Strategies for Building Brand Equity for Unfamiliar Companies

Although widely used, existing brand equity models make implicit assumptions about the existence of consumer’s prior brand knowledge, lacking in guidance for less established, unfamiliar brands to build brand equity. Thus, a brand equity process model specifically catering to unfamiliar brands is warranted. In building brand equity for unfamiliar brands, consumer’s risk perception is a crucial factor to consider. Without any previous encounter, consumers can more easily experience a heightened sense of perceived risk, stemming from uncertainties about the brand. Thus, this study proposes that forming the high impression of brand quality, leading to initial trust can play a critical role in alleviating this risk. With this, the study proposes a conceptual brand equity process model with a specific emphasis on developing methods to build quality perception of the brand, and empirically testing the model

Iron-Fur complex suppresses the expression of components of the cyclo-(Phe-Pro)-signaling regulatory pathway in Vibrio vulnificus

In the human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus, the quorum-sensing (QS) signal molecule cyclo-(L-phenylalanine-L-proline) (cFP) plays a critical role in triggering a signaling pathway involving the components LeuO-vHUαβ-RpoS-KatG via the membrane signal receptor ToxR. In this study, we investigated the impact of iron on the expression of these signaling components. We found that the transcription of the membrane sensor protein ToxR was not significantly affected by Fur-iron. However, Fur-iron repressed the transcription of genes encoding all the downstream cytoplasmic components in this pathway by binding to the upstream regions of these genes. Consequently, the expression of genes regulated by the alternative sigma factor RpoS, as well as the resistance to hydrogen peroxide conferred by KatG, were repressed. Additionally, we observed that in Vibrio cholerae, genes dependent on ToxR showed higher expression levels in a fur-deletion mutant compared to the wild type. These findings indicate that iron, in association with Fur, represses virtually all the cytoplasmic components responsible for the ToxR-dependent cFP-signaling pathways in these two pathogenic Vibrio species. This study, along with our previous reports demonstrating the repression of components involved in AI-2 dependent QS signaling by Fur-iron, highlights the crucial role of iron in quorum-sensing regulation, which is closely associated with the pathogenicity of this human pathogen

Beginning teachers' identity and agency: a case study of L2 English teachers in South Korea

Beginning teachers’ first years of professional teaching have been extensively researched as a transformative time with a focus on their coping with praxis shock. Whilst the subtext of the literature often positions entrant teachers as in need of support and guidance at large, little research has concerned their agency at work, that is, how they create and recreate their opportunities for learning and development. The present study follows four beginning L2 English teachers’ first year of teaching in two public high schools in South Korea and aims to understand how they navigate, make sense of, and act in and on the materialised worlds of teaching. To be specific, the study explores the thesis that beginning teachers’ progression from university to work brings about their experiencing of consequential transition (Beach, 1999), that is, reshaping of identity, knowledge and skills. Drawing on Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain (1998), the study posits one’s identity as objectified self-images which organise the person’s actions in and on practices, hence a tool of agency, and applies the concept of identity as an analytic tool to examine the dialectic of person and practices. Also, Hedegaard’s (2012) model, especially the notions of a social situation of development and an activity setting, is utilised to further delineate the dynamics entailed in beginning teachers’ emergent identity and practices. The participants were interviewed prior to and at multiple time points throughout the school year 2013. Classroom observation was used to capture their emergent identity and practices and informed the interviews. The findings revealed some embedded contradictions which fuelled the beginning teachers’ ambivalence towards how to objectify themselves as professionals. Their access to the world of teaching was granted based on the cultural logic that to be a teacher is to be proficient in subject matter, whilst their knowledge of pedagogy was almost ignored. In the classroom, however, their linguistic competence, that is, the core of their identity, was almost dismissed as irrelevant, since the virtue of subject teaching was gauged by its utility for test performance and achievement. Such a forceful motive of teaching to the test meant that the novice teachers all had to acquire the new identity of an exam coach. They also had to cope with other institutional demands, for which they had no prior formal training and structured guidance or support on site. They thus had to become self-reliant to improvise the kind of school identity expected of them. Especially, homeroom care duties were experienced as a make-or-break challenge for the new teachers. The findings point to suggestions for how to assist beginning teachers’ transition to professional teaching in the South Korean context. First, the nation’s initial teacher education (ITE) should expand how teaching and learning to teach are conceptualised in order to enhance the relevance of beginning teachers’ initial identity to what happens in school practices. Second, ITE should incorporate more practice-oriented pedagogy to assist student teachers’ development of true concepts for resilient initial identity. Finally, schools should promote teachers to engage with relational work (Edwards, 2010a) so that schools could create a culture in which inquiry and collaboration are nurtured for sustained professional dialogue and interaction, where new teachers also are invited and supported to question and clarify what matters in practices and pave their ways to become resilient professionals.</p

Beginning teachers' identity and agency: a case study of L2 English teachers in South Korea

Beginning teachersâ first years of professional teaching have been extensively researched as a transformative time with a focus on their coping with praxis shock. Whilst the subtext of the literature often positions entrant teachers as in need of support and guidance at large, little research has concerned their agency at work, that is, how they create and recreate their opportunities for learning and development. The present study follows four beginning L2 English teachersâ first year of teaching in two public high schools in South Korea and aims to understand how they navigate, make sense of, and act in and on the materialised worlds of teaching. To be specific, the study explores the thesis that beginning teachersâ progression from university to work brings about their experiencing of consequential transition (Beach, 1999), that is, reshaping of identity, knowledge and skills. Drawing on Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain (1998), the study posits oneâs identity as objectified self-images which organise the personâs actions in and on practices, hence a tool of agency, and applies the concept of identity as an analytic tool to examine the dialectic of person and practices. Also, Hedegaardâs (2012) model, especially the notions of a social situation of development and an activity setting, is utilised to further delineate the dynamics entailed in beginning teachersâ emergent identity and practices. The participants were interviewed prior to and at multiple time points throughout the school year 2013. Classroom observation was used to capture their emergent identity and practices and informed the interviews. The findings revealed some embedded contradictions which fuelled the beginning teachersâ ambivalence towards how to objectify themselves as professionals. Their access to the world of teaching was granted based on the cultural logic that to be a teacher is to be proficient in subject matter, whilst their knowledge of pedagogy was almost ignored. In the classroom, however, their linguistic competence, that is, the core of their identity, was almost dismissed as irrelevant, since the virtue of subject teaching was gauged by its utility for test performance and achievement. Such a forceful motive of teaching to the test meant that the novice teachers all had to acquire the new identity of an exam coach. They also had to cope with other institutional demands, for which they had no prior formal training and structured guidance or support on site. They thus had to become self-reliant to improvise the kind of school identity expected of them. Especially, homeroom care duties were experienced as a make-or-break challenge for the new teachers. The findings point to suggestions for how to assist beginning teachersâ transition to professional teaching in the South Korean context. First, the nationâs initial teacher education (ITE) should expand how teaching and learning to teach are conceptualised in order to enhance the relevance of beginning teachersâ initial identity to what happens in school practices. Second, ITE should incorporate more practice-oriented pedagogy to assist student teachersâ development of true concepts for resilient initial identity. Finally, schools should promote teachers to engage with relational work (Edwards, 2010a) so that schools could create a culture in which inquiry and collaboration are nurtured for sustained professional dialogue and interaction, where new teachers also are invited and supported to question and clarify what matters in practices and pave their ways to become resilient professionals.</p

Strategies for Building Brand Equity for Unfamiliar Companies

Although widely used, existing brand equity models make implicit assumptions about the existence of consumer’s prior brand knowledge, lacking in guidance for less established, unfamiliar brands to build brand equity. Thus, a brand equity process model specifically catering to unfamiliar brands is warranted. In building brand equity for unfamiliar brands, consumer’s risk perception is a crucial factor to consider. Without any previous encounter, consumers can more easily experience a heightened sense of perceived risk, stemming from uncertainties about the brand. Thus, this study proposes that forming the high impression of brand quality, leading to initial trust can play a critical role in alleviating this risk. With this, the study proposes a conceptual brand equity process model with a specific emphasis on developing methods to build quality perception of the brand, and empirically testing the model.</p

Asbestosis Mimicking Metastatic Lung Cancer: Case Report

The clinical diagnosis of asbestosis is primarily based on chest radiographic evidence of pleural thickening and interstitial fibrosis combined with a history of exposure to asbestos. We report herein the case of a 65-year-old man with asbestosis pathologically diagnosed after surgical lung biopsy. He had a work history including farming, cementing, and casting and was admitted with dyspnea. Chest computed tomography revealed multiple well-defined nodules in both lungs and a 4.1 cm peribronchial consolidation with fibrotic changes in the right lower lobe. We suspected metastatic lung cancer and video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy was performed in the lung lesion of the right lower lobe. Asbestosis was confirmed following histological examination. The patient is currently completing outpatient visits without significant changes

Prediction of Vibration-Mode-Induced Noise of Structure–Acoustic Coupled Systems

The exposure of a structure to an acoustic domain induces a sound field owing to the interaction of the air-fluid and structure at the acoustic–structure boundaries. It is difficult to predict sound pressure level through vibration mode, due to the acoustic mode of the coupling effect between vibration and sound in addition to the acoustic mode induced by vibration mode generated by external force. In this study, the acoustic mode induced by structural vibration modes were predicted through a numerical analysis. A finite element model of a reverberation chamber with a shell at one side was constructed, and modal parameters of the vibration and acoustic modes were evaluated through an eigenvalue analysis. In addition, the sound pressure generated by impact loading of the shell were predicted by vibration mode through a time-domain structure–acoustic coupling analysis. The vibration and acoustic modal responses were identified from the measured responses, and the acoustic mode associated with a specific vibration mode was examined. The results showed that the acoustic mode from the coupling effect was verified, and sound pressure prediction from vibration mode was possible if considered as the coupling effect. The proposed approach can be applied to predict the heavy-weight floor impact sound from the vibration of slabs in apartments

Morin Induces Melanogenesis via Activation of MAPK Signaling Pathways in B16F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells

Morin is a well-known flavonoid, and has been reported to have various properties, such as anti-cell death, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Although studies on the biochemical and biological actions of morin have been reported, the melanin biosynthesis effects and molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, we first found that morin has the effect of enhancing melanin biosynthesis in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells, and analyzed the molecular mechanism. In this study, we examined the effects of morin on the melanin contents and tyrosinase activity, as well as the protein expression levels of the melanogenic enzymes TRP-1, TRP-2, and microphtalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. Morin showed no cytotoxicity in the concentration range of 5–100 μM, and significantly increased the intracellular tyrosinase activity and melanin contents. In mechanism analysis, morin increased the protein expression of TRP-1, TRP-2, and MITF associated with melanogenesis. Furthermore, morin increased phosphorylated ERK and p38 at the early time, and decreased phosphorylated ERK after 12 h. The results suggest that morin enhances melanin synthesis through the MAPK signaling pathways in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells