Do Scandals Affect YOU as an Athletic Sportswear Consumer?

Athletic sportswear brands endorse celebrity-athletes to promote the brand’s image and gain credibility by having these ‘experts’ associated with their brand. This marketing technique is often advantageous for sportswear companies. However, there may be liabilities and complications for the brand if the endorsed athlete becomes involved in a scandal. The two main purposes of this thesis are to assess how and if consumer-purchasing behaviour is affected by endorsed celebrity-athletes involved in a scandal, and at what point should these athletes' contracts be terminated by the brand, from a consumer’s perspective. This may offer companies with insightful information to make informed decisions in such circumstances. A mix-method approach is used to examine consumers’ purchasing behaviour and opinion. The main method of data collection was an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was supplemented by interviews. The general findings of the overall study regarding consumer-purchasing behaviour after a scandal show that consumers perceived the criminal, non-sports related scandals to have the most effect on their purchasing behaviour. The sports related scandals are the next set of scandals seen to have a significant effect on consumers. Lastly, the less criminal, non-sports related scandals are considered to have the lowest effect on consumer purchasing behaviour. In terms of the termination of the athlete’s contract, the general findings correlate with the opinions on the severity of the scandal. When the sample consumers believe they would continue to purchase, they also believe the brand should not terminate the contract, and vice versa. Therefore, these findings may hopefully guide sportswear companies to make informed decisions and avoid unwanted repercussions

A Wideband Direction of Arrival Technique for Multibeam, Wide-Swath Imaging of Ice Sheet Basal Morphology

Multichannel, ice sounder data can be processed to three-dimensionally map ice sheet bed topography and basal reflectivity using tomographic imaging techniques. When ultra-wideband (UWB) signals are used to interrogate a glaciological target, fine resolution maps can be obtained. These data sets facilitate both process studies of ice sheet dynamics and also continental-scale ice sheet modeling needed to predict future sea level. The socioeconomic importance of these data as well as the cost and logistical challenge of procuring them justifies the need to image ice sheet basal morphology over a wider swath. Imaging wide swaths with UWB signals poses challenges for the array processing methods that have been used to localize scattering in the cross-track dimension. Both MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) and the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) have been applied to the ice sheet tomography problem. These techniques are formulated assuming a narrowband model of the array that breaks down in wideband signal environments when the direction of arrival (DOA) increases further off nadir. The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) developed a UWB multichannel SAR with a large cross-track array for sounding and imaging polar ice from a Basler BT-67 aircraft. In 2013, this sensor collected data in a multibeam mode over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to demonstrate wide swath imaging. To reliably estimate the arrival angles of echoes from the edges of the swath, a parametric space-time direction of arrival estimator was developed that obtains an estimate of the DOA by fitting the observed space-time covariance structure to a model. This thesis focuses on the development and optimization of the algorithm and describes its predicted performance based on simulation. Its measured performance is analyzed with 3D tomographic basal maps of an ice stream in West Antarctica that were generated using the technique

Airborne fine-resolution UHF radar: an approach to the study of englacial reflections, firn compaction and ice attenuation rates

This is the published version. Copyright 2015 International Glaciological SocietyWe have built and operated an ultra-wideband UHF pulsed-chirp radar for measuring firn stratigraphy from airborne platforms over the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica. Our analysis found a wide range of capabilities, including imaging of post firn–ice transition horizons and sounding of shallow glaciers and ice shelves. Imaging of horizons to depths exceeding 600 m was possible in the colder interior regions of the ice sheet, where scattering from the ice surface and inclusions was minimal. The radar's high sensitivity and large dynamic range point to loss tangent variations as the dominant mechanism for these englacial reflective horizons. The radar is capable of mapping interfaces with reflection coefficients as low as –80 dB near the firn–ice transition and as low as –64 dB at depths of 600 m. We found that firn horizon reflectivity strongly mirrored density variance, a result of the near-unity interfacial transmission coefficients. Zones with differing compaction mechanisms were also apparent in the data. We were able to sound many ice shelves and areas of shallow ice. We estimated ice attenuation rates for a few locations, and our attenuation estimates for the Ross Ice Shelf, West Antarctica, appear to agree well with earlier reported results

Enhanced cardiac perception is associated with increased susceptibility to framing effects

Previous studies suggest in line with dual process models that interoceptive skills affect controlled decisions via automatic or implicit processing. The “framing effect” is considered to capture implicit effects of task-irrelevant emotional stimuli on decision- making. We hypothesized that cardiac awareness, as a measure of interoceptive skills, is positively associated with susceptibility to the framing effect. Forty volunteers performed a risky-choice framing task in which the effect of loss vs. gain frames on decisions based on identical information was assessed. The results show a positive association between cardiac awareness and the framing effect, accounting for 24 % of the variance in the framing effect. These findings demonstrate that good interoceptive skills are linked to poorer performance in risky choices based on ambivalent information when implicit bias is induced by task irrelevant emotional information. These findings support a dual process perspective on decision-making and suggest that interoceptive skills mediate effects of implicit bias on decisions.status: publishe

Viral Quasi-Species Evolution During Hepatitis Be Antigen Seroconversion

10.1053/j.gastro.2007.06.011Gastroenterology1333951-95

Implementation of an integrated care programme to avoid fragility fractures of the hip in older adults in 18 Bavarian hospitals – study protocol for the cluster-randomised controlled fracture liaison service FLS-CARE

Background!#!The economic and public health burden of fragility fractures of the hip in Germany is high. The likelihood of requiring long-term care and the risk of suffering from a secondary fracture increases substantially after sustaining an initial fracture. Neither appropriate confirmatory diagnostics of the suspected underlying osteoporosis nor therapy, which are well-recognised approaches to reduce the burden of fragility fractures, are routinely initiated in the German healthcare system. Therefore, the aim of the study FLS-CARE is to evaluate whether a coordinated care programme can close the prevention gap for patients suffering from a fragility hip fracture through the implementation of systematic diagnostics, a falls prevention programme and guideline-adherent interventions based on the Fracture Liaison Services model.!##!Methods!#!The study is set up as a non-blinded, cluster-randomised, controlled trial with unequal cluster sizes. Allocation to intervention group (FLS-CARE) and control group (usual care) follows an allocation ratio of 1:1 using trauma centres as the unit of allocation. Sample size calculations resulted in a total of 1216 patients (608 patients per group distributed over 9 clusters) needed for the analysis. After informed consent, all participants are assessed directly at discharge, after 3 months, 12 months and 24 months. The primary outcome measure of the study is the secondary fracture rate 24 months after initial hip fracture. Secondary outcomes include differences in the number of falls, mortality, quality-adjusted life years, activities of daily living and mobility.!##!Discussion!#!This study is the first to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness/utility of FLS implementation in Germany. Findings of the process evaluation will also shed light on potential barriers to the implementation of FLS in the context of the German healthcare system. Challenges for the study include the successful integration of the outpatient sector as well as the future course of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and its influence on the intervention.!##!Trial registration!#!German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS) 00022237 , prospectively registered 2020-07-09