The Creole Connection: What Happens Next?

The purpose of this case is to demonstrate the importance of target market selection and positioning, particularly for businesses in small college towns. Additionally, other marketing and management issues are presented to stimulate understanding of the multitude of variables that impact restaurant success. This case is intended for those interested in marketing, management, entrepreneurship, hotel/restaurant management or retailing areas

The Effect of Antecedent Mood On Customer Loyalty Intentions: A Mood-By-Gender Interaction

This study suggests that induced antecedent moods may, in a systematic manner, influence subsequent levels of loyalty intention within consumer scenarios. Furthermore, this research finds that there exists differential responses to induced mood states by gender, which fall in line with research on the underlying gender differences in cognitive processing, levels of risk aversion, motivation, and the experience of emotion while shopping. Past studies in this area have shown only a mild connection between induced antecedent mood state and loyalty intentions, which may be due in part to the issue of an emotion by gender interaction. This paper reinforces previous work and extends this relationship to include gender as moderator. With a better understanding of the way in which different mood states influence customer loyalty intentions, a new approach to managing customer mood-states emerges

Use of Social Media by Sales Students for First Post-Graduation Job-Search: An Exploratory Study

As students who studied/majored in professional sales approach graduation and start looking for their first post-graduation/entry-level positions, what avenues are used to pursue these opportunities? One might suspect that with the explosion of social media and the millennial generation’s prolific use of said media this would be their preferred choice for job hunting. Are sales students engaging social media and other online activities to land entry-level career positions or are they still using traditional methods (i.e. College/University Career Fairs, College/University Career Services, Internships, etc.) to find these positons? This paper looks at the avenues millennial students who studied/majored in professional sales use to land their first post-college graduation sales positions

Assessment of Oral Presentations in an Undergraduate Accounting Program: An Application of Videotapes, Role Plays and Student Involvement

The subject School of Accountancy assesses oral presentations at the undergraduate (Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting) level to accomplish program improvement and accreditation maintenance. Historically, accounting students were assessed on their oral presentation skills by giving a 3-4 minute presentation of a completed research paper and used presentation software. Accounting faculty members assessed the presentation using a six-factor four-level rubric. This work was motivated by feedback received from the School’s Accounting Advisory Board; the members were dissatisfied with new accounting staff hires’ inability to communicate with their clients face-to-face. While they appreciated the favorable results achieved in the oral presentation assessments, the members questioned if the School was measuring the right approach to presentations. Would it be possible to assess one-on-one communication of technical material? The authors present a pilot test created to investigate the use of one-on-one roleplays using undergraduate tax and advanced marketing sales students. Undergraduate tax students role-played an individual tax return prepared as a class project to the advanced sales students. The presentations were video taped. Graduate tax students assessed the videotapes and reported results to the authors. Results were again favorable. In addition, results suggest that using students who are naive to each others’ situation gives a more realistic feel to the role-play presentations

Use of Online or Traditional Job Search Tools: Which Do Sales Students Prefer When Searching to Begin Their Post-College Graduate Careers-A Study Revisited

In 2019, a study was conducted to see if college students who studied/majored in professional sales, preferred digital media over face-to-face interactions for post-graduation careers searches. Results showed sales students used multiple methods during these searches. Although sales students engaged with digital media to land entry-level career positions, they still relied heavily upon traditional methods (i.e., college/university career fairs/services, internships, etc.). In March of 2020, as Covid-19 moved just about everyone online, the authors were interested in seeing whether the increased use and familiarity with digital media changed sales students’ preference for and use of job search tools. This follow-up study investigates the use of online and traditional resources for sales students’ career searches as graduation approaches. Results suggest sales students use multiple methods during their first career searches. They engage with digital media to land entry-level career positions while still relying heavily upon traditional methods. This research provides insight into the perceptions of sales students while searching for career positions

3 years of liraglutide versus placebo for type 2 diabetes risk reduction and weight management in individuals with prediabetes: a randomised, double-blind trial

Background: Liraglutide 3·0 mg was shown to reduce bodyweight and improve glucose metabolism after the 56-week period of this trial, one of four trials in the SCALE programme. In the 3-year assessment of the SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes trial we aimed to evaluate the proportion of individuals with prediabetes who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults with prediabetes and a body-mass index of at least 30 kg/m2, or at least 27 kg/m2 with comorbidities, were randomised 2:1, using a telephone or web-based system, to once-daily subcutaneous liraglutide 3·0 mg or matched placebo, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Time to diabetes onset by 160 weeks was the primary outcome, evaluated in all randomised treated individuals with at least one post-baseline assessment. The trial was conducted at 191 clinical research sites in 27 countries and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01272219. Findings: The study ran between June 1, 2011, and March 2, 2015. We randomly assigned 2254 patients to receive liraglutide (n=1505) or placebo (n=749). 1128 (50%) participants completed the study up to week 160, after withdrawal of 714 (47%) participants in the liraglutide group and 412 (55%) participants in the placebo group. By week 160, 26 (2%) of 1472 individuals in the liraglutide group versus 46 (6%) of 738 in the placebo group were diagnosed with diabetes while on treatment. The mean time from randomisation to diagnosis was 99 (SD 47) weeks for the 26 individuals in the liraglutide group versus 87 (47) weeks for the 46 individuals in the placebo group. Taking the different diagnosis frequencies between the treatment groups into account, the time to onset of diabetes over 160 weeks among all randomised individuals was 2·7 times longer with liraglutide than with placebo (95% CI 1·9 to 3·9, p<0·0001), corresponding with a hazard ratio of 0·21 (95% CI 0·13–0·34). Liraglutide induced greater weight loss than placebo at week 160 (–6·1 [SD 7·3] vs −1·9% [6·3]; estimated treatment difference −4·3%, 95% CI −4·9 to −3·7, p<0·0001). Serious adverse events were reported by 227 (15%) of 1501 randomised treated individuals in the liraglutide group versus 96 (13%) of 747 individuals in the placebo group. Interpretation: In this trial, we provide results for 3 years of treatment, with the limitation that withdrawn individuals were not followed up after discontinuation. Liraglutide 3·0 mg might provide health benefits in terms of reduced risk of diabetes in individuals with obesity and prediabetes. Funding: Novo Nordisk, Denmark

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The Google Online Marketing Challenge: A Learning Initiative

A Google representative and four professors who participated in the Google Online Marketing Challenge discussed this pedagogical tool. Session topics included: Challenge adoption considerations; getting up to speed on AdWords; their Challenge experiences; Challenge learning objectives; instructor pitfalls; common student mistakes and benefits; student complaints; and integrating the Challenge into marketing courses. The Google Online Marketing Challenge, Google’s inaugural business student competition, ran from February to May 2008 and runs again from January to May 2009. Similar to other Google initiatives, the scale seems huge. About 200 professors representing approximately 8,000 students in 47 countries competed in the inaugural Challenge. Predictions are at least double the numbers in 2009. Student teams had $200 (U.S.) in AdWords, Google’s flagship advertising product that accounts for over 90 percent of Google’s revenue, to drive traffic to a small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) website. Unlike most student competitions that simulate real world conditions or craft hypothetical marketing plans, students in the Google Online Marketing Challenge developed and implemented online marketing campaigns for real clients, and spent real money. During the three-week contest, students accessed detailed, individualized reports and adjusted their campaigns accordingly. In addition to hands-on experience conducting online marketing campaigns, students gained the experience of acting as consultants for SMEs. Another difference from most student competitions is a focus on the educational experience. In addition to competing on campaign metrics, the student teams submitted two written reports. The first report, a pre-campaign strategy, overviews the client’s business and how the AdWords campaign aligns with the client’s objects. The second report, after the campaign, addresses three pedagogical areas: learning objectives and outcomes; group dynamics and client dynamics; and future recommendations. An important goal of marketing education is helping students grasp the relevance of topics discussed in the classroom. A complementary goal of many professors is to develop positive liaisons with the local business community. Similarly, many universities struggle with ways to become relevant in their local communities. The Google Online Marketing Challenge helps achieve these goals