I’m friends with Louie the Fly, not Mortein : conceptualising the new brand relationships on social media [Reprint]

Social media offers many opportunities for building brand relationships. One method of fostering relationships is to create a social media presence for the company spokes-character. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such a strategy can be very effective, though empirical research is needed. This paper reviews what is known and highlights a concern, based on analysis of the case of Louie the Fly and Mortein, that consumers may interact with characters as if they were separate to their parent brand. Hence positive associations with the character may not translate into positive brand outcomes. Following discussion, a model is proposed for testing.

Harry Potter and the lexicon of doom

In a three day trial in April 2008, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York considered whether the Harry Potter Lexicon infringed the intellectual property rights of J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The case has attracted great media attention. As John Crace, a reporter for The Guardian, observed: “On one side: global-celebrity author J.K. Rowling. On the other: an amateur fan site devoted to the world's favourite boy wizard. At stake: the soul of Harry Potter.” J.K. Rowling is the author of the seven book Harry Potter series, which tell the story of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his battles with Voldemort, the Lord of Darkness. As the court papers noted, “The Harry Potter Books are a modern day publishing phenomenon and success story.” Warner Brothers sought and obtained the film rights to the series. The entertainment company has thus far produced five films; a sixth is due in November 2008; and the final instalment is planned. The Harry Potter Lexicon is a reference guide created by Steven Vander Ark, a former grade school teacher. He has organised a large volume of material on the Harry Potter books and the Harry Potter films on a website in an alphabetical listing, from “A-Z”. The founder of RDR Books, Roger Rapoport, approached Ark to publish the Harry Potter Lexicon in a book form. Ark agreed to this request, and provided the publisher with a condensed version of the web-site. After RDR Books announced its intention to publish the reference book, J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers brought a legal action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the publishers of the Harry Potter Lexicon were in breach of various intellectual property rights. A spokesperson for Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowling observed: "A fan’s affectionate enthusiasm should not obscure acts of plagiarism. The publishers knew what they were doing. The problem remains that the Lexicon takes an enormous amount of Ms. Rowling’s work and adds virtually no original commentary of its own. As we’ve said in court, it takes too much and adds too little. Authors have a duty to prevent the exploitation of their works by people who contribute nothing original, creative or interpretive." The litigation involves the intersection of copyright law, trade mark law, and consumer protection law. It has a wider significance because it deals with the protection of authorial rights; the use of literary indexes, supplements and reference guides; and the clash between character merchandising and fan fiction.

Some remarks on the symplectic pairing on the moduli space of representations of the fundamental group of surfaces

This work grew out of an attempt to understand a conjectural remark made by Professor Kyoji Saito to the author about a possible link between the Fox-calculus description of the symplectic structure on the moduli space of representations of the fundamental group of surfaces into a Lie group and pairs of mutually dual sets of generators of the fundamental group. In fact in his paper [3] , Prof. Kyoji Saito gives an explicit description of the system of dual generators of the fundamental group.

A model for the interaction of trifluoroethanol with peptides and proteins

The structural stabilizing property of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) in peptides has been widely demonstrated, More recently, TFE has been shown to enhance secondary structure content in globular proteins, and to influence quaternary interactions in protein multimers. The molecular mechanisms by which TFE exerts its Influence on peptide and protein structures remain poorly understood. The present analysis integrates the known physical properties of TFE with a variety of experimental observations on the interaction of TFE with peptides and proteins and on the properties of fluorocarbons. Two features of TFE, namely the hydrophobicity of the trifluoromethyl group and the hydrogen bonding character (strong donor and poor acceptor), emerge as the most important factors for rationalising the observed effects of TFE. A model is proposed for TFE interaction with peptides which involves an initial replacement of the hydration shell by fluoroalcohol molecules, a process driven by apolar interactions and favourable entropy of dehydration. Subsequent bifurcated hydrogen-bond formation with peptide carbonyl groups, which leave intramolecular interactions unaffected, promotes secondary structure formation.

On the environmental genetics of depressive symptoms : Focus on two serotonergic genes

Depression is a complex psychiatric disorder influenced by several genes, environmental factors, and their interplay. Serotonin receptor 2A (HTR2A) and tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) genes have been implicated in vulnerability to depression and other psychiatric disorders, but the results have been inconsistent. The present study examined whether these two genes moderated the influence of different depressogenic environmental factors on subthreshold depressive symptoms (assessed on a modified version of Beck s Depression Inventory, BDI) and depression-related temperament, i.e., harm avoidance (assessed on the Temperament and Character Inventory, TCI). The environmental factors included measures of childhood and adolescence exposure, i.e., maternal nurturance and parental socioeconomic status, and adulthood social circumstances, i.e., perceived social support and urban/rural residence. The participants were two randomly selected subsamples (n = 1246, n = 341) from the longitudinal population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n = 3596). Childhood environmental factors were assessed when the participants were 3 to 18 years of age, and three years after the baseline. Adulthood environmental factors and outcome measures were assessed 17 and 21 years later when the participants were 21 to 39 years of age. The T102C polymorphism of the HTR2A gene moderated the association between childhood maternal nurturance and adulthood depressive symptoms, such that exposure to high maternal nurturance predicted low depressive symptoms among individuals carrying the T/T or T/C genotypes, but not among those carrying the C/C genotype. Likewise, high parental SES predicted low adulthood harm avoidance in individuals carrying the T/T or T/C genotype, but not in C/C-genotype carriers. Individuals carrying the T/T or T/C genotype were also sensitive to urban/rural residence, such that they had lower depressive symptoms in urban than in rural areas, whereas those carrying the C/C genotype were not sensitive to urban/rural residence difference. HTR2A did not moderate the influence of social support. TheA779C/A218C haplotype of the TPH1 gene was not involved in the association between childhood environment and adulthood outcomes. However, individuals carrying A alleles of the TPH1 haplotype were more vulnerable to the lack of adulthood social support in terms of high depressive symptoms than their counterparts carrying no A alleles. Furthermore, individuals living in remote rural areas and carrying the A/A haplotype had higher depressive symptoms than those carrying other genotypes of the TPH1. The findings suggest that the HTR2A and TPH1 genes may be involved in the development of depression by influencing individual s sensitivity to depressogenic environmental influences.

Fox management in south-eastern Australia: management strategies and cost-efficiencies

The European red fox is one of Australia´s most devastating vertebrate affecting both biodiversity and agricultural production. Fox management strategies rely heavily on poisoning using baits impregnated with sodium fluoroacetate (1080). Factors such as the ability of foxes to locate bait, palatability and toxicity of bait, pattern and density of bait distribution, and cost/benefits of specific use patterns all affect the overall efficiency of management programs. It is essential to examine and refine all such factors to manage the damaging impacts of this pest species. This book examines the problems associated with management of the fox in south-eastern Australia, highlights deficiencies in ´best-practice´ baiting techniques, and provides recommendations to improve current management strategies and guide future research.

The impacts and management of foxes Vulpes vulpes in Australia

1. The successful introduction of the red fox Vulpes vulpes into Australia in the 1870s has had dramatic and deleterious impacts on both native fauna and agricultural production. Historical accounts detail how the arrival of foxes in many areas coincided with the local demise of native fauna. Recent analyses suggest that native fauna can be successfully reintroduced to their former ranges only if foxes have been controlled, and several replicated removal experiments have confirmed that foxes are the major agents of extirpation of native fauna. Predation is the primary cause of losses, but competition and transmission of disease may be important for some species. 2. In agricultural landscapes, fox predation on lambs can cause losses of 1–30%; variation is due to flock size, health and management, as well as differences in the timing and duration of lambing and the density of foxes. 3. Fox control measures include trapping, shooting, den fumigation and exclusion fencing; baiting using the toxin 1080 is the most commonly employed method. Depending on the baiting strategy, habitat and area covered, baiting can reduce fox activity by 50–97%. We review patterns of baiting in a large sheep-grazing region in central New South Wales, and propose guidelines to increase landholder awareness of baiting strategies, to concentrate and coordinate bait use, and to maximize the cost-effectiveness of baiting programs. 4. The variable reduction in fox density within the baited area, together with the ability of the fox to recolonize rapidly, suggest that current baiting practices in eastern Australia are often ineffective, and that reforms are required. These might include increasing landholder awareness and involvement in group control programs, and the use of more efficient broadscale techniques, such as aerial baiting.

Magmatic evolution of topaz-bearing granite stocks within the Wiborg rapakivi granite batholith

This study brings new insights into the magmatic evolution of natural F-enriched peraluminous granitic systems. The Artjärvi, Sääskjärvi and Kymi granite stocks within the 1.64 Ga Wiborg rapakivi granite batholith have been investigated by petrographic, geochemical, experimental and melt inclusion methods. These stocks represent late-stage leucocratic and weakly peraluminous intrusive phases typical of rapakivi granites worldwide. The Artjärvi and Sääskjärvi stocks are multiphase intrusions in which the most evolved phase is topaz granite. The Kymi stock contains topaz throughout and has a well-developed zoned structure, from the rim to the center: stockscheider pegmatite equigranular topaz granite porphyritic topaz granite. Geochemically the topaz granites are enriched in F, Li, Be, Ga, Rb, Sn and Nb and depleted in Mg, Fe, Ti, Ba, Sr, Zr and Eu. The anomalous geochemistry and mineralogy of the topaz granites are essentially magmatic in origin; postmagmatic reactions have only slightly modified the compositions. The Kymi equigranular topaz granite shows the most evolved character, and the topaz granites at Artjärvi and Sääskjärvi resemble the less evolved porphyritic topaz granite of the Kymi stock. Stockscheiders are found at the roof contacts of the Artjärvi and Kymi stocks. The stockscheider at Artjärvi is composed of biotite-rich schlieren and pegmatite layers parallel to the contact. The schlieren layering is considered to have formed by velocity-gradient sorting mechanism parallel to the flow, which led to the accumulation of mafic minerals along the upper contact of the topaz granite. Cooling and contraction of the topaz granite formed fractures parallel to the roof contact and residual pegmatite magmas were injected along the fractures and formed the pegmatite layers. The zoned structure of the Kymi stock is the result of intrusion of highly evolved residual melt from deeper parts of the magma chamber along the fractured contact between the porphyritic granite crystal mush and country rock. The equigranular topaz granite and marginal pegmatite (stockscheider) crystallized from this evolved melt. Phase relations of the Kymi equigranular topaz granite have been investigated utilizing crystallization experiments at 100 to 500 MPa as a function of water activity and F content. Fluorite and topaz can crystallize as liquidus phases in F-rich peraluminous systems, but the F content of the melt should exceed 2.5 - 3.0 wt % to facilitate crystallization of topaz. In peraluminous F-bearing melts containing more than 1 wt % F, topaz and muscovite are expected to be the first F-bearing phases to crystallize at high pressure, whereas fluorite and topaz should crystallize first at low pressure. Overall, the saturation of fluorite and topaz follows the reaction: CaAl2Si2O8 (plagioclase) + 2[AlF3]melt = CaF2 (fluorite) + 2Al2SiO4F2 (topaz). The obtained partition coefficient for F between biotite and glass D(F)Bt/glass is 1.89 to 0.80 (average 1.29) and can be used as an empirical fluormeter to determine the F content of coexisting melts. In order to study the magmatic evolution of the Kymi stock, crystallized melt inclusions in quartz and topaz grains in the porphyritic and the equigranular topaz granites and the marginal pegmatite were rehomogenized and analyzed. The homogenization conditions for the melt inclusions from the granites were 700 °C, 300 MPa, and 24 h, and for melt inclusions from the pegmatite, 700 °C, 100 MPa, and 24/96 h. The majority of the melt inclusions is chemically similar to the bulk rocks (excluding H2O content), but a few melt inclusions in the equigranular granite show clearly higher F and low K2O contents (on average 11.6 wt % F, 0.65 wt % K2O). The melt inclusion compositions indicate coexistence of two melt fractions, a prevailing peraluminous and a very volatile-rich, possibly peralkaline. Combined petrological, experimental and melt inclusion studies of the Kymi equigranular topaz granite indicate that plagioclase was the liquidus phase at nearly water-saturated (fluid-saturated) conditions and that the F content of the melt was at least 2 wt %. The early crystallization of biotite and the presence of muscovite in crystallization experiments at 200 MPa contrasts with the late-stage crystallization of biotite and the absence of muscovite in the equigranular granite, indicating that crystallization pressure may have been lower than 200 MPa for the granite.

Holistic Spirituality in the Thinking of Ellen White

Spiritualiteetti viittaa syvälliseen, inhimilliseen ulottuvuuteen ja ominaisuuteen, jonka tarkka määritteleminen on haasteellista, ellei mahdotonta. Sitä vastaa yhtäältä uskonnollisuuden kautta toteutuva, elämän tarkoitukseen ja syvemmän olemuksen etsintään liittyvä hengellisyys, mutta toisaalta myös kaikkea muuta hengen viljelyä ja mielekkään olemisen tavoittelua tarkoittava henkisyys. John Swintonin mukaan hengen ulottuvuus on se inhimilliseen olemukseen kuuluva, dynaaminen elinvoima, joka virkistää ja elävöittää ihmistä ja motivoi häntä etsimään Jumalaa, arvoja, merkitystä, tarkoitusta ja toivoa. Tämä tutkimus nostaa tarkastelun kohteeksi kokonaisvaltaisen hengellisyyden, jolloin huomio kiinnitetään niihin sidoksiin, joiden kautta hengen ulottuvuus liittyy muihin inhimillisen elämän olennaisiin toimintoihin ja näkökulmiin. Tällaisia ovat 1) ajattelu 2) teot ja käytännön toiminta 3) suhteet ja vuorovaikutusverkostot 4) tunteet ja kanssakäymistä ohjaavat asenteet 5) olemassaolon ja olemisen ulottuvuudet. Kokemusten merkitys, arvo ja mielekkyys hahmottuvat juuri hengen alueella, toisin sanoen sisäisesti, hengellisenä ja henkisenä asiana. Tutkimusmateriaalina tässä tutkimuksessa on amerikkalaisen vuosina 1827 1915 eläneen Ellen Whiten kuusi myöhäiskauden teosta vuosilta 1892 1905 ja tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty systemaattista analyysiä. Olennaista Whiten tavassa käsitellä uskonnon harjoitukseen liittyviä aiheita on hänen käytännöllinen ja elämän arkeen kiinteästi niveltyvä otteensa. Tutkimus paljastaa, että Martti Lutherin käsitykset ovat merkittävästi vaikuttaneet Whiten ajatteluun. Lähteistä paljastuu samankaltaisuutta hänen näkemystensä ja uusimman suomalaisen Luther-tutkimuksen Martti Lutherin tuotannosta esiin nostaman ajattelutavan välillä. Vaikka teologisen oppineisuuden kannalta White ja Luther ovat eri tasoilla, kummankin käsitys ihmisen ja Jumalan välisen suhteen perusolemuksesta on samankaltainen: Lähtökohtana sille on Jumalan rakkaus ja hänen armostaan lähtenyt toiminta. Toiseksi, ihmisen ja Kristuksen välinen, olemuksellinen yhteys, unio , on perustana sille, että Jumala hyväksyy ihmisen ja huolehtii hänestä nyt ja ikuisesti. Kolmanneksi, tämä ihmisen ja Kristuksen liittoutuminen ja yhdistyminen ilmenee yhteistoimintana ja kumppanuutena yhteisten tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi maailmassa. White korostaa ihmisen ja Kristuksen välisen hengellisen suhteen vuorovaikutteista ja toiminnallista luonnetta, joka tulee ilmi epäitsekkyytenä, toisten ihmisten ja heidän tarpeittensa huomioimisena sekä myötätuntona ja kykynä asettua toisen asemaan. Terveellistä elämäntapaa ja kasvatusta koskevat ajatuksensa White liittää siihen laaja-alaiseen näkemykseen hengellisyydestä, jonka tavoitteena on ihmisen kokonaisvaltainen hyvinvointi. Hän ei näe spiritualiteettia elämän arjesta irrallisena tai erillisenä saarekkeena, vaan ihmistä kaikessa ohjaavana, voimaannuttavana ja mielekkyyttä tuottavana, ensisijaisena ulottuvuutena. Tutkimuksen kuluessa myös Whiten usein käyttämät Jumalalle antautumisen ja luonteen käsitteet nousevat tarkastelun kohteiksi. Hänen mukaansa ihminen ei tahdonponnistuksillaan yksin pysty tavoittamaan Jumalaa vaan hänen on lakattava Jumalan rakastavan kutsun edessä itse tahtomasta ja suostuttava liittymään Jumalan tahtoon ja tarkoitukseen. Tämä liittyy siihen sisäiseen muutokseen, jota White kuvaa luonteen käsitteen avulla. Jumalan armon vaikuttama tahdon uudelleen suuntaaminen muuttaa ihmisen olemusta, arvoja, asennoitumisen tapaa ja myötätuntoisen vuorovaikutuksen kykyä niin ettei ihminen ole enää aivan sama kuin ennen. Kysymys on toisaalta yhtäkkisestä ja kertakaikkisesta olemuksellisesta muuttumisesta, mutta samalla myös hiljaisesta, elämänmittaisesta kasvusta ja kypsymisestä. Juuri luonteen käsitteen avulla White kuvaa hengellisyyttä ja siihen kuuluvaa sisästä matkaa. Tässä tutkimuksessa spiritualiteettia lähestytään yleisinhimillisenä piirteenä ja ominaisuutena, jolloin huomio ei ole ensisijaisesti yksittäisissä opillisissa käsityksissä tai uskonnollisuuden harjoittamisen muodoissa. Tarkoituksena on luoda kokoava rakenne, jonka puitteissa holistinen spiritualiteetti voidaan selkeämmin hahmottaa ja yksilöidymmin ymmärtää.

The expiration day effect of indexoptions and index futures on the underlying shares

This paper studies the effect of the expiration day of index options and futures on the trading volume, variance and price of the underlying shares. The data consists of all trades for the underlying shares in the FOX-index for expiration days during the period October 1995 to the mid of yer 1999. The main results seem to support the findings of Kan 2001, i.e. no manipulation on a larger scale. However, some indication of manipulation could be found if certain characteristics are favorable. These characteristics include: a) a large quantity of outstanding futures or at/in the money options contracts, b) there exists shares with high index weight but fairly low trading volume. Lastly, there is some indication that manipulation might be more popular towards the end of the examined time period.

Moral Education in the Japanese Primary School Curricular Revision at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century: Aiming at a Rich and Beautiful Kokoro

This study examines values education in Japanese schools at the beginning of the millennium. The topic was approached by asking the following three questions concerning the curricular background, the morality conveyed through textbooks and the characterization of moral education from a comparative viewpoint: 1) What role did moral education play in the curriculum revision which was initiated in 1998 and implemented in 2002? 2) What kinds of moral responsibilities and moral autonomy do the moral texts develop? 3) What does Japanese moral education look like in terms of the comparative framework? The research was based on curriculum research. Its primary empirical data consisted of the national curriculum guidelines for primary school, which were taken into use in 2002, and moral texts, Kokoro no nôto, published by the Ministry of Education in the same context. Since moral education was approached in the education reform context, the secondary research material involved some key documents of the revision process from the mid-1990s to 2003. The research material was collected during three fieldwork periods in Japan (in 2002, 2003 and 2005). The text-analysis was conducted as a theory-dependent qualitative content analysis. Japanese moral education was analyzed as a product of its own cultural tradition and societal answer to the current educational challenges. In order to understand better its character, secular moral education was reflected upon from a comparative viewpoint. The theory chosen for the comparative framework, the value realistic theory of education, represented the European rational education tradition as well as the Christian tradition of values education. Moral education, which was the most important school subject at the beginning of modern school, was eliminated from the curriculum for political reasons in a school reform after the Second World War, but has gradually regained a stronger position since then. It was reinforced particularly at the turn of millennium, when a curriculum revision attempted to respond to educational and learning problems by emphasizing qualitative and value aspects. Although the number of moral lessons and their status as a non-official-subject remained unchanged, the Ministry of Education made efforts to improve moral education by new curricular emphases, new teaching material and additional in-service training possibilities for teachers. The content of the moral texts was summarized in terms of moral responsibility in four moral areas (intrapersonal, interpersonal, natural-supranatural and societal) as follows: 1) continuous self-development, 2) caring for others, 3) awe of life and forces beyond human power, and 4) societal contribution. There was a social-societal and emotional emphasis in what was taught. Moral autonomy, which was studied from the perspectives of rational, affective and individuality development, stressed independence in action through self-discipline and responsibility more than rational self-direction. Japanese moral education can be characterized as the education of kokoro (heart) and the development of character, which arises from virtue ethics. It aims to overcome egoistic individualism by reciprocal and interdependent moral responsibility based on responsible interconnectedness.

Ab initio studies on the tri- and diphosphate fragments of adenosine triphosphate

Pyrophosphate prototypes such as methyl triphosphate and methyl diphosphate molecules in their different protonation states have been investigated at high levels of quantum chemical calculations. The optimized geometries, the thermochemistry of the hydrolysis and the molecular orbitals contributing to the high energy of these compounds have been analyzed. These investigations provide insights into the "high energy" character of ATP molecule. Further, the dependence of vibrational frequencies on the number of phosphate groups and the charged states has also been presented. These results can aid the interpretation of spectra obtained by experiments on complexes containing pyrophosphate prototypes.

Ab initio studies on the tri- and diphosphate fragments of adenosine triphosphate

Pyrophosphate prototypes such as methyl triphosphate and methyl diphosphate molecules in their different protonation states have been investigated at high levels of quantum chemical calculations. The optimized geometries, the thermochemistry of the hydrolysis and the molecular orbitals contributing to the high energy of these compounds have been analyzed. These investigations provide insights into the ``high energy'' character of ATP molecule. Further, the dependence of vibrational frequencies on the number of phosphate groups and the charged states has also been presented. These results can aid the interpretation of spectra obtained by experiments on complexes containing pyrophosphate prototypes. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formation of a G-quadruplex at the BCL2 major breakpoint region of the t(14;18) translocation in follicular lymphoma

The t(14;18) translocation in follicular lymphoma is one of the most common chromosomal translocations. Most breaks on chromosome 18 are located at the 3'-UTR of the BCL2 gene and are mainly clustered in the major breakpoint region (MBR). Recently, we found that the BCL2 MBR has a non-B DNA character in genomic DNA. Here, we show that single-stranded DNA modeled from the template strand of the BCL2 MBR, forms secondary structures that migrate faster on native PAGE in the presence of potassium, due to the formation of intramolecular G-quadruplexes. Circular dichroism shows evidence for a parallel orientation for G-quadruplex structures in the template strand of the BCL2 MBR. Mutagenesis and the DMS modification assay confirm the presence of three guanine tetrads in the structure. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance studies further confirm the formation of an intramolecular G-quadruplex and a representative model has been built based on all of the experimental evidence. We also provide data consistent with the possible formation of a G-quadruplex structure at the BCL2 MBR within mammalian cells. In summary, these important features could contribute to the single-stranded character at the BCL2 MBR, thereby contributing to chromosomal fragility.

Formation of a G-quadruplex at the BCL2 major breakpoint region of the t(14;18) translocation in follicular lymphoma

The t(14;18) translocation in follicular lymphoma is one of the most common chromosomal translocations. Most breaks on chromosome 18 are located at the 3'-UTR of the BCL2 gene and are mainly clustered in the major breakpoint region (MBR). Recently, we found that the BCL2 MBR has a non-B DNA character in genomic DNA. Here, we show that single-stranded DNA modeled from the template strand of the BCL2 MBR, forms secondary structures that migrate faster on native PAGE in the presence of potassium, due to the formation of intramolecular G-quadruplexes. Circular dichroism shows evidence for a parallel orientation for G-quadruplex structures in the template strand of the BCL2 MBR. Mutagenesis and the DMS modification assay confirm the presence of three guanine tetrads in the structure. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance studies further confirm the formation of an intramolecular G-quadruplex and a representative model has been built based on all of the experimental evidence. We also provide data consistent with the possible formation of a G-quadruplex structure at the BCL2 MBR within mammalian cells. In summary, these important features could contribute to the single-stranded character at the BCL2 MBR, thereby contributing to chromosomal fragility.