Crafting consumption through community: an exploration of the Etsy experience

In a global market dominated by the mass production and consumption of branded goods, an interest in craft products has become a growing trend among consumers Walker, 2007). Consumer demand for craft products includes a wide array of items, from those that are perishable, such as micro brews, to those that are nonperishable, such as jewelry (Clay, 2013). There are many reasons why consumers are embracing craft products, as they are often unique, one-of-a-kind, of higher quality, and provide a connection to the creator. Ultimately, craft goods provide a unique consumption experience within a marketplace dominated by carbon-copied products and consumption experiences (Walker, 2007). While some retailers are trying to integrate the craft trend into their merchandise assortments, others have sought to build a business around craft products. Etsy is one such company that, through the craft community, has built a successful online business. Etsy, in turn, has helped promote the popularity of craft products. The convergence of craft products with community has turned Etsy into an innovative kind of online market. Since its introduction, Etsy has experienced tremendous growth. For instance, from 2005 to 2012 Etsy expanded into close to 200 international markets, attracted over 800,000 sellers, and sold roughly $80 million in products (Mitroff, 2013). Etsy owes its quick success to the avid community of craft Sellers and Buyers. Yet despite the uniqueness of Etsy’s growth and unique approach to retailing craft goods, no academic research exists on the topic. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand how Etsy functions as both a community and an online, craft-oriented market. Three objectives guided this dissertation: (1) to explore what it means to be a member of the Etsy community, (2) to investigate the extent to which this community shapes Etsy’s practices and functions as a market, and (3) to examine the implications of Etsy as a community-driven market for online retailing. The purpose and objectives were framed by a sociological perspective and understood within the context of consumer behavior research. Three overarching concepts —culture, community, and market— were used to weave together a conceptual framework for the study. Ethnography and netnography serve as the interpretive approaches to explore Etsy’s community and market. Three methods of data collection were employed, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and visual documentation. Participant observation and pure observation occurred over a three-month time period resulting in a total of 312 hours of observation. Nine Buyers, eight Sellers and three Etsy Administrators were interviewed. Last, visual documentation was used to capture online and offline observations. Spiggle’s (1994) suggestions of qualitative data analysis were employed to identify patterns in the data, which resulted in the development of three thematic areas: (1) Uncovering Etsy’s Culture, (2) Etsy as a Community, and (3) Etsy as a Market. The thematic interpretation revealed that Etsy’s platform relies on an interdependent community/market relationship, as such, the community influences the market and the market influences the community. In turn, it was found that members’ roles, (e.g., Buyers, Sellers, and Etsy Administrators), were integral to fostering this relationship and ultimately shaping Etsy’s platform. Findings of this dissertation reveal the ways that Etsy has taken a unique approach to online retailing, as it diverges from the traditional online retailing model by seamlessly integrating community into its market. In so doing, this dissertation reveals how Etsy brings a new format to online retailing, the community-based electronic market. This particular retail format is unique in that it is dependent on market consumption communities to not only purchase goods and services, but to provide the merchandise to be sold within the market. Another distinct characteristic of Etsy is the market prosumer, a member that buys, sells, and works for Etsy. This market player is unique to the community-based electronic market, and like the concept of the community-based electronic market, it is new to the literature. Although future research on the topic is needed, findings from this dissertation point to the beginning of a new era in online retailing, as well as new avenues for consumer behavior research

The Influence of Resistance Exercise Training on the Levels of Anxiety in Ischemic Stroke

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the effect of a strength training program on indicators of trait and state anxiety in patients with ischemic stroke. The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental group (EG) consisting of 11 subjects aged years and a control group (CG) with 13 subjects aged years. EG underwent 12 weeks of strength training, with a frequency of three times a week. For data collection, a State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used. Significant differences were found between pre- and posttest in EG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest) and state anxiety ( pretest posttest) with no differences in CG for trait anxiety ( pretest posttest) and state anxiety ( pretest posttest). In the evaluation between the groups, significant differences were found for all indicators of trait anxiety ( EG; CG) and state anxiety ( EG; CG). This pilot study indicates that strength training may provide an improvement in trait and state anxiety more than one year after stroke

Detection and Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Enteropathogenic (EPEC) and Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) in Conventional and Organic Broiler Chickens

ABSTRACT Enteropatogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and shigatoxigenic E. coli (STEC), are generally poultry and poultry product isolate and can cause serious human infections. Many strains may become resistant to various antimicrobials, which can hinder the treatment of bacterial diseases. Organic farming seeks to avoid the selection and frequency of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. This study aims to verify the resistance of EPEC and STEC from organic and conventional (industrial) broiler isolates to antimicrobials. All isolates were submitted to disk diffusion test with tetracycline, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, ceftriaxone and amoxicillin + clavulanate (TET, GEN, ENO, CTX, AMC) and PCR to detect specific virulence genes for EPEC and STEC. A total of 297 E. coli strains were isolated, 213 from conventional. In organic broiler, 84 strains were isolated. The strains from the conventional broiler isolates were resistant to five antimicrobials tested: TET 48.82% (104/213), ENO 28.17% (60/213), CTX 15.49% (33/213), GEN 14.55% (31/213), and AMC 7.04% (15/213), and 9.86% (21/213) were considered multidrug-resistant. Organic chicken strains were resistant to four of the antimicrobials tested: TET 35.7% (30/84), ENO 9.5% (8/84), CTX 2.4% (2/84), GEN 4.8% (4/84). Of the strains from the organic broiler chicken isolates, only 1.2% (1/84) was considered multidrug-resistant. No EPEC and STEC were found in the organic chicken samples. The multidrug resistance was characterized in 9.52% (2/21) of the EPEC and 4.76% (1/21) of the STEC. The study demonstrated the absence of EPEC and STEC strains in organic broilers and carcasses and a lower frequency of multiresistant strains compared to conventional breeding

Monitoring Toxicity Associated with Parenteral Sodium Stibogluconate in the Day-Case Management of Returned Travellers with New World Cutaneous Leishmaniasi

Sodium stibogluconate (SbV), a pentavalent antimonial, administered parenterally, is the recommended treatment for South American cutaneous leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania Viannia, which is a neglected disease that affects many people resident in Central and South America, as well as travellers to the areas. Antimonials have been used for the treatment of leishmaniasis since the 1930s. We report the toxicity experienced by a series of NWCL patients receiving SbV in a resource-rich setting. This study also evaluates administration of the drug to patients without admitting them to hospital. The administration of parenteral SbV was associated with myelosuppression, derangement of markers of liver function and prolongation of the QT interval on electrocardiography, although these effects were not found to be associated with adverse clinical events, and the majority of doses of SbV were administered without cause for hospital admission. Our data shows that parenteral SbV treatment may be provided with reduced monitoring for toxicity than is currently done, and on an outpatient-basis, without endangering safety. Such practice, with reduced demands on local finances and the healthcare workforce, would be desirable in more resource-limited settings

The nurse in the management of materials in teaching hospitals

OBJECTIVETo present the nurse's integration within materials management of six teaching hospitals of Paraná - Brazil, and to describe the activities performed by nurses within this process.METHODA study of a qualitative approach and descriptive nature, conducted in teaching hospitals in Paraná, between June and August of 2013. The data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with eight nurses who worked in materials management; data were analyzed using content analysis.RESULTSThese showed that nurses perform ten categories of activities, distributed into four of the five steps of the materials management process.CONCLUSIONThe nurse, in performing of these activities, in addition to favoring the development of participative management, contributes to the organization, planning, and the standardization of the hospital supply process, giving greater credibility to the work with professionals who use the materials, and to the suppliers

Which Factors Determine Spatial Segregation in the South American Opossums (Didelphis aurita and D. albiventris)? An Ecological Niche Modelling and Geometric Morphometrics Approach

Didelphis albiventris and D. aurita are Neotropical marsupials that share a unique evolutionary history and both are largely distributed throughout South America, being primarily allopatric throughout their ranges. In the Araucaria moist forest of Southern Brazil these species are sympatric and they might potentially compete having similar ecology. For this reason, they are ideal biological models to address questions about ecological character displacement and how closely related species might share their geographic space. Little is known about how two morphologically similar species of marsupials may affect each other through competition, if by competitive exclusion and competitive release. We combined ecological niche modeling and geometric morphometrics to explore the possible effects of competition on their distributional ranges and skull morphology. Ecological niche modeling was used to predict their potential distribution and this method enabled us to identify a case of biotic exclusion where the habit generalist D. albiventris is excluded by the presence of the specialist D. aurita. The morphometric analyses show that a degree of shape discrimination occurs between the species, strengthened by allometric differences, which possibly allowed them to occupy marginally different feeding niches supplemented by behavioral shift in contact areas. Overlap in skull morphology is shown between sympatric and allopatric specimens and a significant, but weak, shift in shape occurs only in D. aurita in sympatric areas. This could be a residual evidence of a higher past competition between both species, when contact zones were possibly larger than today. Therefore, the specialist D. aurita acts a biotic barrier to D. albiventris when niche diversity is not available for coexistence. On the other hand, when there is niche diversification (e.g. habitat mosaic), both species are capable to coexist with a minimal competitive effect on the morphology of D. aurita

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT