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Loyal by Nature: How Uncertainty Avoidance Shapes Dispositional Brand Loyalty
No full textLoyal consumers are prized assets for brands, as even minor improvements in customer retention can lead to significant increases in company profits. Most research has examined brand loyalty as a brand-specific concept and explored what brands can do to develop loyal consumers, overlooking the role of individual-level psychological and cultural factors.
This dissertation aims to address this gap by examining brand loyalty as a personality disposition and investigating its relationship with cultural values. Drawing on the extensive body of research linking culture to consumer judgments and decisions, the central hypothesis proposes that cultural values, particularly uncertainty avoidance, systematically influence individuals\u27 predisposition to exhibit brand loyalty.
To test this proposition, the first two studies employ a multi-method approach, combining cross-national survey with individual-level data collected across multiple countries, and an experiment with U.S. consumers to provide both correlational and causal evidence for the influence of uncertainty avoidance on brand loyalty as a personality disposition. A subsequent experimental study explores the underlying psychological mechanism by testing the mediating role of the desire for predictability in this relationship. Furthermore, this dissertation investigates whether the structural features of a firm’s branding strategy, specifically, the use of brand extensions versus new brand introductions, moderate the behavioral expression of this dispositional loyalty.
By advancing our understanding of consumer loyalty in culturally diverse contexts, this dissertation will offer valuable insights for marketers aiming to foster enduring customer loyalty in new and unfamiliar territories
Barriers to Hispanic Post-Secondary Education in Science Fields
No full textThe study aimed to examine whether external barriers could be identified and are present throughout a Hispanic individual\u27s educational life. The beliefs of the Hispanic community regarding education and the nature of acquiring an education could be relevant to the factors that impede the completion of high school. A survey approach was chosen as the methodology for the study due to the confidential nature of a questionnaire. Human nature tends to be more honest when not asked personal questions face-to-face. Additionally, there is potential to generalize attributes from a small sample to a larger population, allowing inferences about the identified external barriers. This study investigated the effects of external forces on the education of Hispanic Students. The purpose of the study is to correctly identify the factors which can be attributed to the high Hispanic dropout rate and low college enrollment of the Hispanic population
The Impact of Positive Psychology Use Upon GLS Outcomes for People With Chronic Pain Syndromes
No full textThe essence of being human is realized by our discovery of meaningful purpose throughout each important stage of our lives. If we perceive that we lack this meaningful purpose in our lives, it could become a distressful source of suffering to our sense of well-being emotionally, cognitively and perhaps, spiritually. A strong indicator of well-being comes from a good evaluation we ascertain as to how well we believe outcomes in our lives are consistent with our goals and values, which is also known as satisfaction with life. Research findings indicate that the more someone experiences repeated negative life events, the higher correlation there is toward reduced life satisfaction outcomes. Physical pain reported by patients is not easily detected or diagnosed by doctors. Pain must be considered by doctors from a broader philosophical context rather than strictly a clinical/medical context. The two main types of pain people experience are psychological/emotional and physical pain. Through psychological/emotional and physical pain, people must learn to strive through pain and conquer suffering. If pain persists long enough, it will be classified as chronic pain. Counseling and psychological interventions can help them overcome their negative outlook derived from the chronic pain. Positive psychology is a strengths-based approach that someone experiencing chronic pain might benefit from. Positive psychology can help a chronic pain patient by reinforcing optimism and helping them focus upon their strengths and positive attributes
Sharing and Preserving Sociolinguistic Corpora on the U.S.-Mexico Border
No full textSince William Labov outlined the methodology for the sociolinguistic interview in 1972, sociolinguistic corpora have been used widely in the field of sociolinguistics to study diverse speech communities and linguistic features. However, most of these invaluable sociolinguistic collections have been available only to the individual researcher or research group, and these data sets usually disappear from use with that individual scholar. More recently, there has been a push towards data sharing in sociolinguistics, reflective of data sharing and the open science movement in other fields. Still, accessible online sociolinguistic corpora are few and far between, in part due to the intense time commitment required to create, sustain, share, and preserve such collections. This paper reviews two accessible online sociolinguistic collections at the U.S.-Mexico border: the Corpus de Español en el Sur de Arizona [Corpus of Spanish in Southern Arizona] or CESA (Carvalho, 2012) and the Corpus Bilingüe del Valle [Bilingual Corpus of the Valley] or CoBiVa (Christoffersen & Bessett, 2019; Christoffersen & Ciller, 2024) in South Texas. We explore these two corpora as case studies for data sharing and preservation through collaboration by detailing the data collection and data management protocols and preservation plans. In doing so, we demonstrate how data sharing in sociolinguistics impacts accessibility, reproducibility, and the democratization of knowledge
Associations Between Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Cerebral Small Vessel Disease
No full textIntroduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a major vascular contributor to cognitive impairment and dementia. CSVD affects the deep and subcortical cerebral white matter.1,2 The retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and cerebral white matter share a common embryological origin, with RNFL ganglion cell axons structurally analogous to cerebral white matter tracts.3,4 This connection creates an opportunity to investigate whether structural changes in the RNFL reflect pathological changes in the cerebral white matter.3,5,6 While most studies examining the relationship between RNFL and CSVD focus on specific comorbidities (e.g., patients with stroke or with cognitive impairment)2,6,7,8, this study analyzed a cohort that includes both cognitively healthy participants and those with cognitive impairment. Our aim was to assess whether RNFL thickness is associated with CSVD regardless of comorbidities.
Methods: We analyzed 49 participants from the Rio Grande Valley South Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Center who underwent optical coherence tomography (OCT) and brain magnetic resonance imaging. We excluded one case of self-reported closed-angle glaucoma. RNFL measurements included thickness of the superior, nasal, inferior, and temporal quadrants, and the total average of all four quadrants. Left and right eye measurements were averaged. CSVD was defined by the presence of (i) extensive white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2-fluid attenuated inversion recovery sequences; (ii) lacunes on T1-weighed sequences, and (iii) cerebral microbleeds defined as round voids on gradient echo sequences. The comparison of RNFL thickness between individuals with and without CSVD was performed using the t-Student test. Associations between RNFL and WMH were examined using multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and OCT scan quality.
Results: The mean age was 67.4±11.9 years; 65.3% women and 83.7% Hispanic. The average OCT scan quality was 28.9±4.35. Inferior RNFL was thinner in participants with lacunes compared to those without (110.5±32.6µm vs. 133.3±18.7µm; P=0.015). Individuals with extensive WMH had thinner global and inferior RNFL compared to those without (global RNFL, 85.6±14.1µm vs. 101.1±11.7µm; inferior RNFL quadrant, 104.1±30.1µm vs. 132.8±19.7µm). No significant differences were found in the temporal, superior, or nasal quadrants, or in relation to cerebral microbleeds. In adjusted regression models, some associations lost significance, likely due to small CSVD sample size (n=6 for lacunes, n=4 for WMH). However, we observed each unit decrease in inferior RNFL thickness (µm) was associated with greater odds ratios (OR) of having lacunes (ORs ranged from 1.09 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.18] to 1.10 [confidence interval, 1.01-1.17]; P≤0.026).
Conclusion: Inferior RNFL thinning was associated with the presence of WMH and lacunes. Larger studies using continuous quantification of CSVD and multimodal imaging are needed to determine the relevance of using noninvasive technologies, such as the OCT, for detecting retinal structural changes that may reflect underlying neurodegenerative pathology
Student Perceptions of AI in University Studies
No full textThe integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is transforming students’ learning experiences, decision-making, and academic efficiency. This study explores student perceptions of AI’s benefits, challenges, and its role across academic disciplines. Findings indicate that while students recognize AI as a valuable educational tool, they also express concerns regarding privacy, reliance, and the need for improved AI training. Statistically significant differences were observed in AI’s impact on learning efficiency, decision-making, and academic engagement, supporting the hypothesis that AI enhances education but presents notable challenges. The study also highlights the necessity for balanced AI integration, ensuring that AI complements rather than replaces critical thinking and independent learning. These insights provide valuable implications for educators and institutions in developing AI policies that optimize learning outcomes while addressing numerous concerns
Descolonización democrática del pensamiento. Diálogos polifónicos, libro en movimiento y caja de resonancia
No full textEste libro es el resultado de los trabajos colectivos llevados a cabo por el grupo académico e intelectual denominado Grupo Seminario Descolonización Democrática del Pensamiento, conformado por integrantes de México, Estados Unidos, Colombia, Argentina y Brasil. La obra se caracteriza por estar en constante movimiento bajo la filosofía polifónica, en la que existe un coro de múltiples voces que interactúan a través de diálogos sobre temas como la descolonialidad y la modernidad, las imágenes dialécticas del mestizaje y la democracia. Los lectores entrarán en un espacio reflexivo que llamamos la caja de resonancia, donde se fomenta un pensar en transformación y democrático de manera comunitaria
Antiamyloid Monoclonal Antibodies in Alzheimer’s Disease, Part 1: Patient Selection
No full textThe availability of monoclonal antibodies directed against amyloid beta, for use as disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), represented a major shift in the field of AD research and treatment. U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals for the monoclonal antibody–based medications lecanemab and, more recently, donanemab provide clinicians with two antiamyloid therapy (AAT) options for targeting early symptomatic AD. The emergence of AAT has made careful biomarker-informed diagnosis of AD paramount, which was once reserved for highly specialized centers and research settings. Patient selection is complex, and although appropriate-use recommendations have been published, clinicians caring for patients with AD across the United States face uncertainty when trying to align clinical trial criteria, appropriate-use recommendations, and real-world patients in the clinic. Practical issues in patient selection as well as health care and systemic challenges in the implementation of AAT are considered in part 1 and part 2, respectively, of this two-part Treatment in Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry commentary on these therapies from the American Neuropsychiatric Association Dementia Special Interest Group
[People] Photograph of Ethel Mary Malone Ewers
No full textPortrait of Ethel Mary Malone Ewers.https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/hidalgohist_aa/1527/thumbnail.jp
[Donna] Photograph of Virginia Tarver Hooks
No full textPortrait of Virginia Tarver Hooks (1854-1933).https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/hidalgohist_aa/1635/thumbnail.jp