Topic modeling applied to business research: A latent dirichlet allocation (LDA)-based classification for organization studies

More than 1.5 million academic documents are published each year, and this trend shows an incremental tendency for the following years. One of the main challenges for the academic community is how to organize this huge volume of documentation to have a sense of the knowledge frontier. In this study we applied Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) techniques to identify primary topics in organization studies, and analyzed the relationships between academic impact and belonging to the topics detected by LDA

The 4 C’s Tourism Destination Competitiveness Matrix the Construction of the Matrix Through the Delphi Panel

The creation of the “4 C’s Tourism Destination Competitiveness Matrix” aimed to consolidate and organise questions about the area or areas in which tourist destinations should focus their attention, from the point of view of competitiveness analysis. To consolidate this new model, or matrix, 4 phases were completed: preliminary, preparation, test and evaluation. In the preliminary phase, a literature review was carried out on the main theoretical models for TDC analysis. In the preparation phase, the Delphi method was used, inviting experts in the field of economics and tourism to contribute with their experiences in the construction of the survey instrument; in the test phase, the questionnaire was validated through the Content Validity Coefficient or CVC; in the evaluation phase, a non-probabilistic approach was used, i.e., a convenience sample to obtain answers from tourists, residents and destination managers. This article presents the development of the referred matrix preparation phase using the Delphi method. Based on properly structured surveys, the new matrix allows for the information collected to be divided into 4 sets or dimensions: capacity, competence, communication and creativity. It is considered that the use of the Delphi panel was one of the fundamental steps for the successful creation of the “4 Cs Tourism Destination Competitiveness Matrix”. This new instrument is intended as an agile and less complex approach in the analysis of tourism destination competitiveness

Is decreased bone mineral density associated with development of scoliosis? A bipedal osteopenic rat model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An association between adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and osteopenia has been proposed to exist. It is still not clear whether there is such an association and if so, whether osteopenia is a causative factor or a consequence. Our previous pilot studies have suggested the presence of osteopenia in scoliotic animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of scoliosis in an unpinealectomized bipedal osteopenic rat model, implementing osteoporosis as a causative factor.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were rendered bipedal at the 3^rdpostnatal week and separated into control (25 rats) and heparin (25 rats receiving 1 IU/gr body weight/day) groups. DEXA scans after 4 weeks of heparin administration showed low bone mass in the heparin group. Anteroposterior and lateral x-rays of the surviving 42 animals (19 in heparin and 23 in control groups) were taken under anesthesia at the 40^thweek to evaluate for spinal deformity. Additional histomorphometric analysis was done on spine specimens to confirm the low bone mass in heparin receiving animals. Results of the DEXA scans, histomorphometric analysis and radiological data were compared between the groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bone mineral densities of rats in the heparin group were significantly lower than the control group as evidenced by both the DEXA scans and histomorphometric analyses. However, the incidence of scoliosis (82% in heparin and 65% in control; p > 0.05) as well as the curve magnitudes (12.1 ± 3.8 in heparin versus 10.1 ± 4.3 degrees in control; p > 0.05) were not significantly different. Osteopenic rats were significantly less kyphotic compared to control specimens (p = 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study has revealed two important findings. One is that bipedality (in the absence of pinealectomy) by itself may be a cause of scoliosis in this animal model. Further studies on animal models need to consider bipedality as an independent factor. Secondly, relative hypokyphosis in osteopenic animals may have important implications. The absence of sagittal plane analyses in previous studies makes comparison impossible, but nonetheless these findings suggest that osteopenia may be important in the development of 3D deformity in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.</p

Travel Personae of American Pleasure Travelers: A Network Analysis

Travel style has been shown to be a useful concept for understanding travelers. In this study it is argued that the portfolio of trips (specifically, the portfolio of various trip styles) one takes can be used to describe his/her overall travel persona. Network analysis was used to examine the structural relationships between types of trips based upon the assumption that each travel style may be considered as a “node,” and its association with other travel styles may be represented by the links within the network. Analyses indicate that American travelers take on a wide range of different travel personae which, in turn, are related to their choices of places visited and their response to advertising materials. It was concluded that the framework provided by these findings along with new tools on the Internet offer the potential to develop highly personalized communications with existing and potential visitors

Communicating with parents of obese children: Which channels are most effective?

One of the strategies proven most successful in curbing rising rates of childhood obesity involves targeting parents as agents of change. Prior studies have focused on what messages to communicate, but few have investigated how they should be communicated.To identify the channels most effective for communicating with parents of overweight and obese children and understand whether their use of parenting information sources differs from others in the community.This study utilizes data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Families were included if weight and height information was available for parents and children at three data collection points: Waves 1, 2 and 4 (collected 2004, 2006 and 2010, respectively, n = 5107).A priori and a posteriori segmentation methods identified groups of parents that were similar in the sources used to obtain information about parenting, and examined whether some segments were more likely to have obese children.Four segments were identified that differed in their information source use: the 'personal networks', 'books', 'official sources' and 'mixed approach' segments. The 'official sources' and 'mixed approach' segments were most likely to have obese children, and they used doctors, government/community organizations and friends to obtain information on parenting. These segments were also less educated and had lower employment.Messages are most likely to reach families with obese children if communicated through doctors, government publications and community organizations. Further, messages targeting social groupings of parents will leverage the power of advice from friends, which is another valuable information source for this group