An exploratory study on the effect of positive (warmth appeal) and negative (guilt appeal) print imagery on donation behaviour in animal welfare

Very few studies in social marketing empirically compare the effectiveness of positive and negative appeals. This study examines the effect of positive (warmth appeal) and negative (guilt appeal) print imagery on donation behaviour to an animal welfare organisation. A quasiexperimental design was used to test the appeals, using a convenience sample of 282 university students, with each experimental group being exposed to only one type of appeal. The results indicated that negative imagery which evoked guilt was more effective than positive imagery which evoked warmth, on intention to donate money and time to the animal welfare organisation

Employee Conduct When Administering Government Contracts in the Defense Logistics Agency

The Office of the Inspector General in the Department of Justice reported cases of government contracting employees accepting bribes totaling over $540 million within a 6-year period. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of government contracting managers regarding the knowledge needed to mitigate employees\u27 unethical behaviors when administering government contracts. Previous studies on government contracting employees\u27 unethical behaviors focused on employees\u27 behaviors, but lacked data concerning managers\u27 roles in mitigating employees\u27 unethical behaviors. The study\u27s conceptual framework was stakeholder theory. The data were gathered through semistructured interviews conducted with 21 government contracting managers in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and from company documents. Data from the semistructured interviews and company documents were analyzed, coded, and then grouped into categories using a modified content analysis technique. Key themes suggested that to mitigate government contracting employees\u27 unethical behaviors, these government contracting managers required continued training. These managers also found trust to be vital to dissiminating ethical requirements to employees, and they also reported benefits to conducting ethical government contracting. Member checking of participants\u27 responses strengthened credibility and trustworthiness of these interpretations. Findings and recommendations from this study may contribute to positive social change by improving training and ethical standards in government contracting, which could lead to enhancing societal trust in government contracting organizations

Philosophical Foundations of Information Systems: A Review of the First 10 Years

This paper updates and extends the work by Bunker, et al. (2004) that reviewed developments in the Philosophical Foundations of IS (PFIS) mini-track from 1996 through 2003. We first describe the history of the mini-track, concentrating on 1996, when C. West Churchman served on a PFIS panel and presented a luncheon address. His work on inquiring systems continues to be the basis for many of the papers in the mini-track. Papers in 2004 and 2005 are reviewed briefly and some trends and themes are noted. Unfortunately, one trend is a declining number of papers submitted. We discuss factors that may have led to this and hope that next year’s conference venue may lead to an increase in submissions. For convenience, the chronology published in Bunker, et al.’s 2004 paper is included as an appendix

On perfect neighborhood sets in graphs

AbstractLet G = (V, E) be a graph and let S ⊆ V.. The set S is a dominating set of G is every vertex of V − S is adjacent to a vertex of S. A vertex v of G is called S-perfect if |N[ν]∩S| = 1 where N[v] denotes the closed neighborhood of v. The set S is defined to be a perfect neighborhood set of G if every vertex of G is S-perfect or adjacent with an S-perfect vertex. We prove that for all graphs G, Θ(G) = Γ(G) where Γ(G) is the maximum cardinality of a minimal dominating set of G and where Θ(G) is the maximum cardinality among all perfect neighborhood sets of G

Disourse Production in Aphasia: Relationship to Severity of Impairment

TB

Solstice: An Electronic Journal of Geography and Mathematics: Vol. 29, No. 1

This particular issue of Solstice is a Special Issue devoted to Meridian MS renaissance.Contains journal articles and one supporting animation for the cover to Volume XXIX, Number 1, of Solstice: An Electronic Journal of Geography and Mathematics.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144499/1/SolsticeJune2018Final.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144499/3/QRcover.gif284Description of SolsticeJune2018Final.pdf : Solstice, Vol. XXIX, No. 1.Description of QRcover.gif : Animation attached in pdf.Description of SolsticeJune2018Final.docx : Word file; base for pdf.Description of SolsticeJune2018Final.docx : Word file; base for pdf

Systematic approach to outcome assessment from coded electronic healthcare records in the DaRe2THINK NHS-embedded randomized trial

Aims Improving the efficiency of clinical trials is key to their continued importance in directing evidence-based patient care. Digital innovations, in particular the use of electronic healthcare records (EHRs), allow for large-scale screening and follow up of participants. However, it is critical these developments are accompanied by robust and transparent methods that can support high-quality and high clinical value research. Methods and results The DaRe2THINK trial includes a series of novel processes, including nationwide pseudonymized pre screening of the primary-care EHR across England, digital enrolment, remote e-consent, and ‘no-visit’ follow up by linking all primary- and secondary-care health data with patient-reported outcomes. DaRe2THINK is a pragmatic, healthcare-embedded randomized trial testing whether earlier use of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with prior or current atrial fibrillation can prevent thromboembolic events and cognitive decline (www.birmingham.ac.uk/dare2think). This study outlines the systematic approach and methodology employed to define patient information and outcome events. This includes transparency on all medical code lists and phenotypes used in the trial across a variety of national data sources, including Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum (primary care), Hospital Episode Statistics (secondary care), and the Office for National Statistics (mortality). Conclusion Co-designed by a patient and public involvement team, DaRe2THINK presents an opportunity to transform the approach to randomized trials in the setting of routine healthcare, providing high-quality evidence generation in populations representative of the community at risk

Furthering patient adherence: A position paper of the international expert forum on patient adherence based on an internet forum discussion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As the problem of patient non-adherence persists and a solution appears hard to be found, it continues to be important to look for new ways to further the issue. We recently conducted a meta-review of adherence intervention studies which yielded a preliminary agenda for future research, practice and theory development in patient adherence. The objective of the present project was to find out to what extent adherence experts consider this agenda relevant and feasible.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The thirty-five corresponding authors of the review studies included in the meta-review were invited to join the International Expert Forum on Patient Adherence and to participate in a four-week web-based focus group discussion. The discussion was triggered by the points on the preliminary agenda presented as propositions to which forum members could react. Two researchers analysed the transcripts and selected relevant phrases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty adherence experts participated. Various ideas and viewpoints were raised. After the closure of the web-site, the expert forum was asked to authorize the synthesis of the discussion, to list the propositions in order of priority and to answer a few questions on the use of the web-based focus group as a tool to obtain expert opinions. Their ranking showed that the development of simple interventions is the most promising step to take in fostering patient adherence, preferably within a multidisciplinary setting of medical, pharmaceutical, social and technical science and, not in the least, by incorporating patients' perspectives.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>For enhancing adherence, the development of simple interventions originating from a multidisciplinary perspective including patients' input, appears most promising. Disclosing patients' perspectives requires open communication about patients' expectations, needs and experiences in taking medication and about what might help them to become and remain adherent.</p

Deregulated DNA ADP-ribosylation impairs telomere replication

The recognition that DNA can be ADP ribosylated provides an unexpected regulatory level of how ADP-ribosylation contributes to genome stability, epigenetics and immunity. Yet, it remains unknown whether DNA ADP-ribosylation (DNA-ADPr) promotes genome stability and how it is regulated. Here, we show that telomeres are subject to DNA-ADPr catalyzed by PARP1 and removed by TARG1. Mechanistically, we show that DNA-ADPr is coupled to lagging telomere DNA strand synthesis, forming at single-stranded DNA present at unligated Okazaki fragments and on the 3′ single-stranded telomere overhang. Persistent DNA-linked ADPr, due to TARG1 deficiency, eventually leads to telomere shortening. Furthermore, using the bacterial DNA ADP-ribosyl-transferase toxin to modify DNA at telomeres directly, we demonstrate that unhydrolyzed DNA-linked ADP-ribose compromises telomere replication and telomere integrity. Thus, by identifying telomeres as chromosomal targets of PARP1 and TARG1-regulated DNA-ADPr, whose deregulation compromises telomere replication and integrity, our study highlights and establishes the critical importance of controlling DNA-ADPr turnover for sustained genome stability