Can a Retail Web Site Be Social? Wang, Liz C.; Baker, Julie; Wagner, Judy A. ...
Journal of marketing,
07/2007, Letnik:
71, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Avatars are lifelike characters created by technology. Research suggests that avatars can increase the persuasiveness of online sales channels. The authors investigate how the social cues inherent in ...avatars influence consumers' affect and shopping value. In Study 1, social cues induce perceptions of Web site socialness, leading to increased pleasure and arousal, both of which positively influence flow, hedonic and utilitarian value, and patronage intentions. Study 2 finds that social cue-induced arousal leads to increased pleasure only for consumers who are involved with the product category. Moreover, the influence of arousal on hedonic value is stronger for women, flow does not lead to pleasure for older consumers, and utilitarian value is less important for this group than for their younger counterparts. The findings suggest that there is a competitive advantage for online retailers that use social cues that provide consumers with enhanced perceptions of human connection and the formation of emotional bonds.
This exploratory research allows participant responses to drive the development of key servicescape dimensions and to determine whether a safety-related dimension surfaces from the data. The study ...context is a pair of nested servicescapes, a university campus and its surrounding town. The investigation reveals three themes which are consistent with past research: ambient conditions, physical spaces, and social interactions. However, a fourth theme of safety elements routinely emerged in both servicescapes. This theme constitutes a dimension of the servicescape that has largely been ignored in the literature. The effect of one servicescape on another adds to the nascent ecosystem literature.
Of the 300 billion capillaries in the human lung, a small fraction meet normal oxygen requirements at rest, with the remainder forming a large reserve. The maximum oxygen demands of the acute stress ...response require that the reserve capillaries are rapidly recruited. To remain primed for emergencies, the normal cardiac output must be parceled throughout the capillary bed to maintain low opening pressures. The flow-distributing system requires complex switching. Because the pulmonary microcirculation contains contractile machinery, one hypothesis posits an active switching system. The opposing hypothesis is based on passive switching that requires no regulation. Both hypotheses were tested ex vivo in canine lung lobes. The lobes were perfused first with autologous blood, and capillary switching patterns were recorded by videomicroscopy. Next, the vasculature of the lobes was saline flushed, fixed by glutaraldehyde perfusion, flushed again, and then reperfused with the original, unfixed blood. Flow patterns through the same capillaries were recorded again. The 16-min-long videos were divided into 4-s increments. Each capillary segment was recorded as being perfused if at least one red blood cell crossed the entire segment. Otherwise it was recorded as unperfused. These binary measurements were made manually for each segment during every 4 s throughout the 16-min recordings of the fresh and fixed capillaries (>60,000 measurements). Unexpectedly, the switching patterns did not change after fixation. We conclude that the pulmonary capillaries can remain primed for emergencies without requiring regulation: no detectors, no feedback loops, and no effectors-a rare system in biology. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The fluctuating flow patterns of red blood cells within the pulmonary capillary networks have been assumed to be actively controlled within the pulmonary microcirculation. Here we show that the capillary flow switching patterns in the same network are the same whether the lungs are fresh or fixed. This unexpected observation can be successfully explained by a new model of pulmonary capillary flow based on chaos theory and fractal mathematics.
There is a paucity of empirical research that systematically examines the meaning of contact employee dress cues in commercial service settings. We conduct an experiment to test the effects of the ...appropriateness of service personnel dress on customer expectations of a firm's service quality and intent to purchase banking services. We also explore the moderating effects of involvement and customer gender on the aforementioned relationships. Results show that appropriate (vs. inappropriate) dress resulted in higher service quality expectations and purchase intent. These effects were stronger in low involvement situations and for female customers. The implications of the findings are discussed and future research directions proposed.
To compare indicators of postoperative pain and behavior in dogs with and without a low-dose ketamine infusion added to usual perioperative management.
Prospective, randomized, blinded clinical ...study.
27 dogs undergoing forelimb amputation.
Dogs were anesthetized with glycopyrrolate, morphine, propofol, and isoflurane. Thirteen dogs were treated with ketamine IV, as follows: 0.5 mg/kg (0.23 mg/lb) as a bolus before surgery, 10 microg/kg/min (4.5 microg/lb/min) during surgery, and 2 microg/kg/min (0.9 microg/lb/min) for 18 hours after surgery. Fourteen dogs received the same volume of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. All dogs received an infusion of fentanyl (1 to 5 microg/kg/h 0.45 to 2.27 pg/lb/h) for the first 18 hours after surgery. Dogs were evaluated for signs of pain before surgery, at the time of extubation, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 18 hours after extubation. Owners evaluated their dogs' appetite, activity, and wound soreness on postoperative days 2, 3, and 4.
Dogs that received ketamine infusions had significantly lower pain scores 12 and 18 hours after surgery and were significantly more active on postoperative day 3 than dogs that received saline solution infusions.
Results suggest that perioperative administration of low doses of ketamine to dogs may augment analgesia and comfort in the postoperative surgical period.
To collect information regarding preparation, content, and format of Medical Student Performance Evaluations (MSPEs) and evaluate a sample of 2005 MSPEs to assess compliance with the 2002 Association ...of American Medical Colleges-issued MSPE guidelines.
Cross-sectional survey with all 126 U.S. allopathic medical schools. Associate deans of students affairs were sent an eight-item questionnaire in June 2006 and asked to submit a sample of redacted MSPEs for 2005 graduates, choosing one from each tertile of the class. Survey data are summarized. MSPEs were abstracted, and results are presented descriptively.
The survey response rate was 84%. Most associate deans (71%) reported having primary responsibility for composing MSPEs; 78% adhered to the format and content guidelines three fourths of the time. The abstraction of 293 MSPEs (78%) showed that more than 80% adhered to format recommendations. However, only 70% to 80% stated grades clearly, avoided the word recommendation, and stated whether the student had completed remediation. Fewer than 70% indicated whether the student had had any adverse actions or provided adequate comparative data. Strikingly, only 17% provide comparative data in the summary paragraph. Overall, 75% of the MSPEs were judged to be "adequate."
MSPEs are somewhat variable in terms of which specific items are included. There has been steady quality improvement since prior surveys, primarily in formatting and labeling. However, a sizable minority of writers are still using the MSPE as a recommendation, and too few are providing helpful comparative data.
Professionalism in medical school predicts future behaviors. The authors assessed prevalence of references to professionalism behaviors in the clerkship commentary portion of Medical School ...Performance Evaluations (MSPEs).
Content analyses of 293 MSPEs submitted for 2005 graduates.
Overall, 70% of MSPEs specifically mentioned professionalism; 96% included information about at least 1 of 16 professional behaviors. Internal Medicine referenced significantly more behaviors than other clerkships. Commentary about behaviors such as interactions (94%) and motivation (91%) was common; behaviors such as truthfulness (8%) and confidentiality (6%) were rarely mentioned. Fewer than 1% of comments could be considered negative.
Most professionalism comments in MSPEs are generic and somewhat bland, tending to be about students' collegial interactions and hard work. More detail and breadth may be facilitated by wider use of behavior-centered evaluation in clerkships.
This research uses organizational buyers to examine whether the order in which a sales presentation occurs within a series of competitive sales calls influences a buyer's choice of the Market Leader ...and a similarly positioned Me-Too product. The Me-Too product is most successful when presented last-a recency effect. The Market Leader also fares better in the last position, but in addition, it is also chosen more often when it is presented first-a primacy effect. The salesperson for the Me-Too product is able to reduce the Market Leader's primacy advantage by using an agenda selling strategy, in which the seller encourages the buyer to directly compare products and eliminate those that fail to meet minimum criteria.
Abstract
Background: Increasing use of NCT regimens and improved selection of appropriate candidates has increased rates of pCR and has raised the question of whether surgical removal of the primary ...tumor is required for these patients (pts). To avoid surgery, the ability to predict pCR after NCT must be very accurate. Breast imaging alone (even when it includes mammogram, ultrasound, and breast MRI), is inadequate to achieve this. We hypothesized that performing core needle biopsy (bx) of the tumor bed in addition to tri-modality imaging in pts who have clinical complete response (cCR) to NCT will increase the ability to predict pCR.
Methods: NRG-BR005 was planned as a two-stage Phase II trial, designed to assess the accuracy of post-NCT stereotactic tumor bed bx for pCR (absence of both invasive and DCIS residual disease), in pts with cCR and radiologic complete response (rCR)/near rCR by tri-modality imaging. Pts with operable (T1-T3, stage I/IIIA) invasive ductal carcinoma were eligible. Pts must have completed NCT and achieved a cCR as well as rCR/near rCR by mammography (mass ≤1 cm and no malignant microcalcifications), ultrasound (mass ≤2cm), and MRI (no mass with rapid rise or washout kinetics). Pts underwent marker-directed stereotactic multiple-core needle bx of the tumor bed with marker placement to facilitate BCS. The primary endpoint was the negative predictive value (NPV) of the bx, defined as the number of pts with a negative bx and confirmed pCR at BCS divided by the total number of pts with a negative bx. A bx detection NPV of >90% was required to support the feasibility of foregoing BCS. We also calculated the sensitivity of bx, defined as the number of pts with positive bx who had residual tumor at BCS divided by the total pts with residual tumor at BCS. The point estimate and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for these parameters were calculated using the exact method. Planned accrual was 175 pts in order to obtain 35 pts who had residual tumor at surgery.
Results: From 8/17 to 6/19, 105 pts were accrued. As of 7/31/19, 98 pts were evaluable for analysis. Pts were 62.2% white, 87.7% non-Hispanic or Latino, 44.9% estrogen receptor-positive, and 44.9% HER2 positive. Among evaluable pts, 36 had residual disease at surgery. Stereotactic bx was positive in 18/36 pts (50%). Stereotactic bx was negative for all 62 pts who achieved pCR. NPV of the bx was 77.5% (95% CI: 66.8% to 86.1%) indicating that a negative bx provided incorrect diagnosis in 22.5% of pts. Sensitivity of the bx was 50% (95% CI: 32.9% to 67.1%) indicating that when disease was present, the bx detected it only 50% of the time. Complications from bx were reported in 7/98 evaluable pts (7.1%) (6 post-procedure hematomas, 1 breast pain).
Conclusions: In the current findings of NRG-BR005, bx did not achieve an NPV of >90% and identified only 50% of the pts who had residual disease at surgery following NCT. The findings do not support breast-conserving treatment without surgery based on the study criteria for cCR and rCR/near rCR and negative tumor bed bx. Further analyses including central review of the tri-modality imaging and assessment of the imaging algorithm with and without the addition of bx are underway. Once these analyses are combined with information on biologic subtypes, a new prediction model may be defined.
Support: U10CA180868, U10CA180822.
Citation Format: Mark Basik, Reena S Cecchini, Jennifer F De Los Santos, Heidi R Umphrey, Thomas B Julian, Eleftherios P Mamounas, Julia White, Peter C Lucas, Christa Balanoff, Antoinette R Tan, Joseph J. Weber, David A Edmonson, Ursa A. Brown-Glaberman, Emilia J. Diego, Mediget Teshome, Cindy B Matsen, Samantha A Seaward, Irene L. Wapnir, Jamie L Wagner, Judy A Tjoe, Alastair M Thompson, Norman Wolmark. Primary analysis of NRG-BR005, a phase II trial assessing accuracy of tumor bed biopsies in predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with clinical/radiological complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) to explore the feasibility of breast-conserving treatment without surgery abstract. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS5-05.
A field experiment using computer-interactive interviews tested the effects of buyer–seller relationships on selling effectiveness in the context of an individual purchase decision. Within ...interviews, organizational buyers responded to simulated sales calls from copier salespeople. Results show that when these buyers are in a relational exchange with a seller (as opposed to a discrete exchange), they evaluate that seller's product more highly and are more likely to consider and choose the seller's product for purchase. The relationship's positive effects on product evaluation and consideration are stronger for novice buyers than for expert buyers. While expert buyers seem less likely than novices to alter their product judgments and decisions because of a relationship, salespeople may still experience a relational advantage with experts as long as these sellers recommend products with strong competitive positions. Results support the importance of the buyer–seller relationship to selling effectiveness and reveal that some of the positive effects of a relationship are contingent on both the buyer's expertise and the product that is represented.