Explore the vast range of titles available.

Most business schools require students to take at least one technical Management Information System (MIS) course. Due to the technical nature of the material, the course and the assessments tend to be anxiety inducing. With over three out of every five students in US colleges suffering from \"overwhelming anxiety\" in some form, we study whether or not the perception of test format congruence (i.e., ability to reward knowledge) leads to satisfaction with the test format and lower test anxiety. In this study, we also considered the impact risk-taking profiles have on satisfaction with the test format. Using data collected from our survey, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the measurement model and a confirmatory factor analysis on the structural model. We found that test congruence positively impacts satisfaction with the format, satisfaction impacts anxiety negatively, and risk profile does not seem to play a role. These findings contribute theoretically as we create an integrated framework grounded in different theoretical views. The findings also have practical implications as they allow instructors to see that aligning assessments to reward knowledge can help manage students' anxiety.

Student cheating is a growing concern in all aspects of higher education, particularly in technical programs such as information systems. Technology is also enabling student cheating. This paper utilizes existing literature and various behavioral theories, including incentive theory, the theory of planned behavior, social reciprocity theory, expected utility theory, and deterrence theory to develop a model of cheating incentive in students. The model was tested using a survey of 245 undergraduate students in a decision sciences class at a large US land-grant university, with the results showing that the incentive to cheat is predicted by the student's satisfaction with the assessment process and observed cheating by peers. Perceived evaluation congruence (the perception of the student that the exam measures knowledge of the course material) was, in turn, found to be a precursor of satisfaction. Many institutions focus on increasing the risk of being caught and punished, but focusing on the student's satisfaction with the assessment process as a way of reducing the incentive to cheat is also key. This may begin a virtuous cycle, where greater congruence between the class material and the assessment mechanism leads to greater satisfaction with the assessment, which leads to a reduction in the incentive to cheat. This, in turn, leads to more valid testing data for the instructor, which leads to even greater congruence and satisfaction. The reduction in individual cheating will lead to a reduction in observed cheating, lowering the incentive to cheat even further.

The Internet and social computing technology have revolutionized our ability to gather information as well as enabled new modes of communication and forms of self-expression. As the popularity of social computing technologies has increased, our society has begun to witness modifications in socialization behaviors. Social psychology theory suggests that technological changes can influence an individual’s expectation of privacy, through adaptive behaviors resulting from use (Laufer and Wolfe in J Soc Issues 33(3): 22–42 ( 1977 )). We adapt traditional privacy theory to explore the influence of developmental and environmental factors on the individual’s inner privacy identity, which is comprised of the individual’s belief in his or her right to control (1) personal information and (2) interactions with others, and is continuously shaped by privacy experiences. We then use the inner privacy identity to examine interpersonal behaviors in the online context. We find that individuals’ belief in their right to control their information impacts their information disclosure practices when consequences are implied and that their belief in their right to control the interaction impacts their online information sharing practices. We do not find support for a relationship between the interaction management component of the IPI and online interaction behavior, which considered in the presence of the relationship between interaction management and online information sharing, suggests that interaction behavior is more complicated in the online context. Insights from the model developed in this study can inform future studies of situational privacy behaviors.

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a rare severe disease that causes arterial dissections and ruptures that can lead to early death. No preventive treatment has yet been validated. Our aim was to assess the ability of celiprolol, a β1-adrenoceptor antagonist with a β2-adrenoceptor agonist action, to prevent arterial dissections and ruptures in vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Our study was a multicentre, randomised, open trial with blinded assessment of clinical events in eight centres in France and one in Belgium. Patients with clinical vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome were randomly assigned to 5 years of treatment with celiprolol or to no treatment. Randomisation was done from a centralised, previously established list of sealed envelopes with stratification by patients' age (≤32 years or >32 years). 33 patients were positive for mutation of collagen 3A1 (COL3A1). Celiprolol was administered twice daily and uptitrated every 6 months by steps of 100 mg to a maximum of 400 mg per day. The primary endpoints were arterial events (rupture or dissection, fatal or not). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00190411. 53 patients were randomly assigned to celiprolol (25 patients) or control groups (28). Mean duration of follow-up was 47 (SD 5) months, with the trial stopped early for treatment benefit. The primary endpoints were reached by five (20%) in the celiprolol group and by 14 (50%) controls (hazard ratio [HR] 0·36; 95% CI 0·15–0·88; p=0·040). Adverse events were severe fatigue in one patient after starting 100 mg celiprolol and mild fatigue in two patients related to dose uptitration. We suggest that celiprolol might be the treatment of choice for physicians aiming to prevent major complications in patients with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Whether patients with similar clinical presentations and no mutation are also protected remains to be established. French Ministry of Health, Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique 2001.

Chronic stress promotes blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity loss leading to passage of inflammatory mediators in mood-regulating brain areas and establishment of depressive behaviors. Conversely, neurovascular adaptations favoring stress resilience and preventive strategies to promote them are undetermined. We report that environmental enrichment dampens stress-induced loss of endothelial tight junction Claudin-5 (Cldn5) along with anxiety- and depression-like behaviors in male mice via an increase in fibroblast growth factor 2 (Fgf2). Coping with voluntary physical exercise also protects the BBB from stress deleterious effects by increasing Fgf2. Fgf2 is mostly expressed by glial cells, and viral-mediated astrocyte-specific Fgf2 upregulation prevents stress-induced social avoidance while downregulation increases stress susceptibility and blunts physical exercise benefits. Treatment of mouse and human endothelial cells with Fgf2 prior an immune challenge reduces BBB dysfunction, Cldn5 loss, and altered signaling supporting its protective role. Circulating FGF2 level is linked with depression severity and symptomatology in men and women reinforcing involvement of this growth factor in mood disorders.