaccine. Open-ended surveys were carried out through focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. RESULTS: Researchers discovered that in all five countries knowledge of rotavirus was extremely low, and as a result was not considered a high priority. However, diarrhea among young children was considered a high priority among public health providers in the three poorest countries with relatively high levels of child mortality: India, Indonesia, and Nicaragua. CONCLUSION: In the poorest countries, advocacy and communication efforts to raise awareness about rotavirus sufficient for prioritization and accelerated vaccine introduction might benefit from a knowledge translation approach that delivers information and evidence about rotavirus through the broader context of diarrheal disease control, an existing priority, and including information about other new interventions, specifically low-osmolarity oral rehydration solution and zinc treatment

College Students, Technology, and Time

Our research explores CUNY students’ lived experiences using digital technology in and out of class, on and off campus. Beyond checking grades or emailing a professor, students use digital technology to create space and time for their schoolwork. However, technology can also impede students’ opportunities for making space and time. Understanding how students use digital technology is crucial for colleges and universities to better support students in their academic work

BpaB, a Novel Protein Encoded by the Lyme Disease Spirochete\u27s Cp32 Prophages, Binds to Erp Operator 2 DNA

Borrelia burgdorferi produces Erp outer surface proteins throughout mammalian infection, but represses their synthesis during colonization of vector ticks. A DNA region 5′ of the start of erp transcription, Operator 2, was previously shown to be essential for regulation of expression. We now report identification and characterization of a novel erp Operator 2-binding protein, which we named BpaB. erp operons are located on episomal cp32 prophages, and a single bacterium may contain as many as 10 different cp32s. Each cp32 family member encodes a unique BpaB protein, yet the three tested cp32-encoded BpaB alleles all bound to the same DNA sequence. A 20-bp region of erp Operator 2 was determined to be essential for BpaB binding, and initial protein binding to that site was required for binding of additional BpaB molecules. A 36-residue region near the BpaB carboxy terminus was found to be essential for high-affinity DNA-binding. BpaB competed for binding to erp Operator 2 with a second B. burgdorferi DNA-binding protein, EbfC. Thus, cellular levels of free BpaB and EbfC could potentially control erp transcription levels

BpaB, a novel protein encoded by the Lyme disease spirochete’s cp32 prophages, binds to erp Operator 2 DNA

Borrelia burgdorferi produces Erp outer surface proteins throughout mammalian infection, but represses their synthesis during colonization of vector ticks. A DNA region 5′ of the start of erp transcription, Operator 2, was previously shown to be essential for regulation of expression. We now report identification and characterization of a novel erp Operator 2-binding protein, which we named BpaB. erp operons are located on episomal cp32 prophages, and a single bacterium may contain as many as 10 different cp32s. Each cp32 family member encodes a unique BpaB protein, yet the three tested cp32-encoded BpaB alleles all bound to the same DNA sequence. A 20-bp region of erp Operator 2 was determined to be essential for BpaB binding, and initial protein binding to that site was required for binding of additional BpaB molecules. A 36-residue region near the BpaB carboxy terminus was found to be essential for high-affinity DNA-binding. BpaB competed for binding to erp Operator 2 with a second B. burgdorferi DNA-binding protein, EbfC. Thus, cellular levels of free BpaB and EbfC could potentially control erp transcription levels

Ocean-related options for climate change mitigation and adaptation: A machine learning-based evidence map protocol

BackgroundOcean-related options (OROs) to mitigate and adapt to climate change are receiving increasing attention from practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers. In order to guide future ORO development and implementation, a catalogue of scientific evidence addressing outcomes related to different ORO types is critical. However, until now, such a synthesis has been hindered by the large size of the evidence base. Here, we detail a protocol using a machine learning-based approach to systematically map the extent and distribution of academic evidence relevant to the development, implementation, and outcomes of OROs.MethodTo produce this systematic map, literature searches will be conducted in English across two bibliographic databases using a string of search terms relating to the ocean, climate change, and OROs. A sample of articles from the resulting de-duplicated corpus will be manually screened at the title and abstract level for inclusion or exclusion against a set of predefined eligibility criteria in order to select all relevant literature on marine and coastal socio-ecological systems, the type of ORO and its outcomes. Descriptive metadata on the type and location of intervention, study methodology, and outcomes will be coded from the included articles in the sample. This sample of screening and coding decisions will be used to train a machine learning model that will be used to estimate these labels for all the remaining unseen publications. The results will be reported in a narrative synthesis summarising key trends, knowledge gaps, and knowledge clusters

Circulating Angiogenic Factors Associated with Response and Survival in Patients with Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease: Results from Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 0302 and 0802

AbstractCirculating angiogenic factors (AF) reflect tissue healing capacity, although some AF can also contribute to inflammation and are indicative of endothelial dysfunction. The AF milieu in acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has not been broadly characterized. We hypothesized that patients with abundant AF involved in repair/regeneration versus those mediating damage/inflammation would have improved outcomes. Circulating AF known predominantly for repair/regeneration (epidermal growth factor [EGF], fibroblast growth factor-1 and -2, heparin binding–EGF–like growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor-A [VEGF-A], -C, and -D) and for damage/inflammation (angiopoietin-2, endothelin-1, soluble endoglin [sEng], follistatin [FS], leptin, and placental growth factor [PlGF]) were measured in a discovery set of hematopoietic cell recipients with grade III and IV aGVHD and compared with controls, then validated in 2 aGVHD cohorts enrolled in Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) trials 0302 (n = 105, serum) and 0802 (n = 158, plasma) versus controls without aGVHD (n = 53, serum). Levels of EGF and VEGF-A were lower than in controls at the onset of aGVHD in both trials and higher with complete response to first-line aGVHD therapy in CTN 0802. FS and PlGF were elevated in aGVHD measured in either serum or plasma. At day 28 after initial aGVHD therapy, elevated FS was an independent negative prognostic factor for survival in both cohorts (hazard ratio, 9.3 in CTN 0302; 2.8 in CTN 0802). These data suggest that circulating AF are associated with clinical outcomes after aGVHD and, thus, may contribute to both pathogenesis and recovery

Nutrition and income from molluscs today imply vulnerability to ocean acidification tomorrow

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of John Wiley & Sons for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Fish and Fisheries 13 (2012): 182-215, doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00424.x.Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human industrial activities are causing a progressive alteration of seawater chemistry, termed ocean acidification, that has decreased seawater pH and carbonate ion concentration markedly since the Industrial Revolution. Many marine organisms, like molluscs and corals, build hard shells and skeletons using carbonate ions, and they exhibit negative overall responses to ocean acidification. This adds to other chronic and acute environmental pressures and promotes shifts away from calcifierrich communities. In this study, we examine the possible implications of ocean acidification on mollusc harvests worldwide by examining present production, consumption, and export and by relating those data to present and future surface ocean chemistry forecast by a coupled-climate ocean model (Community Climate System 3.1; CCSM3). We identify the “transition decade” when future ocean chemistry will distinctly differ from that of today (2010), and when mollusc harvest levels similar to those of the present cannot be guaranteed if present ocean chemistry is a significant determinant of today’s mollusc production. We assess nations’ vulnerability to ocean acidification-driven decreases in mollusc harvests by comparing nutritional and economic dependences on mollusc harvests, overall societal adaptability, and the amount of time until the transition decade. Projected transition decades for individual countries will occur 10-50 years after 2010. Countries with low adaptability, high nutritional or economic dependence on molluscs, rapidly approaching transition decades, or rapidly growing populations will therefore be most vulnerable to ocean acidification-driven mollusc harvest decreases. These transition decades suggest how soon nations should implement strategies, such as increased aquaculture of resilient species, to help maintain current per capita mollusc harvests.This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant ATM-0628582, the Climate and Energy Decision Making (CEDM) Center that is supported under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (SES-0949710), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Policy Center