A preliminary analysis of the market for small, medium and large horticultural shows in England

Understanding the consumer is important in estimating the market for an event. This study analysed the socio-demographic and other characteristics of actual and potential visitors to three styles of English horticultural shows. The shows selected varied in terms of their status - national, regional, local; the number of visitors they attract and the length of time they are open to the public. The analysis of the findings of a survey of residents in southern England suggests that whilst age is a key demographic variable, a more valuable means of segmenting the population is by their level of enthusiasm for gardening. Furthermore it is proposed that demand for the largest shows, held nationally can be established not only, through these factors but also, by the potential visitors’ history of attending smaller horticultural shows. The implications for the marketing of these and similar events are discussed

The social and religious philosophy of Harriet Martineau

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1937. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

The Role of Compensation in Nicotine Reduction.

The available research on switching from normal nicotine to very low nicotine content cigarettes shows minimal evidence of compensatory smoking. Mathematical estimations suggest that substantial compensation after switching to very low nicotine cigarettes would be impossible. It is likely that smokers who are unable to tolerate the extent of proposed nicotine reduction would switch to other sources of nicotine, rather than try to compensate by smoking more very low nicotine content cigarettes more intensely

Response Times as an Indicator of Data Quality: Associations with Interviewer, Respondent, and Question Characteristics in a Health Survey of Diverse Respondents

Survey research remains one of the most important ways that researchers learn about key features of populations. Data obtained in the survey interview are a collaborative achievement accomplished through the interplay of the interviewer, respondent, and survey instrument, yet our field is still in the process of comprehensively documenting and examining whether, when, and how characteristics of interviewers, respondents, and questions combine to influence the quality of the data obtained. Researchers tend to consider longer response times as indicators of potential problems as they indicate longer processing or interaction from the respondent, the interviewer (where applicable), or both. Previous work demonstrates response times are associated with various characteristics of interviewers (where applicable), respondents, and questions across web, telephone, and face-to-face interviews. However, these studies vary in the characteristics considered, limited by the characteristics available in the study at hand. In addition, features of the survey interview situation have differential impact on responses from respondents in different racial, ethnic, or other socially defined cultural groups, potentially increasing systematic error and compromising researchers’ ability to make group comparisons. As examples, certain question characteristics or interviewer characteristics may have differential effects across respondents from different racial or ethnic groups (Johnson, Shavitt, and Holbrook 2011; Warnecke et al., 1997). The purpose of the current study is to add to the corpus of existing work to examine how response times are associated with characteristics of interviewers, respondents, and questions, focusing on racially diverse respondents answering questions about trust in medical researchers, participation in medical research, and their health participation. Data are provided by the 2013-2014 “Voices Heard” survey, a computer-assisted telephone survey designed to measure respondents’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to participating in medical research. Interviews (n=410) were conducted with a quota sample of respondents nearly equally distributed into across the following subgroups: white, black, Latino, and American Indian

Measuring Trust in Medical Researchers: Comparing Agree-Disagree and Construct-Specific Survey Questions

While scales measuring subjective constructs historically rely on agree-disagree (AD) questions, recent research demonstrates that construct-specific (CS) questions clarify underlying response dimensions that AD questions leave implicit and CS questions often yield higher measures of data quality. Given acknowledged issues with AD questions and certain established advantages of CS items, the evidence for the superiority of CS questions is more mixed than one might expect. We build on previous investigations by using cognitive interviewing to deepen understanding of AD and CS response processing and potential sources of measurement error. We randomized 64 participants to receive an AD or CS version of a scale measuring trust in medical researchers. We examine several indicators of data quality and cognitive response processing including: reliability, concurrent validity, recency, response latencies, and indicators of response processing difficulties (e.g., uncodable answers). Overall, results indicate reliability is higher for the AD scale, neither scale is more valid, and the CS scale is more susceptible to recency effects for certain questions. Results for response latencies and behavioral indicators provide evidence that the CS questions promote deeper processing. Qualitative analysis reveals five sources of difficulties with response processing that shed light on under-examined reasons why AD and CS questions can produce different results, with CS not always yielding higher measures of data quality than AD

CPI motif interaction is necessary for capping protein function in cells

Capping protein (CP) has critical roles in actin assembly in vivo and in vitro. CP binds with high affinity to the barbed end of actin filaments, blocking the addition and loss of actin subunits. Heretofore, models for actin assembly in cells generally assumed that CP is constitutively active, diffusing freely to find and cap barbed ends. However, CP can be regulated by binding of the ‘capping protein interaction' (CPI) motif, found in a diverse and otherwise unrelated set of proteins that decreases, but does not abolish, the actin-capping activity of CP and promotes uncapping in biochemical experiments. Here, we report that CP localization and the ability of CP to function in cells requires interaction with a CPI-motif-containing protein. Our discovery shows that cells target and/or modulate the capping activity of CP via CPI motif interactions in order for CP to localize and function in cells

Chapter 18: Response Times as an Indicator of Data Quality: Associations with Question, Interviewer, and Respondent Characteristics in a Health Survey of Diverse Respondents. Appendix 18

Appendix 18A Description of individual question characteristics and hypotheses for their relationship with RTs Appendix 18B Description of established tools for evaluating questions and hypotheses for their relationship with RTs Appendix 18C Sample Description Table 18.C1. Number of completed interviews by respondents’ race/ethnicity and sample Appendix 18D Additional Tables Appendix 18E Reference