Preference-based decision making for personalised access to Learning Resources

This article addresses the selection of Learning Resources (LRs; learning material, learning activities, etc.) through a preference-based decision-making framework. We consider the case where a set of LRs are maintained within a digital repository and are described in a common format (e.g. through learning technologies specifications and standards). We present a preference-based decision-making framework for selecting among these LRs according to the profile of each individual learner, thus facilitating personalised access to LRs. We argue that the proposed framework overcomes some of the problems caused by the rule-based approaches which are usually employed to facilitate adaptation and personalisation, in general. Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd

Consumer Responses to SMS Advertising: Antecedents and Consequences

Mobile phone advertisements, in the form of text messages (SMS, or short message service), have been recognized as an important form of product promotion. The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence the effectiveness of SMS advertising by using a hierarchy of effects approach. We employ a simulated experiment with 736 respondents to examine how consumers react to SMS advertisements and identify factors that influence their attitude toward the ad, their attitude toward the brand, and their purchase intention. Perceived ad credibility, attitude toward mobile advertising, message appeal, argument quality, incentive, product involvement, and interactivity were found to be antecedents of the attitude toward the ad. Moreover, there is a clear link between attitude and behavioral intention. The study is among the first to provide an experimental based assessment and a unified model linking consumer attitudes toward mobile text ads with brand attitudes and purchase intentions

Barrett's esophagus with high-grade dysplasia: Focus on current treatment options

High-grade dysplasia (HGD) in Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the critical step before invasive esophageal adenocarcinoma. Although its natural history remains unclear, an aggressive therapeutic approach is usually indicated. Esophagectomy represents the only treatment able to reliably eradicate the neoplastic epithelium. In healthy patients with reasonable life expectancy, vagal-sparing esophagectomy, with associated low mortality and low early and late postoperative morbidity, is considered the treatment of choice for BE with HGD. Patients unfit for surgery should be managed in a less aggressive manner, using endoscopic ablation or endoscopic mucosal resection of the entire BE segment, followed by lifelong surveillance. Patients eligible for surgery who present with a long BE segment, multifocal dysplastic lesions, severe reflux symptoms, a large fixed hiatal hernia or dysphagia comprise a challenging group with regard to the appropriate treatment, either surgical or endoscopic. © 2011 Baishideng. All rights reserved