The Influence of Customized Internet Banner Ad on Attitude-Ad-Brand-Behavioural Relationship

This paper examines the influence of customizing banner ads to entice higher users’ interactivity and sequentially builds not only positive attitudes toward the ad and the brand but also positive behavioral outcomes. It also attempts to introduce a new profilingtargeting parameter based on psychographics for customizing banner ad based on Internet user’s individual differences according to their personality, types of goal-directed motives and preferred information processing strategies. Data was gathered through an online survey with a sample of 385 respondents. The Covariance Structural Modeling results supported a positive attitude-ad-brand-behavioral relationship. Positive attitude towards the ad generates more positive behavioral outcomes. Contrary to expectations, the results did not support the proposition that a positive brand attitude produces more positive behavioral outcomes. The findings provide evidence to support the proposition that customization of banner ads’ creative and appeals (in terms of presentation modality, verbal versus visual presentation and information-rational versus entertainment-emotional appeals) based on users’ individual differences in need for cognition, goal-directed motives and preferred information processing strategies effects positive attitudes toward the ad and the brand

Rewiring Neural Interactions by Micro-Stimulation

Plasticity is a crucial component of normal brain function and a critical mechanism for recovery from injury. In vitro, associative pairing of presynaptic spiking and stimulus-induced postsynaptic depolarization causes changes in the synaptic efficacy of the presynaptic neuron, when activated by extrinsic stimulation. In vivo, such paradigms can alter the responses of whole groups of neurons to stimulation. Here, we used in vivo spike-triggered stimulation to drive plastic changes in rat forelimb sensorimotor cortex, which we monitored using a statistical measure of functional connectivity inferred from the spiking statistics of the neurons during normal, spontaneous behavior. These induced plastic changes in inferred functional connectivity depended on the latency between trigger spike and stimulation, and appear to reflect a robust reorganization of the network. Such targeted connectivity changes might provide a tool for rerouting the flow of information through a network, with implications for both rehabilitation and brain–machine interface applications

On Neutral Absorption and Spectral Evolution in X-ray Binaries

Current X-ray observatories make it possible to follow the evolution of transient and variable X-ray binaries across a broad range in luminosity and source behavior. In such studies, it can be unclear whether evolution in the low energy portion of the spectrum should be attributed to evolution in the source, or instead to evolution in neutral photoelectric absorption. Dispersive spectrometers make it possible to address this problem. We have analyzed a small but diverse set of X-ray binaries observed with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer across a range in luminosity and different spectral states. The column density in individual photoelectric absorption edges remains constant with luminosity, both within and across source spectral states. This finding suggests that absorption in the interstellar medium strongly dominates the neutral column density observed in spectra of X-ray binaries. Consequently, evolution in the low energy spectrum of X-ray binaries should properly be attributed to evolution in the source spectrum. We discuss our results in the context of X-ray binary spectroscopy with current and future X-ray missions.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter