Effects of structure on efficacy of public relations problem-solving processes.

The unit of analysis for this study was the group. Treatment groups A were trained in a modified public relations problem solving (PRPS) process which used CPS techniques as decision making procedures. The treatment groups B were trained in the traditional PRPS process; and the control groups were not trained.It was concluded that training in CPS activities may have a significant effect on idea quantity and participant satisfaction--at least when public relations campaigns are considered.Although inter-rater reliability on the quality of ideas was too low to compare the three groups, two judges' ratings were summed for each idea and average quality scores across groups for each condition were compared. This analysis revealed a non-significant effect for the quality of ideas.The results indicated that there was a significant difference in the quality of the problem statements developed between the three groups. However, a post hoc analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the problem statements produced between groups trained in the modified PRPS process and the traditional PRPS process. The results of the study indicate that groups trained in the modified PRPS process generate significantly more ideas than groups trained in the traditional PRPS and the control groups.The research question for this study was: What effect does training in techniques of divergent and convergent activities in creative problem solving (CPS) have on public relations problem solving processes? To answer this question, this study focused on the differences between three groups in terms of the quality of problem statements, the quantity of ideas about strategies, the quality of ideas about the strategies, and participants' satisfaction levels.The study revealed that subjects trained in the modified PRPS process were more satisfied with their perception of freedom to participate and the quantity of ideas generated by their groups than subjects trained in the traditional PRPS. In addition, the results reveal that participants' satisfaction level on "perceived freedom to participate" was positively related to their satisfaction level on the quantity and quality of ideas generated and the process used by them.The results show that subjects trained in the modified PRPS process were more satisfied with their small group communication than subjects trained in the traditional process. The results show, however, that ideas produced by subjects trained in the traditional PRPS process and in the control groups are significantly better than ideas produced by the subjects trained in the modified PRPS.The groups were given a hypothetical public relation case. The quality of the problem statements and ideas generated by the groups were evaluated by two judges. The quantity of ideas was measured by counting the number of ideas about the public relations campaign strategies generated by each group of subjects. The satisfaction levels of individuals were measured by participant's self-reports after finishing the experiment task

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Wal-Mart's nontraditional banking business and corporate social responsibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight how a multinational corporation can fulfill its corporate social responsibility while seeking profit by using Wal-Mart's recent nontraditional banking services as an example. Design/methodology/approach – A wide gamut of document reviews about migrant workers in the USA and global remittance businesses was used. Remittance cost changes were also tracked among major US remittance operators over the past two years. Findings – Wal-Mart's competitive business platform has lowered remittance costs in the USA since it launched the new remittance business two years ago. Research limitations/implications – In spite of anecdotal evidence, this paper suggests how well-established multinational business operations can be tools for economic justice across the globe. Originality/value – This is one of the first reports on the impact of the retailer's nonbanking business on remittance cost and potential for promotion of economic justice for Hispanic/Latino migrants.Banking, Corporate social responsibility, Hispanics, Multinational companies, United States of America

Tie2 activation promotes choriocapillary regeneration for alleviating neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Choriocapillary loss is a major cause of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD). Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockade for NV-AMD has shown beneficial outcomes, unmet medical needs for patients refractory or tachyphylactic to anti-VEGF therapy exist. In addition, the treatment could exacerbate choriocapillary rarefaction, necessitating advanced treatment for fundamental recovery from NV-AMD. In this study, Tie2 activation by angiopoietin-2–binding and Tie2-activating antibody (ABTAA) presents a therapeutic strategy for NV-AMD. Conditional Tie2 deletion impeded choriocapillary maintenance, rendering eyes susceptible to NV-AMD development. Moreover, in a NV-AMD mouse model, ABTAA not only suppressed choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and vascular leakage but also regenerated the choriocapillaris and relieved hypoxia. Conversely, VEGF blockade degenerated the choriocapillaris and exacerbated hypoxia, although it suppressed CNV and vascular leakage. Together, we establish that angiopoietin-Tie2 signaling is critical for choriocapillary maintenance and that ABTAA represents an alternative, combinative therapeutic strategy for NV-AMD by alleviating anti-VEGF adverse effects. Copyright © 2019 The Author

Search for narrow resonances using the dijet mass spectrum in pp collisions at s√=8 TeV

Results are presented of a search for the production of new particles decaying to pairs of partons (quarks, antiquarks, or gluons), in the dijet mass spectrum in proton-proton collisions at s√=8  TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.0  fb−1, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2012. No significant evidence for narrow resonance production is observed. Upper limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of hypothetical new particles decaying to quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon final states. These limits are then translated into lower limits on the masses of new resonances in specific scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. The limits reach up to 4.8 TeV, depending on the model, and extend previous exclusions from similar searches performed at lower collision energies. For the first time mass limits are set for the Randall–Sundrum graviton model in the dijet channel

Hard X-ray free-electron laser with femtosecond-scale timing jitter

The hard X-ray free-electron laser at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL-XFEL) in the Republic of Korea achieved saturation of a 0.144 nm free-electron laser beam on 27 November 2016, making it the third hard X-ray free-electron laser in the world, following the demonstrations of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free Electron Laser (SACLA). The use of electron-beam-based alignment incorporating undulator radiation spectrum analysis has allowed reliable operation of PAL-XFEL with unprecedented temporal stability and dispersion-free orbits. In particular, a timing jitter of just 20 fs for the free-electron laser photon beam is consistently achieved due to the use of a state-of-the-art design of the electron linear accelerator and electron-beam-based alignment. The low timing jitter of the electron beam makes it possible to observe Bi(111) phonon dynamics without the need for timing-jitter correction, indicating that PAL-XFEL will be an extremely useful tool for hard X-ray time-resolved experiments.1143Nsciescopu