Predictors of Attitudes toward Lesbians and Transgender Women in Relationships on a College Campus

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the attitudes which perpetuate intolerance toward LGBT individuals, and to recognize, in particular, the unique attitudes transpeople face as a minority in the nation and even in the LGBT community. This research contributes to the bodies of research concerning the interrelatedness of intrinsic religiosity, political conservatism, sexism, the rape myth, lack of effective legal protection, and the intolerance of gender non-conformists. I have identified distinctions between attitudes on the part of both women and men, as well as toward different gender non-conformists. I have also taken research as a whole further by assessing the predictors of attitudes toward specific members of the LGBT community in public relationships. The implications of these findings are potentially as far reaching as to have an impact on policies effecting healthcare, education, anti-discrimination and employer rights legislation, on both local and national levels.

When Love Becomes Hate(?): The Interplay Between Consumer-Brand Relationships and Crisis Situations

This study had three purposes. First, it aimed to re-conceptualize organization-public relationships (OPRs) in public relations and crisis communication. This OPR re-conceptualization helps find out when the OPR buffering effect or the OPR love-becomes-hate effect happens. Second, it aimed to examine how consumer emotions are influenced by OPRs and influence consumer behavioral intentions. Third, it aimed to address the current problematic operationalization of the concept of consumer. Three pilot studies and one main study were conducted. Apple and Whole Foods were the two brands examined. One crisis that undermined the self-defining attributes shared between the brand and its consumers and another crisis that did not were examined for each brand. Almost 500 Apple consumers and 400 Whole Foods consumers provided usable questionnaires. This study had several major findings. First, non-identifying relationship and identifying relationship were different constructs. Moreover, trust, satisfaction, and commitment were not conceptually separate dimensions of OPRs. Second, the non-identifying relationships offered buffering effects by increasing positive attitudes and tempering anger and disappointment. The identifying relationships primarily offered the love-becomes-hate effects by increasing anger and disappointment. Third, if the crisis was relevant to consumers’ daily lives, brand response strategies were less effective at mitigating consumer negative reactions. Moreover, apology-compensation-reminder strategy was more effective compared to no-comment strategy. However, the apology-compensation-reminder strategy was no more effective than other strategies as long as brands compensate to the victims. Identifying relationships increased the effectiveness of response strategies. If the crisis did not undermine the self-defining attributes shared between consumers and brands, the response strategies worked even better. This study contributes to crisis communication research in multiple ways. First, it advances the OPR conceptualization by demonstrating that non-identifying relationship and identifying relationship are different concepts. More importantly, it advances the theory building of OPRs’ influences on crises by finding out when the buffering effect and the love-becomes-hate effect happen. Second, it adds to emotion research by demonstrating that strong OPRs can lead to negative emotions and positive emotions can have negative behavioral consequences on organizations. Third, the precise operationalization of the concept of consumer gives more insights about consumer reactions to crises.

HairPro Oy:n koulutusten myyntilähtöinen kehittäminen

Opinnäytetyössä tarkasteltiin, miten hiusalan maahantuontiyrityksen HairPro Oy:n koulutuksia tulisi kehittää, jotta ne lisäisivät paremmin yrityksen myyntiä. Maahantuontiyrityksen koulutukset on suunnattu heidän asiakkailleen, parturi-kampaajille. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena eli laadullisena tutkimuksena. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluilla, jotka toteutettiin yrityksen markkinointi-, koulutus- ja myyntivastaaville kevään 2008 aikana. Teemahaastatteluilla selvitettiin Kadus Studiossa tapahtuvien koulutusten nykytilaa. Nykytilakartoituksen pohjalta annettiin kehittämisehdotelma Kadus Studiossa tapahtuvaan hiustenvärjäyskoulutukseen. Kehittämissuunnitelma sisältää osioita koulutuksen suunnittelun eri vaiheisiin. Viitekehyksessä käsiteltiin myynninedistämistä ja suhdetoimintaa, jotka ovat merkittäviä koulutusten järjestämisessä. Koulutukset toimivat myynninedistäjinä ja sisältävät myynninedistämistoimia. Sisäisellä suhdetoiminnalla on suuri merkitys koulutusten onnistuneessa toteutuksessa ja koulutukset parantavat yrityksen ulkoista suhdetoimintaa. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin koulutusten nykytilaa ja haastatteluista nousi esille tarvittavia kehittämisehdotuksia. Koulutusten eri vaiheiden kehittämisen avulla olisi mahdollista saavuttaa lisämyyntiä. Avainasemassa ovat sisäinen suhdetoiminta ja markkinointi, joita tulisi kehittää. Kaikkien koulutusvaiheiden seuranta ja raportointi on tärkeää koulutuksia kehitettäessä. Myynninedistämistoimien käyttö ja uudistaminen koulutustapahtumassa lisää suoraa myyntiä silloin, kun koulutuksen eri vaiheet toimivat.

Relações públicas e o planejamento estratégico nas instituições de ensino superior privadas

The society of the information brings with it a lot of changes day by day of the organizations, mainly for characterizing as a flexible society, in net and ruled in technological progress. The contemporary organizations are inserted in that reality and they need be maintained in markets more and more competitive. The Private Institutions of Higher education enter in this logic for they be organizations with lucrative ends that suffer strong influence of the external and internal atmosphere. To stand out, such Institutions need to count with a strategic administration, ruled in an own strategic planning for the branch in that acts. The professional of public relationships is shown capable to develop their main functions in such complex market. For so much it needs to participate in the global planning of the Private Institutions of Higher education, at the same time in that it develops it planning of the communication, intrinsic to the global strategic planning. This way, the present study treats of the professional's of Public Relationships possible contributions, ruled in theoretical data, inside of Private Institutions of Higher education in the Brazilian current scenery

Scientific concepts and public policies: Semiotic-cultural obstacles concerning intergroup and intercultural relationships

I attempt to articulate Jahoda's (2012) critical reflections regarding definitions of culture in recent cross-cultural studies and Moghaddam's (2012) claims of an omnicultural imperative to guide the elaboration of public policies for managing relationships among human groups from different cultural origins. For this, I will approach some aspects of the socio-historical and ontogenetic roots of the notion of culture. The notion of culture and the consequent public policies involving intercultural managing are being transformed as our global society develops. It has been proposed that some ways of dealing with the culture of the other are crucial to achieve awareness in respect of one's own cultural positioning when making science and attempting social interventions. Finally, the experience of Brazilian psychologists working on challenges faced by Amerindians dealing with the national society they live in will be presented as a pioneering work aiming to interfere in the development of public policies ethically concerned with the assurance of cultural integrity of currently marginalized social groups.

Relationships with citizens in public management: a study at the largest Spanish Town Halls

This paper provides an analysis of the relationships existing between citizen participation and satisfaction levels within the framework of Spanish local administrations, additionally paying attention to the links between organisational size and the said participation and satisfaction levels. The results of a survey questionnaire answered by 388 Human Resources (HR) managers from the largest Spanish Town Halls were examined for these purposes. A claim is made both to increase the degree of citizen participation in public decision-making and to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective public services that can really meet citizens’ needs in Spanish town Halls.

Informal mentoring relationships and the career processes of public accountants

Research has shown that informal mentoring relationships benefit the protégé, mentor and employing organisation. As such they have been of interest to public accounting firms. The functioning of these relationships in Big Eight/Big Five accounting firms has been investigated in the USA and more recently in Ireland. The career outcome of most interest has been turnover intentions. This paper reports the results of a questionnaire study of mentoring relationships in the Australian state of Queensland. The receipt of mentoring support by accountants is found to be associated with not only lower turnover intentions, but also higher job satisfaction, and lower intentions of female accountants to seek part-time employment. The impact of the organisational context in which these relationships are initiated and cultivated is also investigated. The size of the accounting firm and the national culture of the country in which the firm operates, appear to have some bearing on mentoring experiences.

Making the governance of public bodies work : chair-chief executive relationships in practice

The authors gratefully acknowledge a grant from the British Academy (SG10591) and an award from the University of Aberdeen Knowledge Exchange and Transfer Fund.

Making the governance of public bodies work : chair-chief executive relationships in practice

The authors gratefully acknowledge a grant from the British Academy (SG10591) and an award from the University of Aberdeen Knowledge Exchange and Transfer Fund.

A voice for change? Trust relationships between ombudsmen, individuals and public service providers

There has been a debate for years about what the role of the ombudsman is. This article examines a key component of the role, to promote trust in public services and government. To be able to do this, however, an ombudsman needs to be perceived as legitimate and be trusted by a range of stakeholders, including the user. This article argues that three key relationships in a person’s complaint journey can build trust in an institution, and must therefore be understood as a system. The restorative justice framework is adapted to conceptualize this trust model as a novel approach to understanding the institution from the perspective of its users. Taking two public sector ombudsmen as examples, the article finds that voice and trust need to be reinforced through the relationships in a consumer journey to manage individual expectations, prevent disengagement, and thereby promote trust in the institution, in public service providers, and in government.

Humans, dogs and parasitic zoonoses - Unravelling the relationships in a remote endemic community in Northeast India using molecular tools

Canine parasitic zoonoses pose a continuing public health problem, especially in developing countries and communities that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Our study combined the use of conventional and molecular epidemic, logical tools to determine the role of dogs in transmission of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites such as hookworms, Giardia and Ascaris in a parasite endemic teagrowing community in northeast India. A highly sensitive and specific molecular tool was developed to detect and differentiate the zoonotic species of canine hookworm eggs directly from faeces. This allowed epidemiological screening of canine hookworm species in this community to be conducted with ease and accuracy. The zoonotic potential of canine Giardia was also investigated by characterising Giardia duodenalis recovered from humans and dogs living in the same locality and households at three different loci. Phylogenetic and epidemiological analysis provided compelling evidence to support the zoonotic transmission of canine Giardia. Molecular tools were also used to identify the species of Ascaris egg present in over 30% of dog faecal samples. The results demonstrated the role of dogs as a significant disseminator and environmental contaminator of Ascaris lumbricoides in communities where promiscuous defecation practices exist. Our study demonstrated the usefulness of combining conventional and molecular parasitological and epidemiological tools to help solve unresolved relationships with regards to parasitic zoonoses.

Relationships between non-occupational cadmium exposure and expression of nine cytochrome P450 forms in human liver and kidney cortex samples

This study was undertaken to assess associations between age, gender, cigarette smoke and non-workplace cadmium exposure, and liver pathology and inter-individual variation in cytochrome P450 (CYP) expression in human tissues. Autopsy specimens of twenty-eight Queensland residents whose ages ranged from 3 to 89 years were analyzed for the presence of nine CYP protein isoforms by immunoblotting. All subjects were Caucasians and their liver cadmium contents ranged from 0.11 to 3.95 kg/g wet weight, while their kidney cadmium contents were in the range of 2 to 63 mug/g wet weight. CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, and CYP3A5 were detected in liver but not in kidney, and CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 were not found in liver or kidney. Lowered liver CYP2C8/19 protein contents were found to be associated with liver pathology. Importantly, we show elevated levels of CYP2C9 protein to be associated with cadmium accumulation in liver. No mechanism that explains this association is apparent, but there are two possibilities that require further study. One is that variation in CYP2C9 protein levels may be, in part, attributed to an individual's non-workplace exposure to cadmium, or an individual's CYP2C9 genotype may be a risk factor for cadmium accumulation. A positive correlation was found between liver CYP3A4 protein and subject age. Levels of liver CYPIA2 protein, but not other CYP forms, were increased in people more exposed to cigarette smoke, but there was no association between CYPIA2 protein and cadmium. CYP2A6 protein was found in all liver samples and CYP2A6 gene typing indicated the absence of CYP2A6 null allele (CYP2A6(D)) in this sample group, confirming very low prevalence of homozygous CYP2A6(D) in Caucasians. CYP2A6 gene types W/W, WIC, and CIC were not associated with variations in liver microsomal CYP2A6 protein. CYP2D6 protein was absent in all twenty-five kidney samples tested but was detectable in liver samples of all but two subjects, indicating the prevalence of the CYP2D6 null allele (CYP2D6(D)) in this sample group to be about 7%, typical of Caucasian populations. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationships between nutrition screening checklists and the health and well-being of older Australian women

Objectives: To examine associations between nutrition screening checklists and the health of older women. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey including measures of health and health service utilisation, as well as the Australian Nutrition Screening Initiative (ANSI), adapted from the Nutrition Screening Initiative (NSI). Setting: Australia, 1996. Subjects: In total, 12 939 women aged 70-75 years randomly selected as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Results: Responses to individual items in the ANSI checklist, and ANSI and NSI scores, were associated with measures of health and health service utilisation. Women with high ANSI and NSI scores had poorer physical and mental health, higher health care utilisation and were less likely to be in the acceptable weight range. The performance of an unweighted score (TSI) was also examined and showed similar results. Whereas ANSI classified 30% of the women as 'high-risk', only 13% and 12% were classified as 'high-risk' by the NSI and TSI, respectively. However, for identifying women with body mass index outside the acceptable range, sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values for all of these checklists were less than 60%. Conclusions: Higher scores on both the ANSI and NSI are associated with poorer health. The simpler unweighted method of scoring the ANSI (TSI) showed better discrimination for the identification of 'at risk' women than the weighted ANSI method. The predictive value of individual items and the checklist scores need to be examined longitudinally.