EXPRESS: Marketing, Through the Eyes of the Stigmatized

A consumer’s personal attribute (e.g., disease, body weight) can assume the qualities of a stigma (i.e., become a source of devaluation by others) in the presence of certain audiences, which can affect consumption and represent a major hurdle to marketers in many industries (e.g., healthcare). Two field experiments—manipulating the marketing communications sent to 1,453 consumers diagnosed with 87 diseases of varying stigma potential—and two Mturk studies reveal that consumers with potentially stigmatizing attributes distinctly decode aspects of marketing communications as audience cues, to infer how (un)favorable observers of their consumption will be in light of the potential stigma. When consumers possess potentially stigmatizing attributes, audience cues influence social devaluation inferences, which impacts their beneficial consumption (program enrollment, long-term engagement in healthcare program; e.g., 64% click-through decrease) and their interest in detrimental consumption (products that promise to alleviate the stigma but are associated with considerable risks). Anticipated empowerment may increase beneficial consumption among consumers managing stigmatizing attributes.

Critical thinking and its importance in doctoral education

Introduction: For a doctoral student it is necessary and mandatory to conduct research that leads them to move the frontier of knowledge. In this context, how does critical thinking contribute to generating new knowledge? Many authors attempt to explain and define critical thinking. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the most relevant critical thinking models and to develop a model for this personal attribute in doctoral education. Materials and methods: Seminal works and the most significant models of critical thinking were reviewed in the current literature. Results: A critical thinking model in doctoral education was developed as an integration of the most important contributions of all authors. Conclusions: We argue that there is not a unique definition for this concept and that critical thinking may be understood as a process rather than as a tool, attribute or skill.

Association between personal attributes with level of knowledge and extent of adoption about improved animal husbandry practices

The present investigation was concerned with Uttari Rajasthan Sahkari Dugdh Utpadak Sangh Limited (URMUL) Bikaner of Rajasthan to find out the adoption of improved animal husbandry practices by the farmer. URMUL dairy Bikaner rank sixth in terms of milk collecting union and consist of 32 milk procurement routes, out of which eight routes and one dairy cooperative society were selected on the basis of highest milk collection routes. The information was gleaned from 160 respondents i.e., 80 members and 80 non- members by applying random techniques. There was significant association between different variable viz., age, education, size of land holding, family type and family size with knowledge level as well as extent of adoption of member, non-member and overall respondents. Personal attribute of respondents like caste had no association with knowledge level and extent of adoption in Bikaner of Rajasthan.

Conceptual model for the integration of personal attribute skills in electrical technology education curriculum

<span>The current curriculum of Electrical Technology Education (ETE) of Nigerian Universities has been criticized for not meeting the desired challenges. The personal attribute skills were found are not integrated in the curriculum. Hence, a study was conducted to determine the types of personal attribute skills, their respective indicators and to develop a conceptual model for the integration of personal attribute skills for ETE curriculum. Mixed methods exploratory research design was employed for the study. 10 industry technical managers were interviewed and the interview data were analyzed using coding process of open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The interview data were used to develop a structured questionnaire that validated by 4 experts. Alpha value for pilot test was 0.89. Sample of the survey were 646 including 528 ETE graduates, 22 ETE lecturers and 96 industry technical managers. Stepwise Linear Regression and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were used to analyze the survey. The study developed a conceptual model for the integration of personal attribute skills that consists of two major skills: attitude skills and trait skills. This study recommended the implementation <br /> of the conceptual model for the integration of employability skills in <br /> ETE curriculum.</span>

Which measure of disease occurrence?

A key aspect of epidemiology is about understanding and exploring variations in disease. In order to do so it is important that the same definitions of disease occurrence are used, no matter where a study is being conducted, and that the same approach to measurement is taken. The epidemiologist needs to be aware of which measure to use in specific circumstances. Measuring disease occurrence is the basic activity of epidemiology, and the following section provides the background to choosing the most appropriate measure(s) of disease occurrence for the aims of the study. The term ‘disease’ can also be taken in this context to describe any personal attribute. Thus, the concepts described in this chapter apply equally well to assessing the occurrence of a symptom, the development of a particular disability, or the frequency of a medical intervention.

State Leaders and Foreign Policy

What choices do political leaders make in the international arena? And why? In what ways do the patterns of politics in the international arena shape the selection and prospects of leaders in power? These questions frame a thriving research agenda that has emerged over the last 20 years in political science and international relations. This agenda seeks to answer the fundamental questions of war and peace and cooperation and contestation from a perspective that focuses on leaders, leaders’ motivations, and leaders’ characteristics. Two major approaches frame the analysis of leaders and foreign policy: the survival approach and the personal attribute approach. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive, but they are analytically distinct. The survival approach starts from the premise that leaders seek to remain in power. It then assesses the reciprocal relation between leaders’ quest to remain in power and their foreign policy choices. Specifically, research in the survival approach analyzes how leaders’ choices can be explained in light of the assumption that leaders seek power and how, in turn, leaders’ survival in power can be explained by their choices in the international arena. With the survival approach, leaders have agency but, in the end, they are exchangeable: they all seek power. The personal attribute approach, on the other hand, points to the many features that distinguish the personal profiles of leaders and seeks to provide a systematic explanation of how those features account for leaders’ foreign policy choices. In particular, research in the personal attribute area has explained leaders’ choices in terms of their orientation toward the use of force, their psychological traits and beliefs about the world, and their personal characteristics and background experiences. The study of politics from the perspective of leaders integrates insights from the subfields of American politics, comparative politics, and international relations, and in so doing holds the promise to foster a productive and fruitful dialogue across the discipline of political science. Scholars who study politics from the perspective of leaders have generated a number of new theoretical developments, new typologies, new data collections, and new findings. Overall, the study of leaders and foreign policy has proved to be analytically fruitful, empirically rich, and politically relevant.