Realism And Fantasy In Motion Pictures: Transportation Under Debate

Transportation is commonly presented in the context of realistic narratives. An important facet of transportation, which means being absorbed into the written narrative flow of a story, relies on its capacity to influence individuals’ beliefs. This research examines whether (i) the effects of transportation is replicable with movies; (ii) an individual difference, such as fantasy proneness, shapes the relationship between the realism of the movie and the transportation level of the individual. Two studies show that (a) movies have an impact on individuals’ transportation; (b) realistic movies have a greater impact on transportation than fantastic movies; (c) fantasy proneness increases the level of transportation; (d) transported individuals better evaluate movies

Occurrence of Fipronil in residential house dust in the presence and absence of pets: a hint for a comprehensive toxicological assessment

The presence of the insecticide Fipronil and its main products of toxicological relevance, namely Sulfone and Desulfinyl, was assessed in 161 residential house dust samples in the absence (N = 101) and presence (N = 60) of cats and dogs in Italy. High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis revealed a significant difference (p < 0.001) in the dust contamination in the presence of pets (median: 467 vs. 24 ng/g dry weight), even if the highest value was found in the absence of pets (82,069 vs. 67,799 ng/g dry weight). Fipronil intake estimates from dust in toddlers, computed according to US-EPA and EU-ECHA guidelines, ranged from 333 to 556 and from 20 to 34 ng/kg per day for acute and chronic scenario, respectively. Dust seemed not able itself to lead to Fipronil overexposure with respect to acute and chronic toxicity health-based guidance values. Kittens were potentially overexposed to Fipronil under both acute (26,076 ng/kg per day) and chronic (1,633 ng/kg per day) scenarios. The mild symptomatology associated with acute intoxication could possibly determine case underreporting within pharmacosurveillance schemes. Its administration was estimated in 7.3\u20139.7 tons per year. Such a range suggests its prudent use under strict veterinary control to prevent pest resistance and ecotoxicological outcomes

Perfuorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), Brominated Dioxins (PBDDs) and Furans (PBDFs) in Wild and Farmed Organisms at Different Trophic Levels in the Mediterranean Sea

The present study shows the results of perfuorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), brominated dioxins (PBDDs) and furans (PBDFs) measured in several marine fish and seafood of commercial interest at different trophic levels of the food chain. The aims were to investigate the level of the contamination in Mediterranean aquatic wildlife, and in farmed fish, to assess human exposure associated to fishery products consumption. Samples of wild fish were collected during three different sampling campaigns in different Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 37 areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, farmed fish (gilthead sea bream and European sea bass) from off-shore cages from different marine aquaculture plants. Results showed contamination values of PFOS and PFOA were lower than those detected in sea basins other than the Mediterranean Sea. Concentration values of PFOS were generally higher than those of PFOA; moreover, levels in farmed fish were lower than in wild samples from the Mediterranean Sea. Intake of PFOS and PFOA through fishery products consumption was estimated to be 2.12 and 0.24 ng/kgBWday, respectively, for high consumers (95th percentile). Results of 2,3,7,8-substituted congeners of PBDDs and PBDFs were almost all below the limit of detection (LOD), making it difficult to establish the contribution of these compounds to the total contamination of dioxin-like compounds in fish and fishery products

Are advertising appeal effective? Insights from a Meta- Analysis

In this research we conduct a very comprehensive quantitative and qualitative literature review of 978 reports, to study: i) whether and by what size advertisements with appeals are more persuasive and better liked than ads with no appeals; ii) the various appeals in order to determine their relative effectiveness on two outcome variables: Persuasion and Aad (attitude toward the Ad). Results confirm that ads carrying appeals are significantly more persuasive and better liked than are ads with no appeals. In addition, we found strong evidences that the impact of the most important types of appeals on consumer response differ significantly from each other

Relationship Management for a cultural institution: the case of the Out Off Theatre

This paper presents the results of an explorative investigation carried out to research the characteristics of managing customer relationships in an arts and cultural institution. Because of the difficulty in clearly identifying both the customer value of this kind of offer and its competitors from the customer’s point of view, and because of the continuous reduction in funding, arts and cultural institutions could benefit from better management of customer relationships. Our findings indicate that better customer relationships are part of an overall improvement in the management of the relations with all interlocutors, because market synergies can cause any marketing policy to affect the whole set of relationships

Are advertising appeal effective? Insights from a Meta- Analysis

In this research we conduct a very comprehensive quantitative literature review to study: i) whether and by what size advertisements with appeals are more persuasive and better liked than advertisiments with no appeals; ii) the various appeals in order determine their relative effectiveness on two outcome variables: Persuasion and Attitude toward the Ad (Aad). Results confirm that ads carrying appeals are significantly more persuasive and better liked than are ads with no appeals. In addition, we found strong evidences that the impact of the most important types of appeals on consumer response differ significantly from each other