Do UK universities communicate their brands effectively through their websites?

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities’ websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of twenty UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities’ environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS): A Beginner's Guide for Design and Implementation

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a popular brain stimulation method that is used to modulate cortical excitability, producing facilitatory or inhibitory effects upon a variety of behaviors. There is, however, a current lack of consensus between studies, with many results suggesting that polarity-specific effects are difficult to obtain. This article explores some of these differences and highlights the experimental parameters that may underlie their occurrence. We provide a general, practical snapshot of tDCS methodology, including what it is used for, how to use it, and considerations for designing an effective and safe experiment. Our aim is to equip researchers who are new to tDCS with the essential knowledge so that they can make informed and well-rounded decisions when designing and running successful experiments. By summarizing the varied approaches, stimulation parameters, and outcomes, this article should help inform future tDCS research in a variety of fields

Identifying Low Pharmaceutical Calculation Performers Using an Algebra-Based Pretest

Objective: To determine if a pretest assessing algebra-based problem solving skills could aid in identifying those who may underperform in calculations course assessments and if this provides additional value beyond pre-admission and demographic characteristics. Methods: Student pharmacists were screened for algebraic problem solving skills using an 18-item pretest taken the semester prior to a course containing pharmaceutical calculations content. These scores were compared to later performance on pharmaceutical calculations assessments. Linear regression models were computed to determine the relationship between pretest scores and pharmaceutical calculations performance, after controlling for pre-admission factors and demographic characteristics. Results: The median pretest score was 15 out of 18 possible points, with scores ranging from 5 to 18 correct. After controlling for age, gender, ACT scores, and high-school GPA, scores on the algebra-based, word-problem pretest were associated with performance on pharmaceutical calculation assessments. Conclusion: This research demonstrates the ability of a pretest, aimed at identifying deficiencies in algebraic problem solving skills, to identify those at risk of failing to obtain mastery of pharmaceutical calculations, even after controlling for demographics, prior grades, and prior standardized test scores. Identifying these students is a first step towards implementing tailored interventions to improve students\u27 algebra-based word problem skills in order to prevent deficiencies in pharmaceutical calculations mastery before class even begins

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND CREATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY: THE NEW THEORETICAL APPROACH / DARNI PLĖTRA IR ŽINIŲ EKONOMIKOS KŪRIMAS: NAUJAS TEORINIS POŽIŪRIS

The new theoretical approach of the processes of creating knowledge based society and the knowledge economy, as well as sustainable development processes is described in the article. The main idea is that the creation and development processes of the knowledge‐based society and knowledge economy may be attributed to the category of global transformation and sustainable development processes, therefore, all general phenomena and characteristics of global transformations and sustainable development in general, are absolutely typical for the creation and development of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy. The processes of the creating of knowledge based society and knowledge economy and modernization are analyzed in the general context of the processes of sustainable development. The main principles of creating the knowledge based society and knowledge economy and modernization are described. Creating and modernization of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy are very complicated processes, oriented to the formation of the new quality of society and qualitatively new lifestyle, these processes may be described as “twice” as complicated, because they win distinction by orientations to the pursuit of new quality in two aspects: the knowledge based society and knowledge economy, compared to “traditional” society and economy, are in all cases described as qualitatively new, creating and development of the knowledge based society and knowledge economy takes place under the conditions of the global changes, which means that qualitative changes take place in all global space, the essence of those changes is the creation and spread of the knowledge‐based society and knowledge economy. A special attention is given to the conclusion that in the environment of the knowledge based society creation and generating knowledge economy and development, the provisions for sustainable development should be attained. The processes of creating knowledge based society and knowledge economy and further development should be analyzed and assessed in the context of processes of globalization and internationalization, as well as processes of global transformations. The “Power” concept intended for the scientific cognition of sustainable development and knowledge based society and knowledge economy creation processes phenomena is analyzed. Santrauka Straipsnyje išdėstomas naujas teorinis požiūris į darnios plėtros ir į žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės bei žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesus. Pagrindine ideja, išreiškianti šio teorinio požiūrio esmė, yra ta, kad darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesai suvoktini ir nagrinėtini kaip sudarantys bendra visuma. Žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimas traktuojamas kaip pagrindinė prielaida realiai įgyvendinti darnios plėtros nuostatas, o darni plėtra vertinama kaip išskirtinis žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesams būdingas požymis. Šiuolaikinėmis globalizacijos bei socialinės, ekonominės raidos ir mokslo bei technologijų pažangos internacionalizavimo salygomis išryškėja daug naujų aplinkybių ir reiškinių, kurių poveikis ir vaidmuo mažai atsispindi daugelyje tradiciniu požiūrių, skirtų tiek darniai plėtrai, tiek žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesams. Padaryta išvada, kad tradiciniai darnios plėtros bei jos problemų, žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo logikos bei tendencijų suvokimai vis labiau neatitinka šiuolaikiniu poreikių ir iššūkių ir reikalingi esminių papildymų bei patikslinimų. Šiuolaikiniai požiūriai į darnią plėtrą bei į žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimą turėtų kur kas geriau perteikti šiuo metu pasaulyje vykstančių naujo tipo transformacijų procesų vaidmenį ir įtaką, visų pirmą tų transformacijų, kurios išreiškia žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės vertybių ir idealų pasklidima globaliu mastu. Būtent tokios visuomenės kūrimasis ir šios visuomenės vertybių ir idealų pasklidimas globalizacijos aplinkoje sukelia naujų transformacijų šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje bei jos gyvenime, sudaro prielaidas suvokti būtinybę naujai reaguoti į darnios plėtros poreikius bei spręsti naujas problemas. Straipsnyje detaliai apibūdinta vadinamoji galios koncepcija, kuria remiantis siūloma kompleksiškai nagrinėti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesus, spręsti daugeli tokių procesų valdymo klausimu. Galios koncepcijos taikymas leidžia modeliuoti stambiose sistemose vykstančius socialines, ekonomines, politines raidos, mokslo ir technologijų pažangos reiškinius bei procesus, identifikuoti ir vertinti atitinkamų procesų suderinamumą, vienų procesų poveikius kitiems procesams, identifikuoti įvairias disproporcijas, išryškejančias netolygiu pokyčių sąlygomis. Visa tai leidžia diagnozuoti pasireiškusias ar galinčias pasireikšti darnios plėtros žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo problemas ir numatyti priemones, skirtas šioms problemoms spręsti. Straipsnyje atskleisti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo procesų kaip visumos principai, kompleksiškai išnagrinėti darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo dėsningumai. Prioritetinis dėmesys skiriamas integracijos ir sintezės kaip jungimosi procesų logikai atskleisti. Išdestytas teorinis požiūris gali būti gana plačiai taikomas nagrinejant įvairius darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žinių ekonomikos kūrimo reiškinius. First published online: 10 Feb 2011 Reikšminiai žodžiai: žiniomis grindžiama visuomenė, žiniu ekonomika, darni plėtra, galios koncepcija, darnios plėtros bei žiniomis grindžiamos visuomenės ir žiniu ekonomikos kūrimo bei raidos dėsninguma

Why Do Tourists Spend Extravagantly in Portugal? A Binary Logistic Regression by Quartiles

Understanding the spending patterns of tourists and their major determinants is crucial to give practitioners the right directions to develop effective marketing strategies and also for researchers to define how to structure an expenditure model. This study attempts to search for the determinants of spending by European tourists travelling to Portugal. Unlike previous studies, this study benefits from the employment of the binary logistic regression to test a range of hypotheses. The study findings confirm that the amount spent by tourists is influenced by multiple factors both on the demand and supply sides. The paper also provides insights with theoretical and practical implications

Low frequency of HLA-DRB1*11 in hepatitis C virus induced end stage liver disease

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection becomes chronic in more than 70% of patients, leading to end stage liver disease in about 20-30% of these patients. Apart from the virus itself, host factors that modulate the immune response are likely to be involved in determining the outcome of HCV infection. Studies on the association of human leucocyte antigens (HLAs) and HCV infection have shown inconsistent results. Selection of patient subgroups may be crucial. However, any association relevant to HCV disease progression will become evident, especially in those patients with end stage liver disease. Therefore, we analysed the phenotype frequencies of HLA antigens in two groups of 69 and 39 patients with HCV induced liver cirrhosis who had received a transplant or were awaiting liver transplantation. The first group was typed serologically and compared with 331 blood and liver donors. The second group, prospectively HLA typed by a polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide (PCR-SSO) procedure for HLA-DRB and DQB alleles, was compared with another 170 PCR-SSO typed and randomly selected blood donors. Decreased frequencies for HLA-DR5 and HLA-DQ3 were found in one group of patients with HCV induced liver cirrhosis compared with the control groups. In the second analysis comparing 39 patients with end stage liver cirrhosis with blood donors, we confirmed the significant decrease in HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DQB1*03, which corresponded to serological HLA-DR5 and HLA-DQ3 antigens, respectively. Our results show that the presence of HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DQB1*03 alleles is associated with a reduced risk for the development of HCV induced end stage liver disease.


Keywords: hepatitis C; HLA; liver cirrhosis; immunogenetics; hepatocellular carcinoma; genotyp