University of Wisconsin–Whitewater

Ellen M. Whitener, Susan E. Brodt, M. Audrey Korsgaard, Jon M. Werner, Managers as Initiators of Trust: An Exchange Relationship Framework for Understanding Managerial Trustworthy Behavior, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Jul., 1998), pp. 513-530

UNLABELLED: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic progressive liver disease that is strongly associated with obesity. Currently, there is no approved therapy for NASH. Weight reduction is typically recommended, but efficacy data are lacking. We performed a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of lifestyle intervention using a combination of diet, exercise, and behavior modification, with a goal of 7% to 10% weight reduction, on clinical parameters of NASH. The primary outcome measure was the change in NASH histological activity score (NAS) after 48 weeks of intervention. Thirty-one overweight or obese individuals (body mass index [BMI], 25-40 kg/m(2)) with biopsy-proven NASH were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive intensive lifestyle intervention (LS) or structured education (control). After 48 weeks of intervention, participants assigned to LS lost an average of 9.3% of their weight versus 0.2% in the control group (P = 0.003). A higher proportion of participants in the LS group had a reduction of NAS of at least 3 points or had posttreatment NAS of 2 or less as compared with the control group (72% versus 30%, P = 0.03). NAS improved significantly in the LS group (from 4.4 to 2.0) in comparison with the control group (from 4.9 to 3.5) (P = 0.05). Percent weight reduction correlated significantly with improvement in NAS (r = 0.497, P = 0.007). Participants who achieved the study weight loss goal (>or=7%), compared with those who lost less than 7%, had significant improvements in steatosis (-1.36 versus -0.41, P < 0.001), lobular inflammation (-0.82 versus -0.24, P = 0.03), ballooning injury (-1.27 versus -0.53, P = 0.03) and NAS (-3.45 versus -1.18, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Weight reduction achieved through lifestyle intervention leads to improvements in liver histology in NASH.

The Health Belief Model (HBM) posits that messages will achieve optimal behavior change if they successfully target perceived barriers, benefits, self-efficacy, and threat. While the model seems to be an ideal explanatory framework for communication research, theoretical limitations have limited its use in the field. Notably, variable ordering is currently undefined in the HBM. Thus, it is unclear whether constructs mediate relationships comparably (parallel mediation), in sequence (serial mediation), or in tandem with a moderator (moderated mediation). To investigate variable ordering, adults (N = 1,377) completed a survey in the aftermath of an 8-month flu vaccine campaign grounded in the HBM. Exposure to the campaign was positively related to vaccination behavior. Statistical evaluation supported a model where the indirect effect of exposure on behavior through perceived barriers and threat was moderated by self-efficacy (moderated mediation). Perceived barriers and benefits also formed a serial mediation chain. The results indicate that variable ordering in the Health Belief Model may be complex, may help to explain conflicting results of the past, and may be a good focus for future research.

In this article, we investigate the long‐run relationships among disasters, capital accumulation, total factor productivity, and economic growth. The cross‐country empirical analysis demonstrates that higher frequencies of climatic disasters are correlated with higher rates of human capital accumulation, increases in total factor productivity, and economic growth. Though disaster risk reduces the expected rate of return to physical capital, risk also serves to increase the relative return to human capital. Thus, physical capital investment may fall, but there is also a substitution toward human capital investment. Disasters also provide the impetus to update the capital stock and adopt new technologies, leading to improvements in total factor productivity.

Predictive modeling's effectiveness is hindered by inherent uncertainties in the input parameters. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis quantify these uncertainties and identify the relationships between input and output variations, leading to the construction of a more accurate model. This survey introduces the application, implementation, and underlying principles of sensitivity and uncertainty quantification

This study surveys a broad spectrum of US manufacturer and service firms to examine the effect of tacit knowledge transfer on firm innovation capability. The authors present a set of hypotheses concerning the relationships between inter‐firm relationship strength and tacitness of knowledge transfer, extent of tacit knowledge transfer and innovation capability, and innovation capability and innovation performance based on the theory of knowledge. Moderating roles of firm collaborative experience and firm size on the relationship between inter‐firm relationship strength and the extent of tacit knowledge transfer are considered. Empirical results generally support the predictions from the theory and managerial implications are included.

We determine and tabulate A [λ] / A K , the wavelength dependence of interstellar extinction, in the Galactic plane for 1.25 μm ≤ λ ≤ 8.0 μm along two lines of sight: l = 42 ° and 284°. The first is a relatively quiescent and unremarkable region; the second contains the giant H II region RCW 49, as well as a "field" region unrelated to the cluster and nebulosity. Areas near these Galactic longitudes were imaged at J , H , and K bands by 2MASS and at 3-8 μm by Spitzer for the GLIMPSE Legacy program. We measure the mean values of the color excess ratios ( A [λ] - A K )/( A J - A K ) directly from the color distributions of observed stars. The extinction ratio between two of the filters, e.g., A J / A K , is required to calculate A [λ] / A K from those measured ratios. We use the apparent JHK magnitudes of giant stars along our two sight lines and fit the reddening as a function of magnitude (distance) to determine A J kpc -1 , A K kpc -1 , and A J / A K . Our values of A [λ] / A K show a flattening across the 3-8 μm wavelength range, roughly consistent with the extinction measurements derived by Lutz and coworkers for the sight line toward the Galactic center.

U.S. emotion culture contains beliefs that women are more emotional and emotionally expressive than men and that men and women differ in their experience and expression of specific emotions. Using data from the 1996 emotions module of the GSS, the authors investigate whether men and women differ in self‐reports of feelings and expressive behavior, evaluating whether the patterns observed for men and women are consistent with cultural beliefs as well as predictions from two sociological theories about emotion and two sociological theories about gender. Surprisingly, self‐reports do not support cultural beliefs about gender differences in the frequency of everyday subjective feelings in general. Men and women do, however, differ in the frequency of certain positive and negative feelings, which is explained by their difference in social position. The implications of the findings for theory and research on both gender and emotion are discussed.

Abstract This study examines the impact of fan identification on four distinct sponsorship outcomes: sponsor recognition, attitude toward the sponsor, sponsor patronage, and satisfaction with the sponsor. In addition, consistent with the identification literature we investigate the antecedents of prestige, domain involvement, and fan associations for predicting fan identification among sports spectators. Utilizing structural equation modeling the findings support the premise that highly identified fans are more likely to exhibit the investigated sponsorship outcomes. In addition, we found that the investigated antecedents may aid in predicting fan identification. Our findings are discussed, managerial implications presented, and future research directions provided.

Purpose This study seeks to investigate, through the development of an operationalized service quality construct in the context of a service factory, whether the typology to which a service belongs may explain the nature of the service quality (SQ) construct and its relationship to customer satisfaction (SAT) and behavioral intentions (BI). Design/methodology/approach An exploratory factor analysis used a sample from undergraduate student respondents. Then, a more representative sample of hotel guests was used, in a second‐order confirmatory factor analysis. Findings The dominant dimensions of SQ construct in the service factory were found to be: Tangibles, Recovery, Responsiveness, and Knowledge. Further results indicate that, although the direct effect of SQ on BI is significant, the indirect effect (with SAT playing a mediating role) is a stronger driver for BI in the context of the service factory. Research limitations/implications A notable limitation is that the present study focuses only on the service factory and uses only one industry (lodging) to illustrate the findings. Future research should examine other service categories. Practical implications Service managers are recommended to devise operations and marketing strategies that focus on the dominant SQ dimensions in order to enhance SAT and, in turn, foster positive BI. Originality/value This study demonstrates that SQ, SAT and BI and their interrelationships may be typology‐specific. If this is true, two or more industries (e.g. airlines and lodging) may exhibit similar relationship characteristics with regard to these constructs if they belong to the same service category. This knowledge is useful for benchmarking best practices among such industries.

A visual examination of the images from the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) has revealed 322 partial and closed rings that we propose represent partially or fully enclosed three-dimensional bubbles. We argue that the bubbles are primarily formed by hot young stars in massive star formation regions. We have found an average of about 1.5 bubbles per square degree. About 25% of the bubbles coincide with known radio H II regions, and about 13% enclose known star clusters. It appears that B4-B9 stars (too cool to produce detectable radio H II regions) probably produce about three-quarters of the bubbles in our sample, and the remainder are produced by young O-B3 stars that produce detectable radio H II regions. Some of the bubbles may be the outer edges of H II regions where PAH spectral features are excited and may not be dynamically formed by stellar winds. Only three of the bubbles are identified as known SNRs. No bubbles coincide with known planetary nebulae or W-R stars in the GLIMPSE survey area. The bubbles are small. The distribution of angular diameters peaks between 1' and 3' with over 98% having angular diameters less than 10' and 88% less than 4'. Almost 90% have shell thicknesses between 0.2 and 0.4 of their outer radii. Bubble shell thickness increases approximately linearly with shell radius. The eccentricities are rather large, peaking between 0.6 and 0.7; about 65% have eccentricities between 0.55 and 0.85.

Although interest in export marketing has been growing rapidly, only a few empirical studies have been conducted on the internal determinants of the export marketing behavior of firms. The authors identify several potential internal determinants of export marketing behavior and empirically assess their significance. The findings indicate that a number of management and firm characteristics account for a substantial portion of the variation in the export marketing behavior of firms.

Purpose In “Social media’s slippery slope: challenges, opportunities and future research directions”, Schultz and Peltier (2013) asked “whether or how social media can be used to leverage consumer engagement into highly profitable relationships for both parties”. The purpose of this article is to continue this discussion by reviewing recent literature on consumer engagement and proposing a framework for future research. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the marketing literature on social media, paying particular attention to consumer engagement, which was identified as a primary area of concern in Schultz and Peltier (2013). Findings A significant amount of research has been conducted on consumer engagement since 2010. Lack of consensus on the definition of the construct has led to fragmentation in the discipline, however. As a result, research related to consumer engagement is often not identified as such, making it difficult for academics and practitioners to stay abreast of developments in this area. Originality/value This critical review provides marketing academics and practitioners insights into the antecedents and consequences of consumer engagement and offers a conceptual framework for future research.

Built upon the tourism and marketing literature, a conceptual model depicting the relationship among tourism destination image components, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions was proposed. A conceptual model consisting of six hypotheses was empirically tested using survey data from 550 Chinese tourists who visited Zhang-Jia-Jie, a major Chinese tourism destination shown on the list of the World Natural Heritage. The empirical findings reveal that: (a) overall tourism destination is reflected by both cognitive image and affective image, and (b) overall tourism destination image has an indirect impact on behavioral intentions through satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed before the article concludes with limitations and directions for future research.

ABSTRACT Using images from the Spitzer Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE), we have identified more than 300 extended 4.5 μm sources (Extended Green Objects (EGOs), for the common coding of the [4.5] band as green in three-color composite InfraRed Array Camera images). We present a catalog of these EGOs, including integrated flux density measurements at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, 8.0, and 24 μm from GLIMPSE and the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer Galactic Plane Survey. The average angular separation between a source in our sample and the nearest IRAS point source is greater than 1′. The majority of EGOs are associated with infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), and where high-resolution 6.7 GHz CH 3 OH maser surveys overlap the GLIMPSE coverage, EGOs and 6.7 GHz CH 3 OH masers are strongly correlated. Extended 4.5 μm emission is thought to trace shocked molecular gas in protostellar outflows; the association of EGOs with IRDCs and 6.7 GHz CH 3 OH masers suggests that the extended 4.5 μm emission may pinpoint outflows specifically from massive protostars. The mid-IR colors of EGOs lie in regions of color–color space occupied by young protostars still embedded in infalling envelopes.

Local firms in their home countries often engage in behavior that constitutes corruption, at least through some cultural lenses. One such practice is bribery of public officials. This study uses multilevel theory to address the question of why bribery activity of this type differs among countries. We analyze responses from nearly 4,000 firms worldwide using hierarchical linear modeling to investigate cross-level predictions about bribery. Drawing from anomie theory, we find support for country-level cultural and institutional drivers of firm-level bribery. We extend anomie theory by showing how firm-level pressures can encourage the supplying of bribes as a firm strategy.

White TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used for cancer photodynamic therapy based on their ultraviolet light-triggered properties. To date, biomedical applications using white TiO2 NPs have been limited, since ultraviolet light is a well-known mutagen and shallow penetration. This work is the first report about hydrogenated black TiO2 (H-TiO2 ) NPs with near infrared absorption explored as photothermal agent for cancer photothermal therapy to circumvent the obstacle of ultraviolet light excitation. Here, it is shown that photothermal effect of H-TiO2 NPs can be attributed to their dramatically enhanced nonradiative recombination. After polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating, H-TiO2 -PEG NPs exhibit high photothermal conversion efficiency of 40.8%, and stable size distribution in serum solution. The toxicity and cancer therapy effect of H-TiO2 -PEG NPs are relative systemically evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The findings herein demonstrate that infrared-irradiated H-TiO2 -PEG NPs exhibit low toxicity, high efficiency as a photothermal agent for cancer therapy, and are promising for further biomedical applications.

<i>Context.<i/> The ESO public survey VISTA variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) started in 2010. VVV targets 562 sq. deg in the Galactic bulge and an adjacent plane region and is expected to run for about five years.<i>Aims.<i/> We describe the progress of the survey observations in the first observing season, the observing strategy, and quality of the data obtained. <i>Methods.<i/> The observations are carried out on the 4-m VISTA telescope in the <i>ZYJH<i/><i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> filters. In addition to the multi-band imaging the variability monitoring campaign in the <i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> filter has started. Data reduction is carried out using the pipeline at the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. The photometric and astrometric calibration is performed via the numerous 2MASS sources observed in each pointing.<i>Results.<i/> The first data release contains the aperture photometry and astrometric catalogues for 348 individual pointings in the <i>ZYJH<i/><i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> filters taken in the 2010 observing season. The typical image quality is ~ . The stringent photometric and image quality requirements of the survey are satisfied in 100% of the <i>JH<i/><i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> images in the disk area and 90% of the <i>JH<i/><i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> images in the bulge area. The completeness in the <i>Z<i/> and <i>Y<i/> images is 84% in the disk, and 40% in the bulge. The first season catalogues contain 1.28 × 10<sup>8<sup/> stellar sources in the bulge and 1.68 × 10<sup>8<sup/> in the disk area detected in at least one of the photometric bands. The combined, multi-band catalogues contain more than 1.63 × 10<sup>8<sup/> stellar sources. About 10% of these are double detections because of overlapping adjacent pointings. These overlapping multiple detections are used to characterise the quality of the data. The images in the <i>JH<i/><i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> bands extend typically ~4 mag deeper than 2MASS. The magnitude limit and photometric quality depend strongly on crowding in the inner Galactic regions. The astrometry for <i>K<i/><sub>s<sub/> = 15−18 mag has rms ~35−175 mas. <i>Conclusions.<i/> The VVV Survey data products offer a unique dataset to map the stellar populations in the Galactic bulge and the adjacent plane and provide an exciting new tool for the study of the structure, content, and star-formation history of our Galaxy, as well as for investigations of the newly discovered star clusters, star-forming regions in the disk, high proper motion stars, asteroids, planetary nebulae, and other interesting objects.

One of the most well-known bankruptcy prediction models was developed by Altman [1968] using multivariate discriminant analysis. Since Altman's model, a multitude of bankruptcy prediction models have flooded the literature. The primary goal of this paper is to summarize and analyze existing research on bankruptcy prediction studies in order to facilitate more productive future research in this area. This paper traces the literature on bankruptcy prediction from the 1930's, when studies focused on the use of simple ratio analysis to predict future bankruptcy, to present. The authors discuss how bankruptcy prediction studies have evolved, highlighting the different methods, number and variety of factors, and specific uses of models. Analysis of 165 bankruptcy prediction studies published from 1965 to present reveals trends in model development. For example, discriminant analysis was the primary method used to develop models in the 1960's and 1970's. Investigation of model type by decade shows that the primary method began to shift to logit analysis and neural networks in the 1980's and 1990's. The number of factors utilized in models is also analyzed by decade, showing that the average has varied over time but remains around 10 overall. Analysis of accuracy of the models suggests that multivariate discriminant analysis and neural networks are the most promising methods for bankruptcy prediction models. The findings also suggest that higher model accuracy is not guaranteed with a greater number of factors. Some models with two factors are just as capable of accurate prediction as models with 21 factors.

The GLIMPSE (Galactic Legacy Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire) Point Source Catalog of ~30 million mid-infrared sources toward the inner Galaxy, 10° ≤ | l | ≤ 65° and | b | ≤ 1°, was used to determine the distribution of stars in Galactic longitude, l , latitude, b , and apparent magnitude, m . The counts versus longitude can be approximated by the modified Bessel function N = N 0 ( l / l 0 ) K 1 ( l / l 0 ), where l 0 is insensitive to limiting magnitude, band choice, and side of Galactic center: l 0 = 17°-30° with a best-fit value in the 4.5 μm band of l 0 = 24° ± 4°. Modeling the source distribution as an exponential disk yields a radial scale length of H * = 3.9 ± 0.6 kpc. There is a pronounced north-south asymmetry in source counts for | l | ≲ 30°, with ~25% more stars in the north. For l = 10°-30°, there is a strong enhancement of stars of m = 11.5-13.5 mag. A linear bar passing through the Galactic center with half-length R bar = 4.4 ± 0.5 kpc, tilted by ϕ = 44° ± 10° to the Sun-Galactic center line, provides the simplest interpretation of these data. We examine the possibility that enhanced source counts at l = 26°-28°, 31 5-34°, and 306°-309° are related to Galactic spiral structure. Total source counts are depressed in regions where the counts of red objects ( m K - m [8.0] > 3) peak. In these areas, the counts are reduced by extinction due to molecular gas, high diffuse backgrounds associated with star formation, or both.