34028 research outputs found
Sort by
Factors impacting Word-of-Mouth efficacy on Fiction Book Buying
No full textWord of mouth (WOM) is a powerful form of marketing that has significant prevalence in the fiction book category. There are many theories surrounding the factors that impact the efficacy of WOM which vary between individuals and product categories. Literature (Wang et al., 2018; Linan et al., 2023) revealed a gap in knowledge, in conflicting evidence for the efficacy of WOM in book sales. To investigate this, 12 qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with readers of fiction books and data was analysed with thematic analysis. The analysis revealed four key themes which are considered factors influencing book-buying behaviour and WOM efficacy. These are: Word-of-Mouth Source, Product Category, The Self, and Elaboration Likelihood. Among these, the factor of ‘The Self’ was shown to be most influential on book choice. From the findings, a model of consumer behaviour and decision-making in the product category of fiction books was created.</p
Giving feedback on a draft assessment: does it improve student uptake of feedback and performance in forensic chemistry?
No full textConsiderable tutor effort is put into providing feedback to students on assessments, however low rates of engagement are a known problem in higher education. This study measured the impact of a new feedback design in a forensic chemistry assessment on engagement and grade distribution across three cohorts (2023–25) using data from a virtual learning environment. In the assessment, students examine a mock police exhibit, a questioned document and two pens, in a laboratory practical using Raman and FTIR spectroscopy and a Visual Spectral Comparator, then write the results up in an expert witness statement. Under the new feedback design, a feedback opportunity was given on a draft submission of the statement, rather than after the final summative submission. Across ~100 students in each cohort, the rate of feedback uptake improved from 7% to 98%. Although the difference between the mean grades between cohorts was not statistically significant, the grade profile improved. Students in 2023–24 also completed an online survey to assess their perceptions of the new feedback design. This revealed that the new design increased their confidence when tackling the final assessment. A face-to-face session where students could clarify and discuss any feedback comments with the tutor enabled the feedback to be viewed as a collaborative and two-way process.</p
Effects of vegetation composition changes on surface runoff and land degradation in Sahelian Watersheds
No full textThe relationship between vegetation composition and surface runoff remains unstudied in the Sahel – a region with unique hydrological characteristics compounded by land degradation. This study investigates the effects of vegetation composition changes on runoff and land degradation trends in 45 Sahelian watersheds over two decades (2001–2020). Vegetation composition was assessed using vegetation continuous fields (VCFs) including tree canopy cover (TC), short vegetation cover (SV) and bare ground cover (BG) while vegetation cover was measured using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The analysis revealed significant increasing trends in annual NDVI across most watersheds, accompanied by gains in TC (mean = 1%) and SV (mean = 3%), and a decline in BG (mean = −6%) – indicating a reversal in land degradation. Results also showed that runoff is extremely sensitive to changes in vegetation composition parameters. These findings offer valuable insights for ecological restoration through the strategic selection of tree species to regulate surface runoff effectively.</p
Antimicrobial Activity and Characterization of a Validated Copper-Complexed Polymer Tape for Surface Disinfectant Applications
No full textBackground: Surface contamination in healthcare environments plays a key role in the persistence and transmission of microorganisms. Long-lasting antimicrobial coatings based on copper–polymer complexes offer a promising passive strategy to minimize environmental contamination and healthcare-associated infections.Methods: This study evaluated a copper-alloy polymeric tape through physicochemical, in vitro, and hospital-based assessments. Structural analyses (XRD, Raman, SEM, EDX) were used to characterize the material, while antimicrobial efficacy was determined against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria following ISO 22196:2011. A randomized 19-week clinical study was conducted in the Emergency and Urgent Unit of the University Hospital of Brasília to quantify microbial loads on high-touch surfaces covered with the copper-alloy tape or a non-antimicrobial control.Results: Structural characterization techniques validated the integrity and heterogeneous distribution of copper within the polymeric matrix. All tested bacterial strains exhibited complete growth inhibition on the copper-alloy tape, with final counts consistently below the detection threshold (Conclusions: These findings support its use as a sustainable intervention to reduce environmental contamination and infection risks in healthcare settings.</p
Visual lateralisation as a welfare indicator of animal welfare
No full textFunctional specialisation of the brain hemispheres has been observed across the animal kingdom, with the left hemisphere being associated with positive emotions whilst the right hemisphere is associated with negative emotions. In vertebrates, contralateral eye use is indicative of which brain hemisphere is being used for processing and so may therefore reveal affective state. Using a within-subjects design, we investigated whether lateralised eye use could be used as a non-invasive welfare indicator in captive-bred lizards (Pogona vitticeps) housed in Standard or Enriched enclosures for four weeks. Eye use was recorded during basking, a key maintenance behaviour. We found that when lizards were housed in Standard enclosures (an environment associated with reduced welfare) they exhibited significantly greater use of their left eye (right brain hemisphere) compared to when they were housed in Enriched enclosures (an environment associated with improved welfare). These findings suggest that the negative affective state induced by housing conditions is reflected in lateralised eye use, making this a promising, non-invasive tool for assessing animal welfare that is likely to be of value across vertebrate species.</p
Market-based instruments to fund nature-based solutions for flood risk management can disproportionately benefit affluent areas
No full text Market-based instruments, including competitive tenders, are central to funding global environmental
restoration and management projects. Recently, tenders have been utilised to fund Nature-based
Solutions schemes for Natural Flood Management, with the explicit purpose of achieving co-benefits;
flood management and reducing inequities. While multiple studies consider the efficacy of Nature-
based Solutions for tackling inequities, no prior research has quantified whether the resource
allocation for these projects has been conducted equitably. We analyse two national natural flood
management programmes funded through competitive tenders in England to explore who benefits by
considering the characteristics of projects, including socio-economic, geographical (e.g. rurality) and
flood risk dynamics. Our results suggest that inequity occurs at both the application and funding
stages of Nature-based Solutions projects for flood risk management. This reflects wider international
challenges of using market-based instruments for environmental resource allocation. Competitive
tenders have the potential to undermine the equitable benefits of Nature-based Solutions. </p
Psychological states underlying excellent performance in sport: A paradigm shift towards multiple-state perspectives
No full text
Psychological states underlying excellent performance have long been of practical interest in sport, and the scientific literature in this area has grown significantly over the past 50 years. Despite the extensive research, new perspectives have recently emerged, which may address existing conceptual, methodological, and practical problems that have been identified in this field. Therefore, we aimed to critically review the psychological states underlying excellent performance in sport studied over the past five decades, evaluate the field’s progress, and propose ways forward in research and applied practice via an emerging paradigm shift. First, we identify, synthesize, and critique nine individual concepts that have emerged in literature on the psychology of excellent performance in sport since the first study was published in 1977. Second, we critically examine the cross-cutting issues and developments that have contributed to the paradigm shift within research on psychological states underlying excellent performance in sport. Finally, we offer recommendations for researchers and practitioners to avoid pitfalls, improve clarity in this field, and deliver more evidence-informed applied practice. Overall, we seek to highlight how the field of psychological states underlying excellent performance in sport has progressed to enable the differentiation of concepts with stronger scientific foundations, and to help researchers and practitioners to operate in a more evidence-based manner.</p
“Momma Knows Best”: The Relationships Between Mothers’ and Fathers’ Gender Essentialism and Their Involvement With Their Adolescents
No full textGender essentialism refers to the belief that men and women are biologically better fitted for different societal roles, including parental roles. Past research has shown that parents’ gender essentialist beliefs are associated with the division of parental responsibilities. This study examined the relationships between gender essentialist beliefs and parents’ engagement in positive (responsiveness and autonomy support) and negative (overprotection and controlling parenting) forms of involvement, within a sample of 1260 parents of adolescents. Using actor-partner interdependence modelling, we found that for both mothers and fathers, essentialist beliefs were related to more controlling and overprotective parenting. Among fathers, essentialist beliefs were also associated with less responsiveness and autonomy support. Parents’ essentialist beliefs can relate to diverse forms of parental involvement which may differently impact adolescents. Therefore, it appears important to consider the quality of parental involvement, in addition to its quantity, when studying the impact of gender beliefs on family lives.</p
Alterations in calreticulin and CD47 expression dynamics in myeloid malignancies: therapeutic and prognostic implications in myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms
No full textThis study explores how alterations in pro-phagocytic CD47 and anti-phagocytic calreticulin (CALR) levels impact myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) — shedding light on key immunological mechanisms in these haematological disorders.</p
Revisiting the calling songs of katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigonioidea) from the tropical forests of Southeast Asia
No full textBased on field collection and recording of katydids from Borneo (specifically Sabah in East Malaysia), the Philippines (specifically Mindanao), the Malay Peninsula (Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia) and Indochina (specifically Vietnam) between 2021 and 2024 (approximately three years), we describe the calling songs of 25 katydid species from four subfamilies (i.e., Conocephalinae, Meconematinae, Phaneropterinae and Pseudophyllinae). The new acoustics data validates numerous widely-known observations and hypotheses about katydid calling songs. Firstly, most katydids produce ultrasonic sounds. Notably, an unknown and probably undescribed species of Meconematini (Philippines) produces calling songs with a peak frequency of 88.0 kHz, the highest known for Southeast Asian taxa. Our study also confirms that the subfamily Meconematinae is a major katydid group in which taxa produce songs with an entirely ultrasonic spectrum and extreme ultrasonic songs, whereas the subfamily Pseudophyllinae can produce exceedingly low frequencies (Conocephalus. This diversity in calling songs corresponds to the diverse morphology of their sound-producing organs. Based on three allopatric species of Scytocera and three Phaulula species, we show that the calling song parameters and previously unknown morphology of the sound-producing organs corroborate with the traditional morphological characters (e.g., abdominal appendages and titillators) used to diagnose katydid congeners. This also further confirms that bioacoustics and the sound-producing organs can be useful to better understand species boundaries for taxa from this region.</p