The Influence of Type of Implicit EWOM on Purchase Intention

Electronic Word-of-mouth (eWOM) helps shape consumers’ purchasing decisions and companies’ marketing choices. Researchers and practitioners have extensively studied textual or word-based eWOM in online reviews, blogs, e-mails, and product sites. The effect of implicit eWOM, eWOM using paralinguistic cues, on consumer behavior has been infrequently studied even though marketers often seek to use implicit eWOM to influence consumers. On Facebook, the most popular social networking platform in the world, three of the most frequently used forms of implicit eWOM are the emoticon, the emoji, and the GIF. A comparison of the effect of types of implicit eWOM on the purchase intention of eWOM receivers was made in two studies. Four theories, specifically, (Social Presence Theory, Short et al., 1976), Affect as Information Theory, (Clore & Storbeck, 2006), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1984) and the Foote, Cone, and Belding Grid Model (Vaughn, 1980, 1986), were used to frame the studies. In Study 1, four independent groups were shown product reviews that were text only, text plus emoticon, text plus emoji, or text plus GIF. Half of each group were shown a product review of candy and half were shown a product review of a computer. The products represent different levels of engagement and cognitive/affective processing. Study 2 included four independent groups shown product reviews that were text only or text followed by either an emoticon, an emoji, or a GIF. Each participant was shown reviews of three products (candy, a chair, or a computer), chosen to represent different levels of engagement and cognitive/affective processing. All pairs of groups were compared using an independent groups t-test. No significant increase in purchase intention due to implicit eWOM was found in either study. In two comparisons between text only and 1) text plus emoticon and 2) text plus emoji, purchase intention was higher for the text only review than for the review that included a paralinguistic cue

Estimating a mean from delayed observations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47652/1/440_2004_Article_BF00533314.pd

Intraparenchymal Striatal Transplants Required for Maintenance of Behavioral Recovery in an Animal Model of Huntington's Disease

Rats which receive injections of kainic acid (KA) into the striatum show many of the anatomical, biochemical and behavioral abnormalities seen in patients with Huntington's disease. Recently, it has been reported that fetal striatal transplants into the lesioned striatum could normalize the neurological and behavioral abnormalities produced by the KA lesion. The present study examined the issue of transplant integration in producing behavioral recovery. In one experiment, lesioned animals with transplants located within the lateral ventricle were compared against parenchymally transplanted rats. It was found that unless the ventricular transplant grew into the lesioned striatum there was no recovery. The second experiment demonstrated that electrolytic destruction of a successful fetal striatal transplant could reverse the transplant-induced behavioral recovery. These results suggest that the integrity of the transplant is important in maintaining behavioral recovery. A continuing functional interaction between the host brain and transplanted tissue may be a vital element in the success of the fetal striatal transplant

Planning, implementation, and first results of the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4)

The Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4), was based in Costa Rica and Panama during July and August 2007. The NASA ER-2, DC-8, and WB-57F aircraft flew 26 science flights during TC4. The ER-2 employed 11 instruments as a remote sampling platform and satellite surrogate. The WB-57F used 25 instruments for in situ chemical and microphysical sampling in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). The DC-8 used 25 instruments to sample boundary layer properties, as well as the radiation, chemistry, and microphysics of the TTL. TC4 also had numerous sonde launches, two ground-based radars, and a ground-based chemical and microphysical sampling site. The major goal of TC4 was to better understand the role that the TTL plays in the Earth's climate and atmospheric chemistry by combining in situ and remotely sensed data from the ground, balloons, and aircraft with data from NASA satellites. Significant progress was made in understanding the microphysical and radiative properties of anvils and thin cirrus. Numerous measurements were made of the humidity and chemistry of the tropical atmosphere from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere. Insight was also gained into convective transport between the ground and the TTL, and into transport mechanisms across the TTL. New methods were refined and extended to all the NASA aircraft for real-time location relative to meteorological features. The ability to change flight patterns in response to aircraft observations relayed to the ground allowed the three aircraft to target phenomena of interest in an efficient, well-coordinated manner

CfAIR2: Near Infrared Light Curves of 94 Type Ia Supernovae

CfAIR2 is a large homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) obtained with the 1.3m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope (PAIRITEL). This data set includes 4607 measurements of 94 SN Ia and 4 additional SN Iax observed from 2005-2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes JHKs photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z~0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from -13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the light curves begin before the time of maximum and the coverage typically contains ~13-18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for supernova cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the supernova cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables. Accepted to ApJS. v2 modified to more closely match journal versio

GJ 3236: a new bright, very low-mass eclipsing binary system discovered by the MEarth observatory

We report the detection of eclipses in GJ 3236, a bright (I = 11.6) very low mass binary system with an orbital period of 0.77 days. Analysis of light- and radial velocity curves of the system yielded component masses of 0.38 +/- 0.02 and 0.28 +/- 0.02 Msol. The central values for the stellar radii are larger than the theoretical models predict for these masses, in agreement with the results for existing eclipsing binaries, although the present 5% observational uncertainties limit the significance of the larger radii to approximately 1 sigma. Degeneracies in the light curve models resulting from the unknown configuration of surface spots on the components of GJ 3236 currently dominate the uncertainties in the radii, and could be reduced by obtaining precise, multi-band photometry covering the full orbital period. The system appears to be tidally synchronized and shows signs of high activity levels as expected for such a short orbital period, evidenced by strong Halpha emission lines in the spectra of both components. These observations probe an important region of mass-radius parameter space around the predicted transition to fully-convective stellar interiors, where there are a limited number of precise measurements available in the literature.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 10 tables, emulateapj format. Accepted for publication in Ap

Type IIb Supernova SN 2011dh: Spectra and Photometry from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared

We report spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Type IIb SN 2011dh obtained between 4 and 34 days after the estimated date of explosion (May 31.5 UT). The data cover a wide wavelength range from 2,000 Angstroms in the UV to 2.4 microns in the NIR. Optical spectra provide line profiles and velocity measurements of HI, HeI, CaII and FeII that trace the composition and kinematics of the SN. NIR spectra show that helium is present in the atmosphere as early as 11 days after the explosion. A UV spectrum obtained with the STIS reveals that the UV flux for SN 2011dh is low compared to other SN IIb. The HI and HeI velocities in SN 2011dh are separated by about 4,000 km/s at all phases. We estimate that the H-shell of SN 2011dh is about 8 times less massive than the shell of SN 1993J and about 3 times more massive than the shell of SN 2008ax. Light curves (LC) for twelve passbands are presented. The maximum bolometric luminosity of $1.8 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ occurred about 22 days after the explosion. NIR emission provides more than 30% of the total bolometric flux at the beginning of our observations and increases to nearly 50% of the total by day 34. The UV produces 16% of the total flux on day 4, 5% on day 9 and 1% on day 34. We compare the bolometric light curves of SN 2011dh, SN 2008ax and SN 1993J. The LC are very different for the first twelve days after the explosions but all three SN IIb display similar peak luminosities, times of peak, decline rates and colors after maximum. This suggests that the progenitors of these SN IIb may have had similar compositions and masses but they exploded inside hydrogen shells that that have a wide range of masses. The detailed observations presented here will help evaluate theoretical models for this supernova and lead to a better understanding of SN IIb.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 9 tables, accepted by Ap

The 5-6 December 1991 FIRE IFO 2 Jet Stream Cirrus Case Study: Possible Influences of Volcanic Aerosols

In presenting an overview of the cirrus clouds comprehensively studied by ground based and airborne sensors from Coffeyville, Kansas, during the 5-6 December 1992 First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) intensive field observation (IFO) case study period, evidence is provided that volcanic aerosols from the June 1991 Pinatubo eruptions may have significantly influenced the formation and maintenance of the cirrus. Following the local appearance of a spur of stratospheric volcanic debris from the subtropics, a series of jet streaks subsequently conditioned the troposphere through tropopause foldings with sulfur based particles that became effective cloud forming nuclei in cirrus clouds. Aerosol and ozone measurements suggest a complicated history of stratospheric-tropospheric exchanges embedded with the upper level flow, and cirrus cloud formation was noted to occur locally at the boundaries of stratospheric aerosol enriched layers that became humidified through diffusion, precipitation, or advective processes. Apparent cirrus cloud alterations include abnormally high ice crystal concentrations (up to approximately 600 L(exp. 1)), complex radial ice crystal types, and relatively large haze particles in cirrus uncinus cell heads at temperatures between -40 and -50 degrees C. Implications for volcanic-cirrus cloud climate effects and unusual (nonvolcanic) aerosol jet stream cirrus cloud formation are discussed

Type Ia Supernovae are Good Standard Candles in the Near Infrared: Evidence from PAIRITEL

We have obtained 1087 NIR (JHKs) measurements of 21 SNe Ia using PAIRITEL, nearly doubling the number of well-sampled NIR SN Ia light curves. These data strengthen the evidence that SNe Ia are excellent standard candles in the NIR, even without correction for optical light-curve shape. We construct fiducial NIR templates for normal SNe Ia from our sample, excluding only the three known peculiar SNe Ia: SN 2005bl, SN 2005hk, and SN 2005ke. The H-band absolute magnitudes in this sample of 18 SNe Ia have an intrinsic rms of only 0.15 mag with no correction for light-curve shape. We found a relationship between the H-band extinction and optical color excess of AH=0.2E(B-V). This variation is as small as the scatter in distance modulus measurements currently used for cosmology based on optical light curves after corrections for light-curve shape. Combining the homogeneous PAIRITEL measurements with 23 SNe Ia from the literature, these 41 SNe Ia have standard H-band magnitudes with an rms scatter of 0.16 mag. The good match of our sample with the literature sample suggests there are few systematic problems with the photometry. We present a nearby NIR Hubble diagram that shows no correlation of the residuals from the Hubble line with light-curve properties. Future samples that account for optical and NIR light-curve shapes, absorption, spectroscopic variation, or host-galaxy properties may reveal effective ways to improve the use of SNe Ia as distance indicators. Since systematic errors due to dust absorption in optical bands remain the leading difficulty in the cosmological use of supernovae, the good behavior of SN Ia NIR light curves and their relative insensitivity to reddening make these objects attractive candidates for future cosmological work.Comment: 37 pages. 8 Figures. 3 Tables. Revised to ApJ-accepted versio