The Role of Country of Origin in Brand Following on Social Media Among U.S. Consumers

An understanding of how consumers interact with brands online is still in its infancy. This study will attempt to explain what motivates consumers to follow brands on social media, looking specifically at the role country and region of origin of products plays in explaining the relationship. Given the personal nature that attracts people to social media to build relationships, it is believed that the personal nature of brands originating from the social media users’ home country will heighten the likelihood that consumers track certain brands and may enhance the relationship that evolves between the brand and the consumer. A model is proposed to explain the relationship, with survey data from U.S. consumers used to begin to establish any links between product origins and brand tracking behavior through social media

Consumer Ethnocentrism: A Comparison of Arab and Western Audiences

The subject of consumer ethnocentrism is discussed in the context of advertising country-of-origin effects. The literature and suggestions concerning the phenomenon in the Middle East are brought up and a study using U.S. and Egyptian samples is described. The findings show some evidence of consumer ethnocentrism in both countries, though statistical significance is only achieved with U.S. data, generally consistent with prior writing and research focused on developed versus developing countries. Special attention is given to the construct of worldliness and though not statistically significant, results suggest it may be a factor deserving additional study

Gender aspects of terrorism in urban spaces

Theoretical development within gender studies and terrorism studies has occurred along the axes of identity, material and spatial power and inequality, and geography. Gender scholars have been concerned with the transformation of oppressive political structures, with increased inequality and understanding how gender structures limit women’s opportunities, and with the role of separate geo-graphical and social spheres in shaping outcomes. Terrorism scholars have con-ceptualized terror as a political process, the result largely of economic inequality and to some extent, gender structures, and they have articulated a role for urban space in conceptualizing interventionist policy to ameliorate the terrorist threat. This paper traces the development of these theoretical traditions, pointing out the thematic similarities, but also the dissimilar objects of inquiry. A review of the scholarship where gender informs terrorism studies points the way to future development of scholarship around (1) solving the global terrorism problem by further understanding gender structures for both men and women; (2) the role of urban and non-urban spaces as the backdrop for terrorist recruitment and formation processes; and (3) how gender is likely to affect actual survival for gendered urban populations when terrorism occurs

Girls in The Boat: Sex Differences in Rowing Performance and Participation

Men outperform women in many athletic endeavors due to physiological and anatomical differences (e.g. larger and faster muscle); however, the observed sex differences in elite athletic performance are typically larger than expected, and may reflect sex-related differences in opportunity or incentives. As collegiate rowing in the United States has been largely incentivized for women over the last 20 years, but not men, the purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in elite rowing performance over that timeframe. Finishing times from grand finale races for collegiate championship on-water performances (n = 480) and junior indoor performances (n = 1,280) were compared between men and women across 20 years (1997–2016), weight classes (heavy vs. lightweight) and finishing place. Participation of the numbers of men and women rowers were also quantified across years. Men were faster than women across all finishing places, weight classes and years of competition and performance declined across finishing place for both men and women (P\u3c0.001). Interestingly, the reduction in performance time across finishing place was greater (P\u3c0.001) for collegiate men compared to women in the heavyweight division. This result is opposite to other sports (e.g. running and swimming), and to lightweight rowing in this study, which provides women fewer incentives than in heavyweight rowing. Correspondingly, participation in collegiate rowing has increased by ~113 women per year (P\u3c0.001), with no change (P = 0.899) for collegiate men. These results indicate that increased participation and incentives within collegiate rowing for women vs. men contribute to sex differences in athletic performance

The Aging Neuromuscular System and Motor Performance

Age-related changes in the basic functional unit of the neuromuscular system, the motor unit, and its neural inputs have a profound effect on motor function, especially among the expanding number of old (older than ∼60 yr) and very old (older than ∼80 yr) adults. This review presents evidence that age-related changes in motor unit morphology and properties lead to impaired motor performance that includes 1) reduced maximal strength and power, slower contractile velocity, and increased fatigability; and 2) increased variability during and between motor tasks, including decreased force steadiness and increased variability of contraction velocity and torque over repeat contractions. The age-related increase in variability of motor performance with aging appears to involve reduced and more variable synaptic inputs that drive motor neuron activation, fewer and larger motor units, less stable neuromuscular junctions, lower and more variable motor unit action potential discharge rates, and smaller and slower skeletal muscle fibers that coexpress different myosin heavy chain isoforms in the muscle of older adults. Physical activity may modify motor unit properties and function in old men and women, although the effects on variability of motor performance are largely unknown. Many studies are of cross-sectional design, so there is a tremendous opportunity to perform high-impact and longitudinal studies along the continuum of aging that determine 1) the influence and cause of the increased variability with aging on functional performance tasks, and 2) whether lifestyle factors such as physical exercise can minimize this age-related variability in motor performance in the rapidly expanding numbers of very old adults

Development of a Novel Revison Total Hip Arthroplasty Method for Femoral Component Extraction

Revision total hip arthroplasty is an expensive, arduous procedure where a femoral implant must first be removed and then replaced. The most difficult part of this procedure is the removal of the hip implant, without damaging the host bone. To make this process easier, it is proposed that a device could utilize an implant\u27s natural frequency to propagate cracks in the bone cement used to bond the implant to the host bone. The foci of this thesis is to (i) determine the natural frequency of an implant, (ii) design a device that can be easily used in a surgical setting while efficiently transferring vibration energy into an implant, and (iii) show that the vibrational energy can be used to propagate cracks in the cement mantel. To validate these foci both in silico and in vitro methods have been used. In silico models have been designed to determine an implant\u27s natural frequency and to show that low amplitude mechanical vibrations can be used to propagate cracks in the cement mantel. In the in vivo study an initial design has been proposed and successfully prototyped and calibrated to output vibrations to the proper frequency. In order to keep the proposed design safe for surgical use, it has been designed such that internal stresses are less than the yielding stress of bone, and in order to facilitate crack propagation, the crack must first be externally nucleated by the operator

Image segmentation evaluation using an integrated framework

In this paper we present a general framework we have developed for running and evaluating automatic image and video segmentation algorithms. This framework was designed to allow effortless integration of existing and forthcoming image segmentation algorithms, and allows researchers to focus more on the development and evaluation of segmentation methods, relying on the framework for encoding/decoding and visualization. We then utilize this framework to automatically evaluate four distinct segmentation algorithms, and present and discuss the results and statistical findings of the experiment

A framework and user interface for automatic region based segmentation algorithms

In this paper we describe a framework and tool developed for running and evaluating automatic region based segmentation algorithms. The tool was designed to allow simple integration of existing and future segmentation algorithms, both single image based algorithms and those that operate on video data. Our framework supports plug-in segmenters, media decoders, and region-map codecs. We provide several sophisticated implementations of these plug-ins, including a video decoder capable of frame accurate decoding of a large variety of video formats, an image decoder which also handles a comprehensive collection of formats, and a efficient implementation of a region-map codec. The tool includes both a graphical user interface to allow users to browse, visually inspect, and evaluate the algorithm output, and a batch processing interface for segmentation of large data collections. The application allows researchers to focus more on the development and evaluation of segmentation methods, relying on the framework for encoding/decoding input and output, and the front end for visualization

Mapping the Emotional Experience of Travel to Understand Cycle-Transit User Behavior

People experience emotions during travel. Driving, riding a bicycle, taking transit, and walking all involve multiple mental processes, potentially leading to various ranges of emotions such as fear, anger, sorrow, joy, and anticipation. Understanding the link between emotions and transportation environments is critical to planning efforts aiming to bring about a more environmentally sustainable society. In this paper, we identified, geo-coded, analyzed, and visualized emotions experienced by cycle–transit users, or CTUs, who combine bicycling and public transit in a single trip. We addressed two research questions: (1) What types of emotions do CTUs experience, why, and where? (2) How can mapping and understanding these emotions help urban planners comprehend CTU travel behavior and build a more sustainable transportation system? Based on 74 surveys completed by CTUs in Philadelphia, USA, we performed a content analysis of textual data and sketch maps, coded for emotional content, attached emotions with geo-referenced locations using GIS, and finally created four types of emotional maps. Overall, CTUs expressed 50 negative and 31 positive sentiments. Anger was the most frequently identified emotion, followed by disgust, fear, sadness, and joy. Twenty-five transportation planners reviewed the maps; the majority found that the maps could effectively convey an emotional account of a journey, opinions on routes and locations, or emotions attached to them. This paper advances theory and practice in two ways. First, the method privileges a heretofore little examined form of knowledge—the emotional experience of CTUs—and transportation planners confirm the value of this knowledge for practice. Second, it extends the study of emotional geographies to the transportation environment, pointing out venues for additional planning interventions. We conclude that mapping emotions reveals a more comprehensive understanding of travel experience that aids in better transportation planning and happier neighborhoods

Identifying Trippers and Non-Trippers Based on Knee Kinematics During Obstacle-Free Walking

Trips are a major cause of falls. Sagittal-plane kinematics affect clearance between the foot and obstacles, however, it is unclear which kinematic measures during obstacle-free walking are associated with avoiding a trip when encountering an obstacle. The purpose of this study was to determine kinematic factors during obstacle-free walking that are related to obstacle avoidance ability. It was expected that successful obstacle avoidance would be associated with greater peak flexion/dorsiflexion and range of motion (ROM), and differences in timing of peak flexion/dorsiflexion during swing of obstacle-free walking for the hip, knee and ankle. Three-dimensional kinematics were recorded as 35 participants (young adults age 18–45 (N = 10), older adults age 65+ without a history of falls (N = 10), older adults age 65+ who had fallen in the last six months (N = 10), and individuals who had experienced a stroke more than six months earlier (N = 5)) walked on a treadmill, under obstacle-free walking conditions with kinematic features calculated for each stride. A separate obstacle avoidance task identified trippers (multiple obstacle contact) and non-trippers. Linear discriminant analysis with sequential feature selection classified trippers and non-trippers based on kinematics during obstacle-free walking. Differences in classification performance and selected features (knee ROM and timing of peak knee flexion during swing) were evaluated between trippers and non-trippers. Non-trippers had greater knee ROM (P = .001). There was no significant difference in classification performance (P = .193). Individuals with reduced knee ROM during obstacle-free walking may have greater difficulty avoiding obstacles