Attitudes Toward and Behavioral Intentions to Adopt Mobile Marketing: Comparisons of Gen Y in the United States, France And China

The rapid global diffusion of mobile marketing makes it increasingly important to understand cross-­‐cultural consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions toward mobile marketing as a promotional channel. By building on the previously published research of Altuna and Konuk (2009), this work investigates the attitudes and behavioral intentions toward mobile marketing of Generation Y consumers in the United States, France, and China. Based on this analysis, Chinese Gen Y have the most positive attitude toward mobile marketing, and their overall attitude is significantly more positive than the attitudes of French and American Gen Y groups. While American Gen Y\u27s behavioral intentions are more favorable, their intentions to adopt mobile marketing are not significantly different from the other two groups. For American and French Gen Y, although not for Chinese Gen Y, it appears that positive attitudes toward mobile marketing relate to positive behavioral intentions to adopt mobile marketing

Neurophysiological Correlates of Executive Function: A Comparison of European-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian 5-Year-Old Children

This study explored the neurophysiological correlates of executive function (EF) in young children from two different cultural backgrounds. Twenty European-Canadian and 17 Chinese-Canadian 5-year-olds participated in a go/no-go task, during which high-density electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded. No cultural group differences were observed in children's behavioral performance on the task, but marked differences were revealed by ERP analyses, which focused on the amplitude and latency of the N2 waveform. Chinese-Canadian children showed larger (i.e., more negative) N2 amplitudes than European-Canadian children on the right side of the scalp on no-go trials, as well as on the left side of the scalp on go trials, and for all children, larger N2 amplitudes were associated with faster median reaction times. Source analyses of the N2 were consistent with the hypothesis that compared to European-Canadian children, Chinese-Canadian children showed more activation in dorsomedial, ventromedial, and (bilateral) ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings reveal that EEG can provide a measure of cultural differences in neurocognitive function that is more sensitive than behavioral data alone; that Chinese-Canadian children show a pattern of hemispheric differentiation in the context of this task than that is more pronounced than that of age-matched European-Canadian children; that the asymmetrically lateralized N2 may be a reliable marker of both effortful inhibition (on the right) and effortful approach (on the left); and that the neural correlates of EF may vary across samples of healthy participants, even in children

Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation: A Hong Kong Study

Abstract Various parties have called on Hong Kong to pass legislation proscribing sexual orientation-based employment discrimination. The government has suggested that data on discrimination should inform debate on this matter. This survey of 792 self-identified sexual orientation minorities in Hong Kong examined (1) the prevalence of sexual orientation-based discrimination, (2) risk factors associated with experiencing discrimination, and (3) the relationship between experiencing employment discrimination and psychological outcomes. Nearly one-third of respondents reported discrimination. Rates of discrimination varied by age, education, and level of sexual orientation disclosure. Reports of discrimination were associated with negative psychological outcomes. This paper discusses how these results reinforce calls for legislative action. Limitations and directions for future research are also considered

Azithromycin Use in Upper Respiratory Infection

Antibiotic resistance is a problem that is growing worldwide. Misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics leads to a rise in pathogens that are resistant to the conventional drugs prescribed, causing increases in morbidity and mortality rates. Antibiotic resistance occurs when microbes still survive despite the presence of an antibiotic. The remaining microbes grow in strength and multiply until there is a population that are now resistant to treatment. One such treatment is azithromycin, an antibiotic often prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URI). A URI is any infection of the respiratory tract from the nasal cavities to the larynx that can have symptoms ranging from acute to severe and life-threatening. Although URIs are caused by either a viral or bacterial pathogens, antibiotics are not effective for viral infections. The current treatment guidelines for URIs do not recommend an initial antibiotic prescription, but encourage delayed antibiotic prescribing techniques in which the practitioner waits 48 to 72 hours before prescribing an antibiotic. However, these guidelines are not consistently followed. To determine the rate of azithromycin prescribing, this study will collect data from three different Federally Qualified Health Centers. These rates will then be compared with the number of articles available in the PubMed database on the topic of antibiotic resistance, to determine whether the current literature available on antibiotic prescribing has an effect in decreasing the misuse of antibiotics. Results from this study will be used to enhance clinical performance. Our data can add to already existing campaigns within pharmacy, as well as promote pharmacists’ responsibilities in patient care involvement and counseling for antibiotics. If there is no correlation found between antibiotic prescribing and education campaigns, this may be grounds for additional research to determine an alternate education methods to promote antibiotic stewardship

Is mindfulness linked to life satisfaction? Testing savoring positive experiences and gratitude as mediators

Grounded in Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory, this study examined the relation between dispositional mindfulness and life satisfaction through mediating mechanisms including savoring positive experiences and gratitude. A total of 133 Chinese mindfulness practitioners at 20–72 years old were recruited from a 3-day transnational meditation event in Hong Kong. Findings based on structural equation modeling indicated that controlling for sex, age, education, family income, number of hours of mindfulness practice per week, and type of administration, dispositional mindfulness was associated with satisfaction with life through savoring positive experiences and gratitude as mediators. The findings provided initial evidence for these processes between mindfulness and life satisfaction in the Chinese context. To promote life satisfaction, researchers and mental health practitioners should recognize the chain of mechanisms related to mindfulness

Safety and physiological effects of two different doses of elosulfase alfa in patients with morquio a syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, pilot study.

The primary treatment outcomes of a phase 2, randomized, double-blind, pilot study evaluating safety, physiological, and pharmacological effects of elosulfase alfa in patients with Morquio A syndrome are herewith presented. Patients aged ≥7 years and able to walk ≥200 m in the 6-min walk test (6MWT) were randomized to elosulfase alfa 2.0 or 4.0 mg/kg/week for 27 weeks. The primary objective was to evaluate the safety of both doses. Secondary objectives were to evaluate effects on endurance (6MWT and 3-min stair climb test [3MSCT]), exercise capacity (cardio-pulmonary exercise test [CPET]), respiratory function, muscle strength, cardiac function, pain, and urine keratan sulfate (uKS) levels, and to determine pharmacokinetic parameters. Twenty-five patients were enrolled (15 randomized to 2.0 mg/kg/week and 10 to 4.0 mg/kg/week). No new or unexpected safety signals were observed. After 24 weeks, there were no improvements versus baseline in the 6MWT, yet numerical improvements were seen in the 3MSCT with 4.0 mg/kg/week. uKS and pharmacokinetic data suggested no linear relationship over the 2.0-4.0 mg/kg dose range. Overall, an abnormal exercise capacity (evaluated in 10 and 5 patients in the 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg/week groups, respectively), impaired muscle strength, and considerable pain were observed at baseline, and there were trends towards improvements in all domains after treatment. In conclusion, preliminary data of this small study in a Morquio A population with relatively good endurance confirmed the acceptable safety profile of elosulfase alfa and showed a trend of increased exercise capacity and muscle strength and decreased pain

In utero ultrafine particulate matter exposure causes offspring pulmonary immunosuppression.

Early life exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) in air is associated with infant respiratory disease and childhood asthma, but limited epidemiological data exist concerning the impacts of ultrafine particles (UFPs) on the etiology of childhood respiratory disease. Specifically, the role of UFPs in amplifying Th2- and/or Th17-driven inflammation (asthma promotion) or suppressing effector T cells (increased susceptibility to respiratory infection) remains unclear. Using a mouse model of in utero UFP exposure, we determined early immunological responses to house dust mite (HDM) allergen in offspring challenged from 0 to 4 wk of age. Two mice strains were exposed throughout gestation: C57BL/6 (sensitive to oxidative stress) and BALB/C (sensitive to allergen exposure). Offspring exposed to UFPs in utero exhibited reduced inflammatory response to HDM. Compared with filtered air (FA)-exposed/HDM-challenged mice, UFP-exposed offspring had lower white blood cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and less pronounced peribronchiolar inflammation in both strains, albeit more apparent in C57BL/6 mice. In the C57BL/6 strain, offspring exposed in utero to FA and challenged with HDM exhibited a robust response in inflammatory cytokines IL-13 and Il-17. In contrast, this response was lost in offspring exposed in utero to UFPs. Circulating IL-10 was significantly up-regulated in C57BL/6 offspring exposed to UFPs, suggesting increased regulatory T cell expression and suppressed Th2/Th17 response. Our results reveal that in utero UFP exposure at a level close to the WHO recommended PM guideline suppresses an early immune response to HDM allergen, likely predisposing neonates to respiratory infection and altering long-term pulmonary health

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Family Nurse Partnership home visiting programme in first time young mothers in Scotland : a protocol for a natural experiment

This project was funded by the Scottish Government Children and Families Directorate [project reference CASE/290185].Peer reviewedPublisher PD