Framingham State University

Marketingverantwortliche in Business-to-Business (B2B) Branchen stehen zunehmend vor der Herausforderung, zukunftsweisende Technologien, z.B. digitale Medien, in Verbindung mit ihren Kundenbeziehungsmanagement (CRM)-Systemen einzusetzen und effektiv zu nutzen, um Industrielösungen und Dienstleistungen auf internationalen Märkten erfolgreich zu vertreiben. Dieses Kapitel basiert auf einer Umfrage unter 530 Marketing- und Vertriebsverantwortlichen von B2B-Anbietern, Drittanbietern und Einkäufern in der DACH-Region (Deutschland, Österreich und Schweiz), Westeuropa und Nordamerika. Die Autoren haben die Prozessphasen des Account basierten Marketings (ABM) identifiziert, um das Management von bestehenden und neuen Großkunden im internationalen Kontext zu optimieren. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der Generierung von Leads und Opportunities mit zukunftsweisenden Technologien, die zu einer beschleunigten Geschäftsentwicklung und wiederkehrenden Einnahmen führen. Insbesondere entwickeln die Autoren praxisorientierte Indizes, um die Antriebskräfte bezüglich der Nutzung zukunftsweisender Technologien zu verstehen und diejenigen Medien zu bestimmen, die für die wesentlichen ABM bezogenen Prozessphasen besonders geeignet sind. Die Autoren erörtern die Einstellung von Führungskräften im Hinblick der Nutzung zukunftsweisender Technologien, stellen die wichtigsten digitalen Medien vor und entwickeln zwei Dimensionen von Leistungen für Unternehmen. Darüber hinaus geben sie Empfehlungen für Praktiker zur Sensibilisierung, Anleitung und Förderung der Nutzung zukunftsweisender Technologien, insbesondere für nicht Technik-affine ABM-Führungskräfte. Abschließend stellen die Autoren bewährte Konzepte vor, die durch Fallstudien aus der Industrie unterstützt werden und die Praktiker dabei unterstützen, ihr ABM zu optimieren, indem sie die isolierten Prozesse zwischen den Marketing- und Vertriebsfunktionen aufeinander abstimmen, die Forschungsergebnisse auf ihre Branche übertragen und eine hervorragende Kundenerlebnis schaffen. Schlüsselwörter Technologischer Wandel, digitale und soziale Medien, ABM-Prozess, Business-to-Business, Geschäftsentwicklung (BD), Prozessbeschleunigung, Kundenerlebnis (CX), Schlüsselkennzahlen für Unternehmen

Limited studies have considered the experiences of Latinx intimate partner homicide (IPH) survivors. A federally designated, culturally specific gender-based violence resource center partnered with nine community-based organizations to enhance culturally specific knowledge on IPH prevention by conducting listening sessions and key informant interviews with Latinx survivors, advocates, and community practitioners. The current study analyzed data from the larger project to explore help-seeking barriers encountered by Latinx IPH survivors, specifically cisgender and transgender women. Results identified six themes impacting help-seeking: an inaccessible criminal justice system, inequitable resources, immigrant identity, gender role beliefs and expectations, a lack of culturally sensitive services, and family concerns. Policy implications and future research are discussed.

The integrative review's objective is to determine the effectiveness of incorporating virtual reality (VR) simulation teaching methods in pre-licensure psychiatric nursing curricula. While the demand for skilled nurses has increased, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated nursing educational resource shortages and reduced the number of qualified applicants accepted into nursing schools. Psychiatric assessment and communication skills are difficult to obtain. VR simulation may present an effective solution to enhancing nursing students' psychiatric education. The integrative review was the study design. Tailored search terms were applied to the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. The databases were searched by title and abstract during the period January 1, 2011, through October 14, 2021. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were applied to search strategies and results. The selected articles were evaluated using the Johns Hopkins research evidence appraisal tool. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria for the integrative review. Study results were categorized into two main themes: (a) pedagogical approach and (b) usability. Three sub-themes emerged: (a) knowledge, (b) attitudes, and (c) skills. VR was found to be effective in increasing nursing students' knowledge; improving communication and decision-making skills; and impacting attitudes toward patients living with mental illness. VR was found to be the same as or superior to traditional and other simulation methods in teaching psychiatric nursing education to pre-licensure students. While convenient, virtual reality use involves managing technical difficulties and considering safety. VR simulation is an effective pedagogical approach for psychiatric nursing curricula and offers a potentially cost-effective alternative to traditional learning and other simulation methods.

Host microbiomes are important regulators of organismal fitness, physiology, and ecology. Microbiomes promote the fitness of their host in part by buffering the host from the full effects of fluctuating conditions and stressors imposed by the external environment. Whether the host conversely serves as a buffer for their associated microbes against variation in the external environment is less clear. Here, we test if bacteria inhabiting the microbiome of a host are locally adapted to nutrient levels in their surrounding external environment. We used a system in which the host, the phytoplankter Microcystis aeruginosa , has strains that are locally adapted to low-nutrient versus high-nutrient lakes. Assessing 40 metagenome-assembled genomes belonging to four taxonomic groups of heterotrophic bacteria residing within the host microbiome, we found consistent phylogenetic divergence between strains originating from low-nutrient versus high-nutrient environments. Bacteria found in association with low-nutrient host genotypes obtained from low-nutrient lakes demonstrated genome streamlining, including reduced genome size and fewer sigma factors. These bacterial genomes have features that would facilitate survival in low-nutrient lakes, including (i) greater number of alkaline phosphatase genes that are essential for phosphorus acquisition and (ii) positive selection within genes involved in phosphorus metabolism. Overall, our results demonstrate that despite living in close association with host organisms, bacteria residing within microbiomes may have evolved and undergone environmental selection to stressors external to their host, demonstrating similar patterns of adaptation to those that might be expected to develop among free-living bacteria. IMPORTANCE Understanding how natural selection has historically shaped the traits of microbial populations comprising host microbiomes would help predict how the functions of these microbes may continue to evolve over space and time. Numerous host-associated microbes have been found to adapt to their host, sometimes becoming obligate symbionts, whereas free-living microbes are best known to adapt to their surrounding environment. Our study assessed the selective pressures of both the host environment and the surrounding external environment in shaping the functional potential of host-associated bacteria. Despite residing within the resource-rich microbiome of their hosts, we demonstrate that host-associated heterotrophic bacteria show evidence of trait selection that matches the nutrient availability of their broader surrounding environment. These findings illustrate the complex mix of selective pressures that likely shape the present-day function of bacteria found inhabiting host microbiomes. Our study lends insight into the shifts in function that may occur as environments fluctuate over time.

Gender and sexual minoritized (GSM) youth are more likely than their cisgender heterosexual peers to experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and practice bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism, and masochism (BDSM). Although IPV and BDSM are vastly different phenomena, superficial similarities (e.g., violent behaviors) can lead to misidentification in both practice and research. This study explores how GSM youth (a) experience and understand the differences between IPV and BDSM and (b) report consensual violent and controlling behaviors when answering items on IPV measures. Nine demographically diverse GSM youth (mean age 21.2) were drawn from a GSM youth-serving organization in the Northeast United States. Participants were interviewed about their experiences with IPV, BDSM, and consent. Participants also were asked to describe the process of completing two standardized measures of IPV. Interviews were coded using conventional and directed content analysis. Eight of nine participants reported IPV victimization, and seven reported BDSM interest or experiences. Four themes emerged: (a) GSM youth experience a spectrum of IPV victimization, often related to their gender and sexual identity; (b) interest in BDSM does not imply an acceptance of IPV; (c) GSM youth have a nuanced understanding of consent and strategies to communicate consent with their partners; and (d) Consent is the organizing framework by which GSM youth distinguish IPV from BDSM. Participants reported various degrees of certainty that they would include BDSM behaviors when answering questions about violent behaviors. Findings underscore the importance of conceptually and operationally differentiating IPV and BDSM. Programs that serve GSM youth should address IPV victimization, offer sex-positive education regarding healthy relationships and BDSM, and assist GSM youth in differentiating abusive behaviors from consensual BDSM. Standardized measures that do not conflate BDSM with IPV are crucial for studying IPV among GSM youth.

Neighboring country dynamics play a significant role in global and regional affairs. This paper extends the research used to develop a model of globalization and includes the rationale for adding Neighboring Country Dynamics as a domain in the model. The concept of neighboring country dynamics is explained and applied using specific examples that demonstrate its significant influence on global institutions, trade blocks, regions, and countries.

The efficacy of using human volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a form of forensic evidence has been well demonstrated with canines for crime scene response, suspect identification, and location checking. Although the use of human scent evidence in the field is well established, the laboratory evaluation of human VOC profiles has been limited. This study used Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to analyze human hand odor samples collected from 60 individuals (30 Females and 30 Males). The human volatiles collected from the palm surfaces of each subject were interpreted for classification and prediction of gender. The volatile organic compound (VOC) signatures from subjects' hand odor profiles were evaluated with supervised dimensional reduction techniques: Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), Orthogonal-Projections to Latent Structures Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). The PLS-DA 2D model demonstrated clustering amongst male and female subjects. The addition of a third component to the PLS-DA model revealed clustering and minimal separation of male and female subjects in the 3D PLS-DA model. The OPLS-DA model displayed discrimination and clustering amongst gender groups with leave one out cross validation (LOOCV) and 95% confidence regions surrounding clustered groups without overlap. The LDA had a 96.67% accuracy rate for female and male subjects. The culminating knowledge establishes a working model for the prediction of donor class characteristics using human scent hand odor profiles.

Introduction For cancer survivors, insomnia is a frequent and distressing concern. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment, yet in-person care can be difficult for cancer survivors to access for a variety of socioeconomic, medical and logistical reasons. In a pilot randomized clinical trial, four, weekly sessions of virtually-delivered, synchronous CBT-I were feasible, acceptable, and seemingly efficacious for reducing insomnia among cancer survivors (vs. an enhanced usual care control). The aim of this secondary analysis was to characterize daily patterns in sleep diary metrics during the intervention phase. Methods Adults who had completed treatment for any non-metastatic cancer and had chronic insomnia (DSM-5 criteria and Insomnia Severity Index score <=15) and were randomized to receive CBT-I completed daily assessments of sleep quality (SQ), total sleep time (TST), time in bed (TIB), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep onset latency (SOL), and waking after sleep onset (WASO) for 21 days (i.e., from Session 1-4). Linear mixed models were used to compute trajectories of change for each sleep metric and -2 log likelihood, AIC, and BIC fit indices. Results Among 20 cancer survivors who received CBT-I (mean age 51.2 ± 17.1 years, 90% female), model fit indices indicated that across sleep metrics, linear growth models provided a better fit to the data than either quadratic or cubic growth models. Significant linear improvement was observed for SQ (B = 0.02, t = 3.60, p < 0.001), SE (B = 0.16, t = 2.01, p = 0.046), and SOL (B = -0.41, t = -2.47, p = 0.01), but not TIB, TST, or WASO (ts < 1.12, ps > 0.26). Conclusion Findings elucidate how sleep may be expected to change over the course CBT-I, in particular for the growing population of cancer survivors seeking virtual care for insomnia. The strengths, limitations, and potential modifications to optimize the intervention across sleep metrics will be discussed. Support (if any) This work was conducted with support from the American Cancer Society (Massachusetts General Hospital Institutional Research Grant, PI: Hall).

The core motivation for this study is the realization that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encounter temporary obstacles, conflicts, or inconsistencies that impede progress and generalization. According to the authors, sustainable development across social, environmental, and economic dimensions is unlikely to occur without redefining the meaning and recalibrating the metrics used to measure commodities. These meanings and metrics must align with values such as general reciprocity, morality, and the common good, going beyond mere calculations of means and ends and personal preferences. The research has three primary objectives: first, to compare and reassess the meanings and responsibilities assigned to “items” traded in indigenous and modern economies; second, to use Hegelian dialectics to enhance and transform the notion of a commodity by revising and expanding its current understanding; and third, to introduce a new construct—the giftized commodity—along with potential implicational scenarios and recommendations for its inclusion in theory development in stakeholder capitalism, sustainable consumer behavior, and ecological economics. Through a dialectical interaction (in a Hegelian sense), by integrating seminal and diverse viewpoints from economics and anthropology, such as Neoliberalism, commodity theory, gift theory, and production and consumption in indigenous societies, the authors intend to modify and restructure the scope of responsibilities associated with commodities and commodity exchange.

In this essay, we argue that Whiteness is intrinsic to Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, yet it remains unmarked within U.S.-based sociology of education research. As a result, these studies treat race as a tangential issue as opposed to a structure that is foundational to how society is organized and functions. We disrupt this unmarked relationship between Whiteness and cultural capital by (1) reviewing Bourdieu’s work on race, class, and cultural capital, and the application of these concepts in U.S.-based research; (2) examining the educational field as White institutional space and the concerning consequences of conflating cultural capital with Whiteness; (3) discussing the implications for a research framework embedded in a class-based master narrative; and (4) offering suggestions about how to disrupt Whiteness in cultural capital research, including emphasizing the racialized dimension of the habitus, taking an institutional approach and by taking a race-conscious approach to knowledge production in sociology.

This study investigated the implementation of a curricular unit of instruction designed to immerse rising ninth-grade students socioscientific issues via data collection and analysis of the relationships between health, wealth, educational attainment, and the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on their communities. Twenty-six (n = 26) rising ninth-grade students (14-15 years old; 16 girls, 10 boys) participated in an early college high school program operated by the College Planning Center at a state university in the northeastern United States. The findings of this study demonstrate how ninth-graders enhanced their understanding of the relationships between COVID-19 and community health, wealth, and educational attainments. The students also identified from their research data that communities in Massachusetts that are more educated and with more financial resources were less impacted less by the virus.

We examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a role in moderating trading silence prior to bad news earnings announcements. Unusually low trading volume before the public release of negative earnings information constrains price discovery. We find that unusually low trading volume prior to earnings announcements is less pronounced for firms with a high level of CSR activities. We also find that this effect is stronger before bad news earnings announcements than good news earnings announcements. These findings are robust to various alternative research design choices and to the endogeneity concern between CSR and trading activity. Taken together, our study demonstrates that CSR plays a moderating role in trading silence by improving firms’ pre‐disclosure business and information environments.

Developing organisms are often exposed to fluctuating environments that destabilize tissue‐scale processes and induce abnormal phenotypes. This might be common in species that lay eggs in the external environment and with little parental care, such as many reptiles. In turtles, morphological development has provided striking examples of abnormal phenotypic patterns, though the influence of the environment remains unclear. To this end, we compared fluctuating asymmetry, as a proxy for developmental instability, in turtle hatchlings incubated in controlled laboratory and unstable natural conditions. Wild and laboratory hatchlings featured similar proportions of supernumerary scales (scutes) on the dorsal shell (carapace). Such abnormal scutes likely elevated shape asymmetry, which was highest in natural nests. Moreover, we tested the hypothesis that hot and dry environments cause abnormal scute formation by subjecting eggs to a range of hydric and thermal laboratory incubation regimes. Shape asymmetry was similar in hatchlings incubated at five constant temperatures (26–30°C). A hot (30°C) and severely Dry substrate yielded smaller hatchlings but scutes were not overtly affected. Our study suggests that changing nest environments contribute to fluctuating asymmetry in egg‐laying reptiles, while clarifying the conditions at which turtle shell development remains buffered from the external environment.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure has gained more attention from both practitioners and scholars. Company executives are starting to seek competitive differentiation from their sustainability strategies (McKinsey & Company, 2020). This study explores the link between CSR disclosure and investment efficiency using a sample of Chinese-listed firms from 2010 to 2019. The findings suggest that CSR disclosure improves investment efficiency through reducing information asymmetry and agency cost. Also, mandatory CSR disclosure has a more significant effect on investment efficiency than voluntary CSR disclosure. In addition, this study finds that the nature of ownership (state-owned vs. non-state-owned), CSR performance, institutional ownership, and the level of industry competition all affect this relationship. The study provides meaningful implications for future CSR disclosure policy development.

Objective/Background: Cancer survivors have elevated rates of insomnia and depression. Insomnia increases risk for depression onset, and the Integrated Sleep and Reward (ISR) Model suggests that impairments in reward responding (e.g., ability to anticipate and/or experience pleasure) plays a central role in this relationship. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is efficacious for treating chronic insomnia and reducing depression in cancer survivor populations. The effects of CBT-I on anticipatory and consummatory pleasure are theoretically and clinically meaningful, yet remain unexamined. Patients/Methods: This secondary analysis of a pilot RCT (N = 40 cancer survivors with insomnia) explicated changes in anticipatory and consummatory pleasure and depression symptoms following a 4-session, synchronous, virtual CBT-I program versus enhanced usual care (referral to a behavioral sleep medicine clinic + sleep hygiene handout). Linear mixed models examined changes in anticipatory and consummatory pleasure and depression symptoms as predictors of changes in insomnia severity from baseline to post-intervention and 1-month follow-up. Results: CBT-I buffered against deterioration in anticipatory pleasure but not consummatory pleasure or depression symptoms. Across conditions, increased anticipatory pleasure was associated with insomnia reduction through 1-month follow-up, even after adjusting for changes in depression symptoms. Conclusion: CBT-I may improve reward processing deficits in cancer survivors with insomnia. Findings provide support for the ISR Model and implicate pleasure as an important target for insomnia and depression.

Global justice (GJ) is a term that lies at the heart of the question of fair distribution of benefits and burdens across the world. While it has been, to date, mostly political philosophers who examined the normative underpinnings of the obligations to the globally disadvantaged and left behind, the deep‐seated processes of globalization continue to have a real and tangible impact on the lives and fortunes of people all around the world. After painting in broad strokes the two approaches (minimalist and cosmopolitan) on GJ, the entry points to the possible ways through which sociological inquiry can be informed by this rich conversation, and can in turn inspire new directions in the debate.