An Examination of Portrayal of Disability in Brand Ads

This research explores why marketers can utilize disabled models to their advantage. Although brand inclusivity has attracted some attention, much is still unknown. The current research addresses this gap by establishing that using disabled brand models can lead to higher customer-brand relationships and also explores when it could potentially backfire by establishing that the personal attitude towards disability could moderate this main effect. The findings will help brands to be more open to including diverse models that do not exactly fit “the ideal” and fighting the prevailing prejudice towards disabled people in society. Representing them in their advertisements and online brand communications can be an effective way of fighting the stigma surrounding this issue

Exploring the Impact of Brands Roasting on Social Media

Brands regularly post content on social media and look for consumer engagement through these posts. However, this research uncovers a novel domain that shows increased consumer engagement but decreased persuasion: when brands resort to roasting on Twitter. We find that the perceived inappropriateness of the roasting posts lead to lower brand preference when brands choose to roast on social media and tease apart the difference between B2B and B2C roasting. This research establishes that not everything that goes viral leads to a favorable offline behavior. Social media managers of brands can use the findings of this research by understanding why conventional methods of highlighting the superiority of the product would be perceived more favorably than trends that seemingly garner more consumer engagement

Mortality and Air Pollution Effects of Air Quality Interventions in Delhi and Beijing

Ambient air pollution alone accounts for more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide. Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) account for most (~87%) of this disease burden. Air pollution in the megacities of these countries has risen to the levels of public health hazards forcing the cities to take emergency measures, such as issuing red alerts and vehicle-rationing interventions (VRI). Using in-situ and high-resolution satellite data, this research examines the efficacy of VRI in Delhi and Beijing, two of the most polluted cities of LMIC. This research shows that VRI reduced particulate matter (PM) ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, such interventions implemented in 2015 and 2016 in Beijing and in 2016 in Delhi were ineffective in improving air quality. Moreover, the effects of such interventions were short lived, for example 54% of the cleaning in Beijing disappeared within 2 weeks after the Olympics, and Delhi witnessed a 34% increase in PM2.5 during the 2 weeks after the interventions. Both cities observed excess cardiopulmonary mortality even during the interventions. Short- and long-term preventive and mitigation strategies are needed to manage the air pollution disease burden

Mindfully Aware and Open: Mitigating Subjective and Objective Financial Vulnerability via Mindfulness Practices

Our research presents mindfulness as a potential intervention to mitigate financial vulnerability, defined as the ability to handle unexpected future financial setbacks. As potential interventions to mitigate consumer financial vulnerability, we provide a conceptual framework on how two types of mindfulness practices (i.e., non-judgmental awareness and openness to experience) can mitigate the subjective and objective financial vulnerability differently. We suggest ways to manipulate the two types of mindfulness and discuss the results of our initial pilot study, focusing on lower-income consumers. In addition, we propose fruitful avenues for future research and provide recommendations for managers and policymakers to better address consumer financial vulnerability and enhance consumer welfare via mindfulness practiceThis research has been supported by Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid) under the Multiannual Agreement with UC3M in the line of "Fostering Young Doctors Research" (SOCANET-CM-UC3M) and in the context of the V PRICIT Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation. Proyectos Interdisciplinares Jóvenes Doctores (2020/00031/002), and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, España (2019/00405/001)

COVID-19 trajectories among 57 million adults in England: a cohort study using electronic health records

BACKGROUND: Updatable estimates of COVID-19 onset, progression, and trajectories underpin pandemic mitigation efforts. To identify and characterise disease trajectories, we aimed to define and validate ten COVID-19 phenotypes from nationwide linked electronic health records (EHR) using an extensible framework. METHODS: In this cohort study, we used eight linked National Health Service (NHS) datasets for people in England alive on Jan 23, 2020. Data on COVID-19 testing, vaccination, primary and secondary care records, and death registrations were collected until Nov 30, 2021. We defined ten COVID-19 phenotypes reflecting clinically relevant stages of disease severity and encompassing five categories: positive SARS-CoV-2 test, primary care diagnosis, hospital admission, ventilation modality (four phenotypes), and death (three phenotypes). We constructed patient trajectories illustrating transition frequency and duration between phenotypes. Analyses were stratified by pandemic waves and vaccination status. FINDINGS: Among 57 032 174 individuals included in the cohort, 13 990 423 COVID-19 events were identified in 7 244 925 individuals, equating to an infection rate of 12·7% during the study period. Of 7 244 925 individuals, 460 737 (6·4%) were admitted to hospital and 158 020 (2·2%) died. Of 460 737 individuals who were admitted to hospital, 48 847 (10·6%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), 69 090 (15·0%) received non-invasive ventilation, and 25 928 (5·6%) received invasive ventilation. Among 384 135 patients who were admitted to hospital but did not require ventilation, mortality was higher in wave 1 (23 485 [30·4%] of 77 202 patients) than wave 2 (44 220 [23·1%] of 191 528 patients), but remained unchanged for patients admitted to the ICU. Mortality was highest among patients who received ventilatory support outside of the ICU in wave 1 (2569 [50·7%] of 5063 patients). 15 486 (9·8%) of 158 020 COVID-19-related deaths occurred within 28 days of the first COVID-19 event without a COVID-19 diagnoses on the death certificate. 10 884 (6·9%) of 158 020 deaths were identified exclusively from mortality data with no previous COVID-19 phenotype recorded. We observed longer patient trajectories in wave 2 than wave 1. INTERPRETATION: Our analyses illustrate the wide spectrum of disease trajectories as shown by differences in incidence, survival, and clinical pathways. We have provided a modular analytical framework that can be used to monitor the impact of the pandemic and generate evidence of clinical and policy relevance using multiple EHR sources. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, led by Health Data Research UK

Land use classification of the Greater Vancouver area : a review of selected methods

Accurate and current land use information for urban areas is important for effective management and planning. Over the years, researchers/planners have relied heavily on aerial photographs for land use information of urban areas because of the limitations of deriving more accurate land use estimates from satellite remote sensing data. The main problem involved in producing accurate land use maps of cities and towns from satellite images is that urban areas consist of a complex assemblage of different land cover types, many of which have very similar spectral reflectance characteristics. This is because land use is an abstract concept- n amalgam of economic, social and cultural factors-that is defined in terms of functions rather than forms. The relationship between land use and the multispectral signals detected by a satellite sensor is therefore both complex and indirect. In many European cities, residential areas are characterized by a complex spatial assemblage of tile roof, slate roof, glass roof buildings, as well as tarmac, concrete and pitch roads, and gardens (comprised of grass lawns, trees and plants). In North American cities, roofing materials are more commonly composed of wood and shingles. In both settings all these "objects" together form the residential areas or residential districts of town or city, but each of them has a different spectral reflectance. So, in generating a land use map from remotely sensed image, buildings, roads, gardens, open spaces will be identified separately. Keeping this in mind, this thesis evaluates eight selected land use classification methods for the Vancouver metropolitan area, identifies the most accurate and suitable method for urban land use classification, and produces a land use map of the study area based on the most suitable method. The study area is a part of Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). It includes Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Delta, and parts of seven other municipalities. The whole area is highly urbanized and commercialized. Agricultural lands are present in the southern part of the study area (which includes parts of Richmond, Delta and Surrey). For this study four sources of data have been used. The 1996 Greater Vancouver regional District (GVRD) land use map is the basic source of land use information. A remotely sensed image of May 1999 (Landsat 7) has been used for the identification of land cover data, Vancouver and Fraser valley orthophotos (May/July 1995) have been used to locate sample sites, and aerial photos of May 1999 (1:30,000) have been used for ground verification.Arts, Faculty ofGeography, Department ofGraduat

The Height Premium: When Shorter Men Pay More

Although the “short man syndrome” is common in our society, its effect on consumer decision making is not well studied. We investigate how heightism influences status consumption. Across four studies, we demonstrate that shorter men prefer status products and are willing to pay (WTP) higher prices for products that signal status to reduce the negative effect of heightism. We demonstrate that desire for status and signaling effectiveness serially mediate the effect and sense of purpose moderates the effect of heightism on status consumption. We rule out several alternative explanations, and discuss theoretical, managerial, and policy implications

‘Bhadralok’ Connection: The Bengali diaspora in Singapore

Jan-32Singapor