'Cease and desist?' The persistence of Marlboro brand imagery in racing video games

Since 1972, Philip Morris (PM) has sponsored motorsports. Racing video games are a popular genre among youth and often emulate the branding of their real-life counterparts, potentially exposing youth to tobacco imagery. We examined racing video games for the presence of Marlboro imagery and explored the history of efforts to remove or regulate such imagery.We searched the Truth Tobacco Industry documents for relevant documents and used information from video game-related websites and game play videos to identify racing video games that contained Marlboro trademarks and imagery. We also collected information on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's (ESRB) tobacco-specific and overall game ratings.In 1989, negative publicity surrounding the presence of Marlboro logos in racing games led PM to threaten legal action against two game makers for copyright infringement. PM also launched a media campaign promoting this intervention as evidence of its commitment to youth smoking prevention. Nonetheless, we identified 219 video games from 1979 to 2018 that contained Marlboro trademarks and/or Marlboro-sponsored drivers and livery. Among the games in our sample with an ESRB game rating, all but one received an 'E,' indicating appropriateness for everyone, and all but three lacked tobacco content descriptors.Racing video games have been and continue to be a vehicle for exposing adolescents to the Marlboro brand. Because voluntary efforts by PM and the video game industry to prevent youth exposure to tobacco brands in video games have been ineffective, USA and international policy-makers should prohibit tobacco content in video games

Physical and mechanical behavior of amorphous poly(arylene ether-co-imidazole)s and poly(arylene ether-co-imidazole) modified epoxies

Due to the high crosslink density of cured epoxy resins they generally lack damage tolerance. A significant amount of research has been expended to improve the toughness of epoxies. Research into the area of thermoplastic epoxy modifiers has begun to overcome some of the limitations of early methods of epoxy toughening (i.e. lower modulus and thermal stability).;This study examines the physical and mechanical properties of random poly(arylene ether-co-imidazole) (PAE-co-Is) and the characterization of epoxies modified with poly(arylene ether-co-imidazole)s.;Poly(arylene ether-co-imidazole)s exhibited the highest solubility in N,N,N{dollar}\rm\sp\prime,N\sp\prime,{dollar}-tetraglycidyl- 4,4{dollar}\sp\prime{dollar} diaminodiphenyl methane (TGMDA) based resins. The high molecular weight polymers caused significant decreases in melt flow behavior of the modified systems. Modification of TGMDA resins with PAE-co-Is significantly decreased the tetrahydrofuran sensitivity of the cured system and did not significantly affect the moisture absorption properties. One system modified with 10% w/w polymer exhibited increases in fracture toughness 1.7 times that of the unmodified system

Institutional analysis of governmental involvement in housing : a preliminary exploration

This paper, one of a series resulting from institutional analysis of photovoltaic (PV) acceptance, provides a preliminary exploration of governmental acitvities in the housing sector. It is based on theoretical formulations and utilizes methods developed in an earlier paper in this series. The housing process is examined in terms of seven institutional functions -- finance, research, political, regulation, production, service, and socialization -- from a governmental perspective. It is concluded that the federal government is most active in providing for finance, research, and political functions. State and local governments tend to perform the bulk of the regulation functions, though recent trends show increased federal involvement in large-scale regulation, through such mechanisms as the Environmental Impact Statement. The production, service, and socialization functions tend to be performed as a result of the direct realization of the first four.Prepared under Dept. of Energy Contract no. EX-76-A-01-2295, Task order no.37

Retailers' perspectives on selling tobacco in a low-income San Francisco neighbourhood after California's $2 tobacco tax increase.

BackgroundCalifornia's tobacco tax increased by $2.00 per pack in 2017. Although such increases are among the most effective tobacco control strategies, little is known about their impact from the perspective of corner store owners in low-income neighbourhoods with high concentrations of tobacco outlets.MethodsWe interviewed 38 corner store owners and managers in San Francisco's Tenderloin, the district with the city's highest tobacco outlet density, 60-90 days following implementation of the tax increase. Questions focused on perceptions of the impact of the higher tobacco tax on their revenues, customers and tobacco company promotions. We used qualitative content analysis to identify, compare and reconcile key themes.ResultsMost retailers reported a decline in cigarette sales, with customers buying fewer cigarettes, switching to cheaper brands or other products like marijuana, or trying to quit smoking. Retailers described challenges associated with running a small business and selling tobacco and concerns about selling a product that is 'bad' for customers' health. Contrary to expectation, tobacco companies appeared to be offering few product promotions in this neighbourhood.ConclusionsSmall, independent retailers' concerns, about selling tobacco and about the health and well-being of customers, suggest that such retailers may be important allies in tobacco control efforts,particularly those focused on the point-of-sale

Tobacco industry issues management organizations: Creating a global corporate network to undermine public health

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The global tobacco epidemic claims 5 million lives each year, facilitated by the ability of transnational tobacco companies to delay or thwart meaningful tobacco control worldwide. A series of cross-company tobacco industry "issues management organizations" has played an important role in coordinating and implementing common strategies to defeat tobacco control efforts at international, national, and regional levels. This study examines the development and enumerates the activities of these organizations and explores the implications of continuing industry cooperation for global public health.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a snowball sampling strategy, we collected documentary data from tobacco industry documents archives and assembled them into a chronologically organized case study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The International Committee on Smoking Issues (ICOSI) was formed in 1977 by seven tobacco company chief executives to create common anti-tobacco control strategies and build a global network of regional and national manufacturing associations. The organization's name subsequently changed to INFOTAB. The multinational companies built the organization rapidly: by 1984, it had 69 members operating in 57 countries. INFOTAB material, including position papers and "action kits" helped members challenge local tobacco control measures and maintain tobacco-friendly environments. In 1992 INFOTAB was replaced by two smaller organizations. The Tobacco Documentation Centre, which continues to operate, distributes smoking-related information and industry argumentation to members, some produced by cross-company committees. Agro-Tobacco Services, and now Hallmark Marketing Services, assists the INFOTAB-backed and industry supported International Tobacco Growers Association in advancing claims regarding the economic importance of tobacco in developing nations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The massive scale and scope of this industry effort illustrate how corporate interests, when threatened by the globalization of public health, sidestep competitive concerns to coordinate their activities. The global network of national and regional manufacturing associations created and nurtured by INFOTAB remains active, particularly in relation to the recently negotiated global health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Policymakers should be aware that although these associations claim to represent only national or regional interests, they are allied to and coordinated with a confederation of transnational tobacco companies seeking to protect profits by undermining public health.</p

A Framework for Predicting the Optimal Price and Time to Sell a Home

Due to high barriers to conduct housing market research, many home sellers opt to go to the market with asymmetric information or invest large sums of money into hiring a professional. This research aims to reduce these inefficiencies by proposing a framework that provides sellers with a concrete recommendation on optimal time and price to sell a home to maximize financial gains. The core data used in this research is the NOVA Home Price dataset, which contains 34,973 house listings over multiple years in Northern Virginia. A pipeline of machine learning models, including a linear regression, random forest, XGboost and artificial neural network are trained and evaluated for performance on predicting home close prices. The final model employed is an ensemble of random forest and XGboost and is tested on both a holdout set of Northern Virginia data as well as real estate data scraped from Zillow to introduce some variance. To control for future economic trends, a long-short-term memory model is then trained using temporal data from the Federal Reserve. Finally, the algorithm distills the insights from the disparate models to provide recommendations on optimal time and price to go to market, as well as short-term investments to increase potential gains from sale. The study finds that home features coupled with macro-economic trends can offer home sellers strong recommendations on optimal time and price to list homes. This research is preliminary and should be used as a baseline for future studies

Solar heating and cooling of housing : |b five institutional analysis case studies

This paper is one of a series resulting from institutional analysis of photovoltaic (PV) acceptance. The case studies reported here involve use of solar thermal technologies in various residential settings. All of the projects are part of the DOE-HUD Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Program. This program provides grants to developers to prompt them to use this innovation. Each of the five cases illustrates one or more institu- tional forces which influence the acceptance of solar energy in the resi- dential sector. Friends Community is an instance of developer involvement for reasons other than profit, and the way in which other factors (such as designers and consumers) react to such housing development. Reservoir Hills Solar Houses illustrates the process of entry by new development firms, the role of public agencies in encouraging various forms of housing and the problems of using product innovations without adequately developed industry support infrastructures. Project Solar for Indiana illustrates the import- ance of supporting institutional networks, in this case the homebuilders association, the state government and key individuals, who play mediating and legitimating roles in solar acceptance. Solar in California discusses public efforts at a city level -- Santa Clara, a county level -- San Diego, and the state level in what is generally regarded as the state most active in turning to forms of solar energy. Finally, PNM/AMREP illustrates the process of large development corporation decision making, and the manner in which an investor- owned utility is shifting its orientation of energy provision

Do as I Say and Do as I Do: Teacher Educators’ Narratives about Urban Teaching

Teacher educators share much in common with their pre-service candidates, but neither group resembles the increasingly diverse PreK-12 student population in cities across the United States. In the words of Gary Howard (1999): How can you teach what you don’t know? A group of faculty members at a small, suburban liberal arts college decided to address this dilemma head-on by creating an urban teaching group. In addition to reading about and discussing important issues related to urban education and culturally responsive pedagogy, we participated in community mapping with early childhood candidates and were assigned to inner-city elementary classrooms. Across a tenweek term, we observed, tutored, and taught lessons under the supervision of cooperating teachers, many of whom were our own graduates. Through direct experience, reflection, and dialogue, we challenged our assumptions and examined the realities of teaching in an urban setting

Modelos explicativos da memória prospectiva: uma revisão teórica

Neste artigo é apresentada uma revisão da literatura sobre os mecanismos cognitivos associados à memória prospectiva, organizados de acordo com a divisão das diferentes fases da recordação prospectiva (i.e., codificação, retenção e recuperação). Inicialmente, é apresentada a diversidade de dados da investigação que sustentam diferentes abordagens explicativas do fenômeno de recuperação de intenções, considerando a natureza automática ou estratégica da memória prospectiva. Em seguida, são salientadas as potenciais explicações sobre os mecanismos presentes durante o intervalo de retenção e na fase de codificação.(undefined