Adolescent Exposure to Food Advertising on Television

Summarizes a study of the link between adolescents' exposure to television advertising for healthy and unhealthy foods and rates of obesity. Compares data by type of food product and race/ethnicity

Competitive versus Collaborative: Exploring the Negotiation Strategy Impact on Relational Outcomes in Ongoing Buyer-Supplier Relationships

Negotiations are important interactions in ongoing buyer-supplier relationships. Previous research has identified two commonly utilized types of negotiation strategies that are incorporated into buyer-supplier negotiation encounters. The collaborative strategy seeks to achieve an outcome that is mutually beneficial, while a competitive strategy is focused on individual outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize a multi-method research approach to examine the relational impact of negotiation strategies choices. Study One utilized a scenario based experiment methodology. A priori hypotheses were developed based on Social Exchange Theory and its reciprocity tenet. The experimental results indicate that the use of a competitive negotiation strategy decreases levels of relationship specific assets, cooperation, trust, and process integration. Further analysis indicated that the use of a competitive negotiation strategy reduces levels of relationship specific assets and cooperation more in highly interdependent buyer-supplier relationships than in relationships with low levels of interdependence. Study Two used a grounded theory methodology to explore the impact of strategy choice in how buyers and suppliers perceive the relationship. Depth interviews were conducted with experienced buyers and suppliers. Coding and analysis of the interviews led to the development and presentation of a theoretical model. The findings suggest that the previous history of the buyer-supplier relationship impacts not only the choice of negotiation strategy but also the expectations of the strategy that the other negotiator will likely employ. The model suggests that the use of a competitive negotiation strategy has potentially harmful relational effects. However, the most damage to an ongoing relationship occurs when a buyer or supplier has traditionally utilized a collaborative strategy and violates the other partner\u27s expectations by switching to a competitive strategy. Five specific relationships factors that were deemed to be important emerged from the data: relationship investment, trust, information communication, collaboration, and alignment. This research should offer insight for managers into the potential relational costs and benefits of utilizing different negotiation strategies. The contributions of the dissertation research are addressed. Future opportunities for research are also discussed

Family Functioning and the Development of Trust and Intimacy Among Adolescents in Residential Treatment

This study examined relations between family cohesion and adaptability (as measured by the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales-III) and the formation of trust and intimacy (assessed with the Measure of Psychosocial Development) among adolescents in residential treatment. Bivariate correlation revealed a significant association between family cohesion and adaptability and psychosocial stages of trust and intimacy. Regression analyses revealed that family cohesion predicted trust, and that trust is significantly influential in the formation of intimacy. Discussion and treatment implications are included

Influences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Ethical Financial Operations in Nonprofit Organizations

In the United States, approximately 7% of nonprofits\u27 annual revenue is lost as a result of a lack of ethical financial operations among nonprofit executive directors (EDs). This represents $85 billion in estimated annual losses in available operating funds. This study addressed the problem of ineffective leadership in nonprofit organizations from the perspective of EDs responsible for ethical financial operations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of nonprofit EDs who self-reported the use of 1 of Burn\u27s and Bass\u27 3 leadership styles and whether leadership style influenced the use of the Sarbanes Oxley Act to manage the ethical financial operations of their human service nonprofit organization. Qualitative data were collected from 12 EDs through semi structured interviews and then coded and analyzed using a modified van Kaam procedure. The results of the study indicated that EDs who self-reported using transformational leadership style were more inclined to adhere to the Sarbanes Oxley Act. In addition, participants acknowledged the need for organizational support to improve leadership qualities in EDs, efficiency, and effective ethical financial operations in nonprofit organizations. The study provides a baseline for nonprofit organizations to increase positive social change by adding knowledge on implementing strategies that will result in the enhancement of quality leadership in EDs that may ultimately result in more efficient and effective ethical financial operations in nonprofit organizations

An efficient and robust HPLC method to determine the sialylation levels of human epithelial cells

Sialyltransferase, an enzyme responsible for attaching sialic acid to the cell surface, is reported to play a key role in cancer, making sialyltransferase a potential therapeutic target in drug development. Several methods have been developed to quantify sialic acids in biological samples however limitations exists and quantification in complex cell matrices lack investigation. Hence, this paper outlines a simple method to detect and quantify sialic acids in cancer cells for evaluating sialyltransferase activity of potential therapeutic compounds. An efficient method was developed using a reverse-phase ion-pairing HPLC-UV using triisopropanolamine as the ion-pairing agent with a C18 column. Neu5Ac was successfully eluted with the retention time 6.344 min with a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The proposed method was validated appropriately according to the AOAC guidelines (2013). This work demonstrates that the proposed method is not only relatively simple but also cost and time effective compared to pre-existing methods to successfully determine both free and protein-bound Neu5Ac in a complex cancer cell matrix. Furthermore, by applying the proposed method, a statistically significant decrease was observed for both HeLa and HuCCT1 cell lines with the application of deoxycholic acid–a known sialyltransferase inhibitor. Hence, the proposed method seems promisingly applicable to evaluate the effectiveness of potential sialyltransferase inhibitors