Using Social Media to Enhance Customer Service: A Study of Independent Day Spas in Phoenix, Arizona

Social media customer service is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses, and many small businesses struggle in this area. This qualitative study explored how independent day spas use Facebook and Instagram for customer service and their effectiveness on these platforms. The participants included ten small, independent days spas in the Phoenix, Arizona, areas with ten or fewer employees, have less than $1,500,000 in annual revenue, and have a presence on Facebook and Instagram. Four common themes arose from this research. First, day spa owners/managers generally have at least a basic knowledge of Facebook and Instagram. Second, owners/managers are typically the ones managing social media for their spa. Third, the age of the spa owner/manager can be a factor in the success of a spa’s social media presence. Finally, excellent customer service across all channels is a high priority for these small day spas. Common reasons for not successfully using Instagram and Facebook for customer service included a lack of knowledge or understanding of the platforms for business purposes, lack of time, or lack of resources. This study also uncovered three practical applications of the findings. First, small, independent day spas can have successful social media customer service regardless of the spa’s revenue, number of employees, or budget. Next, the research showed that providing effective customer service on Facebook and Instagram can positively impact revenue for small, independent day spas. Finally, the researcher found that based on the systems and methods in place at the participants who have excellent social media customer service, most small, independent days spas can make small changes in their business to improve their customer service on Facebook and Instagram hence their overall customer service

Psychotherapeutische Versorgung von Flüchtlingen in Österreich

Diese Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der psychotherapeutischen Versorgung von Flüchtlingen in Österreich. Sie gibt Aufschluss darüber, ob Flüchtlinge, die aus den unterschiedlichsten Gründen nach Österreich emigrieren müssen, holistisch versorgt werden. Der Großteil der Flüchtlinge ist aufgrund schrecklicher Erlebnisse wie Krieg, Gewalt, Inhaftierungen und Folter schwerst traumatisiert. Aber nicht nur die belastenden Umstände im Herkunftsland sondern auch die Flucht an sich stellt ein hohes Stresspotential dar. Umso wichtiger ist es, diese Menschen nach dem Erlebten aufzufangen sowie psychotherapeutisch zu betreuen und zu behandeln. Im Gesamten ist die Arbeit in zwei Teile gegliedert. Der erste Teil gibt einen Einblick in die aktuelle Asylpolitik Österreichs und zeigt, inwiefern und welchen Einfluss diese auf die psychotherapeutische Arbeit mit Flüchtlingen hat. Der zweite Teil beschäftigt sich mit der eigentlichen psychotherapeutischen Arbeit. Hier geht es unter anderem um eine therapienahe Erstversorgung, um Krisenintervention und ein geeignetes psychotherapeutisches Setting. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf den Formen von Traumatisierungen, den Folgeerkrankungen und auf den Spezifika in der psychotherapeutischen Arbeit mit Flüchtlingen

Die (kultur-)politischen Formen eines Filmfestivals am Beispiel der Viennale

Ausgehend von der Fragestellung, welche (kultur-)politischen Formen ein Filmfestival annehmen kann und welche Rolle es in der heutigen Gesellschaft spielt, konzentriert sich die Analyse dieser Arbeit auf die kulturpolitische Zielsetzung der Viennale. Die Geschichte, Kategorie, Organisations- und Programmstruktur und die Rolle des künstlerischen Leiters des größten und ältesten internationalen Filmfestivals Österreichs werden eingangs vorgestellt. Um den Begriff der Politik, sowie er in dieser Arbeit gebraucht wird, zu erfassen, dient eine Ausführung zum besseren Verständnis. Der Begriff der Öffentlichkeit wird nach Ansätzen der Soziologen Habermas, Gerhards und Neidhardt mit drei unterschiedlichen Funktionsformen erklärt. Die herausgearbeiteten Definitionen von Politik und Öffentlichkeit werden im Analyseteil am Untersuchungsgegenstand Viennale angewandt. Aus dem theoretischen Diskurs ergeben sich eine inhaltliche, öffentliche und repräsentative Ebenen, auf denen die politische Wirksamkeit der Viennale analysiert wird. Zudem wird die Einflussnahme der Viennale auf kulturpolitische Entscheidungen und den regulären Kinobetrieb untersucht. Die Erkenntnisse dieser Arbeit verdeutlichen einerseits die Möglichkeiten eines Filmfestivals, sein politisches Engagement zu artikulieren, andererseits die Rolle und Einflussnahme der Viennale innerhalb der österreichischen Kulturpolitik

The Thematic Apperception Test: The relationship between scored fanasy aggression and aggressive behavior

This study attempted to determine the relationship between fantasy aggression and behavioral aggression, and whether fantasy aggression measured by the Thematic Apperception Test is related to behavioral aggression. Participant TAT protocols from psychology clinic files were scored for fantasy aggression, and these scores were correlated with self-reported presence or absence of behavioral aggression. The scoring system used was a blend of popular aggression scales used in the 1960s and newer theory. Other variables that were examined were story length and gender in relation to the measured amount of fantasy and behavioral aggression

RNAi-induced silencing of embryonic tryptophan oxygenase in the Pyralid moth, Plodia interpunctella

Gene silencing through the introduction of double-stranded RNA (RNA interference, RNAi) provides a powerful tool for the elucidation of gene function in many systems, including those where genomics and proteomics are incomplete. The use of RNAi technology for gene silencing in Lepidoptera has lacked significant attention compared to other systems. To demonstrate that RNAi can be utilized in the lepidopteran, Plodia interpunctella, we cloned a cDNA for tryptophan oxygenase, and showed that silencing of tryptophan oxygenase through RNAi during embryonic development resulted in loss of eye-color pigmentation. The complete amino acid sequence of Plodia tryptophan oxygenase can be accessed through NCBI Protein Database under NCBI Accession # AY427951. Abbreviation / RNAi: RNA interference PCR: polymerase chain reaction RT-PCR: reverse transcription-PC

Effects of Pink Bollworm Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis on Phenoloxidase Activity and Susceptibility to Entomopathogenic Nematodes

Widespread planting of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) imposes selection on many key agricultural pests to evolve resistance to Bt. Fitness costs can slow the evolution of Bt resistance. We examined effects of entomopathogenic nematodes on fitness costs of Bt resistance in the pink bollworm,Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a major pest of cotton,Gossypium hirsutum L., in the southwestern United States that is currently controlled by transgenic cotton that produces Bt toxin Cry1Ac. We tested whether the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema riobrave Cabanillas, Poinar, and Raulston (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) affected fitness costs of resistance to Cry1Ac in two laboratory-selected hybrid strains of pink bollworm reared on non-Bt cotton bolls. The nematode S. riobrave imposed a recessive fitness cost for one strain, and H. bacteriophora imposed a fitness cost affecting heterozygous resistant individuals for the other strain. Activity of phenoloxidase, an important component of insects\u27 immune response, did not differ between Bt-resistant and Bt-susceptible families. This suggests phenoloxidase does not affect susceptibility to entomopathogenic nematodes in Bt-resistant pink bollworm. Additionally, phenoloxidase activity does not contribute to Bt resistance, as has been found in some species. We conclude that other mechanisms cause higher nematode-imposed mortality for pink bollworm with Bt resistance genes. Incorporation of nematode-imposed fitness costs into a spatially explicit simulation model suggests that entomopathogenic nematodes in non-Bt refuges could delay resistance by pink bollworm to Bt cotton

An initial event in insect innate immune response: structural and biological studies of interactions between β-1,3-glucan and the N-terminal domain of β-1,3-glucan recognition protein

In response to invading microorganisms, insect β-1,3-glucan recognition protein (βGRP), a soluble receptor in the hemolymph, binds to the surfaces of bacteria and fungi and activates serine protease cascades that promote destruction of pathogens by means of melanization or expression of antimicrobial peptides. Here we report on the NMR solution structure of the N-terminal domain of βGRP (N-βGRP) from Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella), which is sufficient to activate the prophenoloxidase (proPO) pathway resulting in melanin formation. NMR and isothermal calorimetric titrations of N-βGRP with laminarihexaose, a glucose hexamer containing β-1,3 links, suggest a weak binding of the ligand. However, addition of laminarin, a glucose polysaccharide (~ 6 kDa) containing β-1,3 and β-1,6 links that activates the proPO pathway, to N-βGRP results in the loss of NMR cross-peaks from the backbone 15N-1H groups of the protein, suggesting the formation of a large complex. Analytical ultra centrifugation (AUC) studies of formation of N-βGRP:laminarin complex show that ligand-binding induces sel-fassociation of the protein:carbohydrate complex into a macro structure, likely containing six protein and three laminarin molecules (~ 102 kDa). The macro complex is quite stable, as it does not undergo dissociation upon dilution to sub-micromolar concentrations. The structural model thus derived from the present studies for N-βGRP:laminarin complex in solution differs from the one in which a single N-βGRP molecule has been proposed to bind to a triple helical form of laminarin on the basis of an X-ray crystallographic structure of N-βGRP:laminarihexaose complex [Kanagawa, M., Satoh, T., Ikeda, A., Adachi, Y., Ohno, N., and Yamaguchi, Y. (2011) J. Biol. Chem. 286, 29158-29165]. AUC studies and phenoloxidase activation measurements carried out with the designed mutants of N-βGRP indicate that electrostatic interactions involving Asp45, Arg54, and Asp68 between the ligand-bound protein molecules contribute in part to the stability of N-βGRP:laminarin macro complex and that a decreased stability is accompanied by a reduced activation of the proPO pathway. Increased β-1,6 branching in laminarin also results in destabilization of the macro complex. These novel findings suggest that ligand-induced self-association of βGRP:β-1,3-glucan complex may form a platform on a microbial surface for recruitment of downstream proteases, as a means of amplification of the initial signal of pathogen recognition for the activation of the proPO pathway

Chronological Age-Grading of House Flies by Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

The sensitivity and accuracy of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was compared with that of the pteridine fluorescence technique for estimating the chronological age of house flies, Musca domestica (L.). Although results with both techniques were significantly correlated with fly age, confidence limits on predicted ages generally were smaller with NIRS. Young flies could be readily differentiated from old flies by using NIRS. Age predictions using the pteridine method are dependent upon size, sex, and temperature at which adult flies are exposed. In contrast, those factors do not need to be determined for age-grading using NIRS. Classification accuracy using the NIRS method was similar for whole flies, fresh heads, dried heads, and ethanol-preserved heads. The NIRS method was also suitable for predicting age of stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), and face flies, Musca autumnalis De Geer. NIRS has several advantages over the measurement of pteridine levels for age-grading field-collected flies, including speed and portability of instrumentation, and not needing to determine sex, size, and temperatures to which adult flies were exposed