Using Focus Groups and Correspondence Analysis to Explore the Relationship Between Millennials\u27 Online Behavior and Their Opinions of Online Reviews

Consumer decision-making regarding a purchase is usually influenced by feedback received from other people in addition to prior experiences/beliefs/attitudes and marketer dominated information. Such diverse sources of influence are collectively referred to as the influence mix (Simonson and Rosen 2014). Of the different sources in the influence mix, word-of-mouth (i.e., feedback received from other people) is one of the most impactful sources of information (Duan, Gu, and Whinston 2008). With the advent of e-tailers on the Internet, the influence of word-of-mouth communication has grown significantly in the form of online consumer reviews (Schindler ad Bickart 2012). Research has shown that online reviews significantly influence consumer purchase decisions (see, for example, Chevalier and Mayzlin 2006; Senecal and Nantel 2004). Further, according to Zhu and Zhan (2010), 24% of Internet consumers avail themselves of online reviews before buying an offering offline; additionally, the authors note that an increasing number of firms persuade consumers to spread word of their offerings online

Service Quality Determinants and Effectiveness in the Real Estate Brokerage Industry

This study provides an analysis of the real estate brokerage industry for the purposes of identifying the determinants of service quality, the level of service quality, and possible service quality improvement measures. Factor analysis of survey response data is used to develop an empirical application of a theoretical service quality model. Except for rank order, real estate service quality determinants are found to match those in other industries. Real estate service quality met expectations in three areas, and was below expectations in two areas. Salesperson performance evaluation measures are suggested to improve service quality.

Providing Strategic Direction and Marketing Insights for a Mature Aquatic Facility

As local communities all over the country are facing declining usage of aquatic centers as they age, recreation departments must decide how to address the increasing loss of revenue while also continuing to provide a desired service. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current situation of a municipal aquatic center located in the Southeast United States in order to determine what steps could be taken to increase usage and decrease negative cash flow. While the Center is still very functional, little has been done in recent decades to update or market it and usage has greatly declined. The study reports how the town sought outside expertise in order to determine what elements of the marketing mix may be better used to minimize the negative cash flow generated by the Center and direct future strategic planning. The SWOT analysis developed through the use of a nominal group is described with the panel\u27s recommendations for future steps and development options included. The town is now able to make an informed decision as to how best spend limited resources and direct efforts to not only resuscitate their aging facility, but also enhance the image of the town and develop much needed new revenue streams

The Kepler Pixel Response Function

Kepler seeks to detect sequences of transits of Earth-size exoplanets orbiting Solar-like stars. Such transit signals are on the order of 100 ppm. The high photometric precision demanded by Kepler requires detailed knowledge of how the Kepler pixels respond to starlight during a nominal observation. This information is provided by the Kepler pixel response function (PRF), defined as the composite of Kepler's optical point spread function, integrated spacecraft pointing jitter during a nominal cadence and other systematic effects. To provide sub-pixel resolution, the PRF is represented as a piecewise-continuous polynomial on a sub-pixel mesh. This continuous representation allows the prediction of a star's flux value on any pixel given the star's pixel position. The advantages and difficulties of this polynomial representation are discussed, including characterization of spatial variation in the PRF and the smoothing of discontinuities between sub-pixel polynomial patches. On-orbit super-resolution measurements of the PRF across the Kepler field of view are described. Two uses of the PRF are presented: the selection of pixels for each star that maximizes the photometric signal to noise ratio for that star, and PRF-fitted centroids which provide robust and accurate stellar positions on the CCD, primarily used for attitude and plate scale tracking. Good knowledge of the PRF has been a critical component for the successful collection of high-precision photometry by Kepler.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted by ApJ Letters. Version accepted for publication

Race Differences in Initial Presentation, Early Treatment, and 1-year Outcomes of Pediatric Crohnʼs Disease: Results from the ImproveCareNow Network

BACKGROUND: Racially disparate care has been shown to contribute to suboptimal health care outcomes for minorities. Using the ImproveCareNow network, we investigated differences in management and outcomes of pediatric patients with Crohn's disease at diagnosis and 1-year postdiagnosis. METHODS: ImproveCareNow is a learning health network for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease. It contains prospective, longitudinal data from outpatient encounters. This retrospective study included all patients with Crohn's disease ≤21 years, September 2006 to October 2014, with the first recorded encounter ≤90 days from date of diagnosis and an encounter 1 year ±60 days. We examined the effect of race on remission rate and treatment at diagnosis and 1 year from diagnosis using t-tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, χ statistic, and Fisher's exact tests, where appropriate, followed by univariate regression models. RESULTS: Nine hundred seventy-six patients (Black = 118 (12%), White = 858 (88%), mean age = 13 years, 63% male) from 39 sites were included. Black children had a higher percentage of Medicaid insurance (44% versus 11%, P < 0.001). At diagnosis, Black children had more active disease according to physician global assessment (P = 0.027), but not by short Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (P = 0.67). Race differences in treatment were not identified. Black children had lower hematocrit (34.8 versus 36.7, P < 0.001) and albumin levels (3.6 versus 3.9, P = 0.001). At 1 year, Black children had more active disease according to physician global assessment (P = 0.016), but not by short Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Black children with Crohn's disease may have more severe disease than White children based on physician global assessment. Neither disease phenotype differences at diagnosis nor treatment differences at 1-year follow-up were identified

Racial Disparities in Readmission, Complications, and Procedures in Children with Crohnʼs Disease:

Racial disparities in care and outcomes contribute to mortality and morbidity in children however the role in pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD) is unclear. In this study, we compared cohorts of Black and White children with CD to determine the extent race is associated with differences in readmissions, complications, and procedures among hospitalizations in the United States

Summary: Combating Climate Change with Section 115 of the Clean Air Act

The scale and scope of the climate crisis calls for comprehensive nationwide efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. New legislation, passed by Congress and signed by the President, is the first and best option for climate action at the federal level. This could be a version of the Green New Deal, a carbon tax, sectoral limits, an emissions cap with compliance trading, or another approach. What matters most is that the legislation effectively cut the greenhouse gas emissions driving the world’s temperatures ever higher. Unfortunately, the prospect for federal legislation is uncertain, while strong and decisive action is needed now. A president committed to tackling climate change will need a backup plan in case Congress remains gridlocked, one that relies on existing statutes to achieve the deep emission reductions the science says we need

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE)

The Primordial Inflation Explorer is an Explorer-class mission to measure the gravity-wave signature of primordial inflation through its distinctive imprint on the linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background. PIXIE uses an innovative optical design to achieve background-limited sensitivity in 400 spectral channels spanning 2.5 decades in frequency from 30 GHz to 6 THz (1 cm to 50 micron wavelength). Multi-moded non-imaging optics feed a polarizing Fourier Transform Spectrometer to produce a set of interference fringes, proportional to the difference spectrum between orthogonal linear polarizations from the two input beams. Multiple levels of symmetry and signal modulation combine to reduce the instrumental signature and confusion from unpolarized sources to negligible levels. PIXIE will map the full sky in Stokes I, Q, and U parameters with angular resolution 2.6 deg and sensitivity 0.2 K per 1 deg square pixel. The principal science goal is the detection and characterization of linear polarization from an inflationary epoch in the early universe, with tensor-to-scalar ratio r less than 10(exp 3) at 5 standard deviations. In addition, PIXIE will measure the absolute frequency spectrum to constrain physical processes ranging from inflation to the nature of the first stars to the physical conditions within the interstellar medium of the Galaxy. We describe the PIXIE instrument and mission architecture with an emphasis on the expected level of systematic error suppression

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) Mission

The Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) is an Explorer-class mission to map the absolute intensity and linear polarization of the cosmic microwave background and diffuse astrophysical foregrounds over the full sky from frequencies 30 GHz to 6 THz (I cm to 50 I-tm wavelength). PIXIE uses a polarizing Michelson interferometer with 2.7 K optics to measure the difference spectrum between two orthogonal linear polarizations from two co-aligned beams. Either input can view either the sky or a temperature-controlled absolute reference blackbody calibrator. The multimoded optics and high etendu provide sensitivity comparable to kilo-pixel focal plane arrays, but with greatly expanded frequency coverage while using only 4 detectors total. PIXIE builds on the highly successful COBEIFIRAS design by adding large-area polarization-sensitive detectors whose fully symmetric optics are maintained in thermal equilibrium with the CMB. The highly symmetric nulled design provides redundant rejection of major sources of systematic uncertainty. The principal science goal is the detection and characterization of linear polarization from an inflationary epoch in the early universe, with tensor-to-scalar ratio r much less than 10(exp -3). PIXIE will also return a rich data set constraining physical processes ranging from Big Bang cosmology, reionization, and large-scale structure to the local interstellar medium. Keywords: cosmic microwave background, polarization, FTS, bolomete