Advertising spending, firm performance, and the moderating impact of CSR

This article investigates the potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to influence the link between advertising spending and firm performance. Drawing upon the literature of CSR, we hypothesize that CSR positively moderates the relationship between advertising spending and firm performance. We focus on two types of firm performance: sales and firm value. Using two samples from both the hotel and restaurant industries, we found that firms with higher levels of CSR enjoy higher returns on advertising spending than firms with lower levels of CSR. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings and provide direction for future research

The Dilemma of Authentic Tourist Experiences and Residential Life in Urban Areas

Traditionally, tourists spend their holidays in tourist spaces that provide the needed infrastructure for their experiences (i.e., hotels, restaurants, sight-seeing spots). However, nowadays tourists often occupy more residential space than in the past; this development is fuelled at least by two important trends in tourism. First, destination marketing organizations (DMO’s) increasingly seek to intertwine tourists‘ paths with local neighbourhood in order to create perceived tourist authenticity (e.g. the ‘localhood’ strategy of various city tourism organizations; Wonderful Copenhagen, 2017). Second, shared economy offerings, such as Airbnb, create tourist spaces in residential areas (Gutierrez et al., 2017). Both developments result in the integration of tourists into the residents’ living sphere, and anecdotal evidence indicates that this does not come without fraction between residents and tourists (e.g., Andereck et al., 2005; Gutierrez et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2013)

Destination characteristics that drive hotel performance:a state-of-the-art global analysis

Abstract The increased market saturation and competition in both domestic and international tourism destinations have renewed interest among hotel operators in identifying the key drivers of hotel performance. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of hotel performance and their relative importance across multiple tourist destinations. We employ a two-step estimation method to identify key determinants of hotel performance, using a rich sample of international hotels. Our empirical analyses show that the main drivers of hotel performance are the quality of the educational system, government support, disposable income, and number of international arrivals within a tourism destination. Results indicate that the most important barriers to hotel performance are the competition among accommodation providers, tax rate and fuel price. We argue for the need for hotel providers to develop strategies that take cognisance of the key drivers and barriers to enhancing hotel performance in an ever-changing global tourism sector

Developmental Delay, Treatment-Resistant Psychosis, and Early-Onset Dementia in a Man With 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and Huntington’s Disease

Schizophrenia usually emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood (1, 2). If cognitive deterioration occurs, it generally appears early and with relatively stable impairment over the next 5–10 years. Later in the illness, psychotic symptoms may become less intense, and there can be modest improvement in functional later in life (3–5). We present a case whose symptom onset and initial course of illness were typical (although early development was abnormal) but he evidenced notable treatment resistance. In his mid-30’s he developed progressive dementia. As this is atypical for schizophrenia, we conducted more detailed investigation

Consumer perceptions of co-branding alliances: Organizational dissimilarity signals and brand fit

This study explores how consumers evaluate co-branding alliances between dissimilar partner firms. Customers are well aware that different firms are behind a co-branded product and observe the partner firms’ characteristics. Drawing on signaling theory, we assert that consumers use organizational characteristics as signals in their assessment of brand fit and for their purchasing decisions. Some organizational signals are beyond the control of the co-branding partners or at least they cannot alter them on short notice. We use a quasi-experimental design and test how co-branding partner dissimilarity affects brand fit perception. The results show that co-branding partner dissimilarity in terms of firm size, industry scope, and country-of-origin image negatively affects brand fit perception. Firm age dissimilarity does not exert significant influence. Because brand fit generally fosters a benevolent consumer attitude towards a co-branding alliance, the findings suggest that high partner dissimilarity may reduce overall co-branding alliance performance

Genome-wide common and rare variant analysis provides novel insights into clozapine-associated neutropenia

The antipsychotic clozapine is uniquely effective in the management of schizophrenia; however, its use is limited by its potential to induce agranulocytosis. The causes of this, and of its precursor neutropenia, are largely unknown, although genetic factors have an important role. We sought risk alleles for clozapine-associated neutropenia in a sample of 66 cases and 5583 clozapine-treated controls, through a genome-wide association study (GWAS), imputed human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, exome array and copy-number variation (CNV) analyses. We then combined associated variants in a meta-analysis with data from the Clozapine-Induced Agranulocytosis Consortium (up to 163 cases and 7970 controls). In the largest combined sample to date, we identified a novel association with rs149104283 (odds ratio (OR)=4.32, P=1.79 × 10−8), intronic to transcripts of SLCO1B3 and SLCO1B7, members of a family of hepatic transporter genes previously implicated in adverse drug reactions including simvastatin-induced myopathy and docetaxel-induced neutropenia. Exome array analysis identified gene-wide associations of uncommon non-synonymous variants within UBAP2 and STARD9. We additionally provide independent replication of a previously identified variant in HLA-DQB1 (OR=15.6, P=0.015, positive predictive value=35.1%). These results implicate biological pathways through which clozapine may act to cause this serious adverse effec

Brain structural changes and neuropsychological impairments in male polydipsic schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Polydipsia frequently occurs in schizophrenia patients. The excessive water loading in polydipsia occasionally induces a hyponatremic state and leads to water intoxication. Whether polydipsia in schizophrenic patients correlates with neuropsychological impairments or structural brain changes is not clear and remains controversial. METHODS: Eight polydipsic schizophrenia patients, eight nonpolydipsic schizophrenia patients, and eight healthy controls were recruited. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological testing. Structural abnormalities were analyzed using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approach, and patients’ neuropsychological function was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia, Japanese version (BACS-J). RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two patient groups with respect to the clinical characteristics. Compared with healthy controls, polydipsic patients showed widespread brain volume reduction and neuropsychological impairment. Furthermore, the left insula was significantly reduced in polydipsic patients compared with nonpolydipsic patients. These nonpolydipsic patients performed intermediate to the other two groups in the neuropsychological function test. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible that polydipsia or the secondary hyponatremia might induce left insula volume reduction. Furthermore, this structural brain change may indirectly induce more severe neuropsychological impairments in polydipsic patients. Thus, we suggest that insula abnormalities might contribute to the pathophysiology of polydipsic patients

Automated operant assessments of Huntington's Disease mouse models

Huntington’s disease (HD) presents clinically with a triad of motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. Cognitive symptoms often occur early within the disease progression, prior to the onset of motor symptoms, and they are significantly burdensome to people who are affected by HD. In order to determine the suitability of mouse models of HD in recapitulating the human condition, these models must be behaviorally tested and characterized. Operant behavioral testing offers an automated and objective method of behaviorally profiling motor, cognitive, and psychiatric dysfunction in HD mice. Furthermore, operant testing can also be employed to determine any behavioral changes observed after any associated interventions or experimental therapeutics. We here present an overview of the most commonly used operant behavioral tests to dissociate motor, cognitive, and psychiatric aspects of mouse models of HD