The impact of green appeals on credibility: a mixed-method approach

Many advertisers use green advertisements to convey their products’ and company’s responsibility towards the environment. However, previous studies suggest that consumers are skeptic towards such claims. As credibility is an important indicator of ad effectiveness, the current paper investigates the impact of green advertising on credibility by relating the green characteristics of advertisements to perceived credibility. In general, results of a quantitative study indicate that level of greenness has a positive impact, while environmental involvement has a negative impact on the credibility of green advertisements

Measuring for knowledge: a data-driven research approach for e-Government

EGovernment still faces many challenges as it continues to develop. The current status of electronic services delivery opens up a lot of questions, both for practitioners and researchers. Therefore, further progress of eGovernment needs a profound knowledge base. EGovernment policy has focused several years on bringing online public services and on benchmarking their availability and sophistication. Simultaneously, eGovernment measurement activities are often based on the so-called supply-side benchmarking. This is important knowledge, however, it is under criticism because it lacks a user-centric viewpoint of eGovernment development. In this paper a bottom-up and data-driven approach is presented how research could help to manage (user-centric) eGovernment strategies. Based on statistical testing (techniques of Structural Equation Modeling, SEM) of large sample data from the Belgian government, we have investigated which relations do exist between contextual variables and the availability and/or satisfaction of electronic public services. This paper presents an illustration of this data-driven approach and explains how this can support and enrich the management and evaluation of eGovernment policy

Updated secondary implant stability data of two dental implant systems. A retrospective cohort study

At present, updated secondary implant stability data generated by actual versions of resonance frequency analysis (RFA) and mobility measurement (MM) electronic devices of 2 different implant systems with actual manufactured surfaces seem to lack and/or are incomplete. Secondary implant stability data based on both RFA and MM measurements were collected and analyzed from 44 formerly treated patients (24 f, 20 m) that received either Ankylos Cellplus (Ø3.5mm) (A) (n=36) or Straumann regular neck SLA tissue level (Ø4.1mm) (S) (n=37) implants in posterior positions of both jawbones (total number= 72). These results were interpretated in view of formerly published data. Estimated RFA outcomes (mean±SD) for A implants were of 81.23 (±0.65) (LP) - 76.15 (±1.57) (UP) isq; for S implants 76.15 (±1.48) (LP) - 73.88 (±2.34) (UP) isq. Estimated MM outcomes for A implants were (-4.0) (±0.23) (LP) - (-3.2) (±0.33) (UP) ptv; for S implants (-5.15) (±0.39) (LP) - (-4.4) (±0.84) (UP) ptv. According to GEE statistical modelling, implant type and ? position seems to influence the outcome variables (p0.05). Secondary implant stability values, recorded with current RFA and MM devices, of A Cellplus implants are provided for the first time. A difference of 14.7-9.7 isq values was noted for CellPlus versus TPS S implants recorded with a cabled RFA device. This study supports the assumption that RFA outcomes generated with first generation RFA devices are different from those obtained with current RFA devices, meaning that its use in reviews need caution and correction

Secondary implant stability outcome of immediate versus late placed variable-thread implants in the maxilla. A retrospective cohort study

The healing of xenograft augmentated intra-alveolar gaps following immediate implant placement (IMIP) after tooth extraction is likely to differ in time and density compared to the native bone part that directly contacts the implant. Secondary implant stability (SIS) data recorded 2-3 months following a late implant placement protocol (LIP) (n= 43) and 6-8 months following an immediate implant placement protocol (IMIP) (n=33) of variable-thread implants (Nobel Active?) in the maxilla were retrospectively collected from files of 63 patients (42 females, 21 males). Statistical analysis was performed using a generalized estimating equation model (GEE). Data split-up according to implant diameter (RP, Ø= 4.3mm) , narrow platform (NP, Ø= 3.5mm) was adopted. For NP implants, the mean ISQ (±SD) values were 70.84 (±4.86) in LIP group and 72.41 (±3.89) in the IMIP group. For RP implants, mean ISQ (±SD) values were 73.45 (±8.77) in the LIP group and 75.93 (±5.73) in the IMIP group. Significant effect of treatment modus in favour of the IMIP and gender in favour of males and implant position was noted (p<0.05). SIS following a IMIP protocol after 6-8 months is comparable to LIP protocol after 2-3 months. A minor ISQ outcome difference in favour of the IMIP protocol can be attributed to a difference in hard tissue alteration during healing of the xenograft part

ISQ calculation evaluation of in vitro laser scanning vibrometry-captured resonance frequency

Background: Implant stability testing at various stages of implant therapy by means of resonance frequency analysis is extensively used. The overall measurement outcome is a function of the resulting stiffness of three entities: surrounding bone, bone-implant complex, and implant-Smartpeg complex. The influence of the latter on the overall measurement results is presently unknown. It can be investigated in vitro by use of imbedded implants with mounted Smartpegs. This enables to keep the influence of the two other entities constant and controlled. The purpose of this study is to verify if a laboratory laser Doppler vibrometry technology-based procedure results in comparable ISQ results after calculation of captured resonance frequency spectra by aid of the Osstell algorithm with direct Osstell IDX device measurements. Methods: A laboratory procedure was engineered to record frequency spectra of resin-imbedded test implants with mounted Smartpegs, after electromagnetic excitation with the Osstell IDX device and laser Doppler vibrometry response detection. Fast Fourier transformation data processing of resonance frequency data resulted in determination of a maximum resonance frequency values allowing calculation of implant stability quotient (ISQ) values using the Osstell algorithm. Results: Laboratory-based ISQ values were compared to Osstell IDx device-generated ISQ values for Straumann tissue level, Ankylos, and 3i Certain implant systems. For both systems, a correlation coefficient r = 0.99 was found. Furthermore, a clinically rejectable mean difference of 0.09 ISQ units was noted between both datasets. Conclusions: The proposed laboratory method with the application of the Osstell algorithm for ISQ calculation is appropriate for future studies to in vitro research aspects of resonance frequency analysis implant stability measurements

In green we trust: an exploratory research into the credibility of green claims in print advertising

It is widely recognized that green advertising is on the rise, although practitioners have to contend with low credibility of environmental claims due to a variety of reasons. Greenwashing and consumers’ lack of knowledge concerning environmental issues, for example, make people distrustful of green advertising. This interesting evolution notwithstanding, research assessing the credibility of green ads is virtually non-existent. Moreover, there is no literature employing content analysis as a methodology to predict the credibility and greenness of ads conveying an environmentally-friendly stance. This study attempts to fill this void using qualitative content analysis employing the Means-End Chain Conceptualization of Advertising Strategy (MECCAS) model to divide genuine environmental print ads into five incremental levels of greenness. Levels are allocated based on a specific combination of five variables assessing whether a particular green feature (e.g. green claim, green look) is present or absent. A whole volume of two Flemish weeklies and one monthly was selected and every ad was carefully examined. This resulted in a pool of 162 ads trying to convey greenness to a minimum extent. Coding was carried out by one none-expert judge and intrajudge reliability was calculated for each variable separately by recoding a subset of ads. The lowest reliability was 0.78, while all others exceeded 0.90, thus meeting stability standards. Results indicate that many advertisers have not yet discovered the rich potential of green advertising since nearly half of the ads studied can merely be awarded the lowest level of greenness. Subsequently, an offline survey was conducted among 52 Flemish respondents in order to assess people’s judgments of greenness and credibility of the same ads used in the content analysis. This survey revealed that the MECCAS model does not live up to expectations in predicting respondents’ judgments since the MECCAS variables explained a low, yet significant proportion of variance in credibility (R²=.104, F (7,1033)=18.18, p=.000) and greenness (R²=.137, F (5,1033)=33.90, p=.000). This study also indicates that green ads do indeed suffer a rather low credibility (M=4.13, SD=2.74, measured on an 11-point Likert-scale ranging from 0 to 10). Thus it can be assumed that we still have a long journey to travel before people’s confidence in green advertising will be restored and before the earth together with its rich fauna and flora can finally benefit from greener products