Consumers’ perceived corporate social responsibility evaluation and support: the moderating role of consumer information

This study analyzes how consumers’ evaluations of various dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect their support of it and how consumers’ searches for CSR information influence such evaluations. The empirical analysis relies on data on CSR from a wide representative sample of 3543 Spanish hotel consumers. We use hierarchical multiple regressions to test the relationships and use factorial analysis to test the validity of the different CSR dimensions. The proposed positive effects of legal, ethical, economic, philanthropic and environmental dimensions of CSR on consumers’ support for corporate reputation, the selection of an establishment, and future purchase intention are corroborated, although they are only partially corroborated in the case of the economic dimension. These relationships are moderated in some cases by consumers’ search for information about hotels’ CSR practices. Managerial and economic implications are derived from the results

Predicting Distribution of Aedes Aegypti and Culex Pipiens Complex, Potential Vectors of Rift Valley Fever Virus in Relation to Disease Epidemics in East Africa.

The East African region has experienced several Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreaks since the 1930s. The objective of this study was to identify distributions of potential disease vectors in relation to disease epidemics. Understanding disease vector potential distributions is a major concern for disease transmission dynamics. DIVERSE ECOLOGICAL NICHE MODELLING TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR THIS PURPOSE: we present a maximum entropy (Maxent) approach for estimating distributions of potential RVF vectors in un-sampled areas in East Africa. We modelled the distribution of two species of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens complex) responsible for potential maintenance and amplification of the virus, respectively. Predicted distributions of environmentally suitable areas in East Africa were based on the presence-only occurrence data derived from our entomological study in Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania. Our model predicted potential suitable areas with high success rates of 90.9% for A. aegypti and 91.6% for C. pipiens complex. Model performance was statistically significantly better than random for both species. Most suitable sites for the two vectors were predicted in central and northwestern Tanzania with previous disease epidemics. Other important risk areas include western Lake Victoria, northern parts of Lake Malawi, and the Rift Valley region of Kenya. Findings from this study show distributions of vectors had biological and epidemiological significance in relation to disease outbreak hotspots, and hence provide guidance for the selection of sampling areas for RVF vectors during inter-epidemic periods

Exploring health-related quality of life determinants of New Zealand sole mothers

International research has repeatedly linked sole motherhood to diminished levels of psychological and physical health. The purpose of the present study was to add to the limited amount of research on the health-related quality of life determinants in sole mothers, particularly in New Zealand. A sample of 263 New Zealand sole mothers recruited through a number of parent or women's networking groups completed a questionnaire on health-related quality of life, perceived stress and social support. Social support was positively associated with health-related quality of life irrespective of level of perceived stress, thus finding no evidence for a stress-buffering effect. The strongest protective factors against lowered health-related quality of life were social support and adult family members living at the same home, highlighting possible strategies to overcome inequalities in health-related quality of life