Trust and Distrust Scale Development: Operationalization and Instrument Validation

Trust and distrust have been studied at great length by researchers in the field of information systems and various other fields over the past few decades without reaching consensus on conceptualization and measurement. The goal of this study was to determine if individual trust and distrust are separate constructs or opposite ends of the same continuum. To this end, based on theoretical rationale, an aggregation of extant, validated trust and distrust instruments combined with newly created trust and distrust items were used as input into a rigorous Q-sorting procedure. The Q-sorting process led to the first contribution of this research: a determination that individual trust and distrust are separate and distinct variables and should be measured individually. An empirical field test was then distributed to test the effects of trust and distrust on a downstream variable within the nomological network of trust and distrust, willingness to transact. Over 100 undergraduate students, who are considered to be digital natives, responded to the survey. Through exploratory and confirmatory analyses, the list of 38 items from the Q-sort was narrowed to a parsimonious set of 20 items, exhibiting content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity. The creation of a list of items to measure individual trust and distrust is the second major contribution of this research. Post-hoc analyses showed significant main effects of trust and distrust, in the theorized directions, on willingness to transact. Additional post-hoc analysis based on quadrant membership, as described by Lewicki et al. (1998), and IT artifact, yielded too few results to make interpretations. Further, since this study made no hypotheses a priori, the post-hoc analyses should be interpreted with caution. Path analysis should be re-examined in future studies with theoretically developed hypotheses. Finally, since exploratory and confirmatory analyses were performed on the same data set, the results should be re-evaluated in the context of a larger, more diverse sample, to further add to the body of knowledge surrounding individual trust and distrust

Gene expression profiling identifies inflammation and angiogenesis as distinguishing features of canine hemangiosarcoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The etiology of hemangiosarcoma remains incompletely understood. Its common occurrence in dogs suggests predisposing factors favor its development in this species. These factors could represent a constellation of heritable characteristics that promote transformation events and/or facilitate the establishment of a microenvironment that is conducive for survival of malignant blood vessel-forming cells. The hypothesis for this study was that characteristic molecular features distinguish hemangiosarcoma from non-malignant endothelial cells, and that such features are informative for the etiology of this disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We first investigated mutations of VHL and Ras family genes that might drive hemangiosarcoma by sequencing tumor DNA and mRNA (cDNA). Protein expression was examined using immunostaining. Next, we evaluated genome-wide gene expression profiling using the Affymetrix Canine 2.0 platform as a global approach to test the hypothesis. Data were evaluated using routine bioinformatics and validation was done using quantitative real time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Each of 10 tumor and four non-tumor samples analyzed had wild type sequences for these genes. At the genome wide level, hemangiosarcoma cells clustered separately from non-malignant endothelial cells based on a robust signature that included genes involved in inflammation, angiogenesis, adhesion, invasion, metabolism, cell cycle, signaling, and patterning. This signature did not simply reflect a cancer-associated angiogenic phenotype, as it also distinguished hemangiosarcoma from non-endothelial, moderately to highly angiogenic bone marrow-derived tumors (lymphoma, leukemia, osteosarcoma).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The data show that inflammation and angiogenesis are important processes in the pathogenesis of vascular tumors, but a definitive ontogeny of the cells that give rise to these tumors remains to be established. The data do not yet distinguish whether functional or ontogenetic plasticity creates this phenotype, although they suggest that cells which give rise to hemangiosarcoma modulate their microenvironment to promote tumor growth and survival. We propose that the frequent occurrence of canine hemangiosarcoma in defined dog breeds, as well as its similarity to homologous tumors in humans, offers unique models to solve the dilemma of stem cell plasticity and whether angiogenic endothelial cells and hematopoietic cells originate from a single cell or from distinct progenitor cells.</p

Syngenetic-remobilized versus epigenetic: why won't the Mount Isa copper controversy go away?

Over half a century of research on and mining of the Proterozoic, shale-hosted Mount Isa copper orebodies has not removed the shadows of doubt from genetic models for this\ud deposit. The controversy stems from a broad range of seemingly conflicting datasets, and also the insistence by many researchers that a single model adequately describes the ore genesis. This contribution aims to present the different models with as little bias as possible, and attempts to come up with a more comprehensive explanation for the genesis of this extraordinary giant, both in its local and regional context

The Portland region: Where city and suburbs talk to each other ... and sometimes agree

Portland, OR, is often cited as an example of successful regional governance and planning. The metropolitan area appears to match many of the precepts of the popular compact city model of urban growth and to demonstrate the capacity of local and state government to shape growing metropolitan regions. Given this reputation, it is important to evaluate the relevance of the Portland experience for other communities, distinguishing unique local circumstances form generalizable characteristics. This analysis explores the spatial character of metropolitan Portland in the 1990s, summarizes the politics of regional planning, examines weaknesses in the Portland approach, and offers suggestions for other metropolitan areas. The study finds that many of Portland\u27s accomplishments center on urban design, but that the region\u27s most distinguishing characteristics is its attention to political process. The discussion concludes with suggestions about the value of extensive civic discourse,incremental policy making, and institution building