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Consumers are increasingly facing product evaluation and choice situations that include information about product sustainability, i.e., information about a product's relative environmental and social impact. In many cases, consumers have to make decisions that involve a trade-off between product sustainability and other valued product attributes. Similarly, product and marketing managers need to make decisions that reflect how consumers will respond to different trade-off scenarios. In the current research, we study consumer responses across two different possible trade-off scenarios: one in which consumers face a trade-off between product sustainability and hedonic value, and another in which they must trade-off between product sustainability and utilitarian value. Our results suggest that, overall, consumers are more likely to trade-off hedonic value (e.g., esthetics) for sustainability than to trade-off utilitarian value (e.g., functional performance) for sustainability. In Studies 1A and 1B, we presented participants with a product choice task and also measured their anticipatory emotions as they contemplated their options. The results suggest that given a trade-off, consumers are more likely to choose a sustainable product when they have to trade-off hedonic value than when they have to trade-off utilitarian value. Further, these studies provide some insight into the emotions underlying this effect. In Study 2, we use a different consumer response measure, relative purchase likelihood, and investigate the effect of trade-off type across categories that vary in the degree to which hedonic and utilitarian attributes are perceived to be important (referred to as 'product type'). Our results suggest that the effect of trade-off type still holds, yet is moderated by product type such that consumers' greater willingness to trade-off hedonic value (vs. utilitarian value) for sustainability is attenuated as the relative importance of hedonic (vs. utilitarian) attributes increases. In addition to building on our theoretical understanding of decision making given trade-offs with moral attributes, this research is also intended to support managers as they define and choose among various strategic, product development, and marketing promotion options.

We evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before and after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and the clinical and biochemical factors that can predict changes in quality of life (QoL). A total of 45 patients were enrolled in the study and followed up for a period of three months. HRQoL was assessed using an HCC-specific questionnaire at baseline, two weeks, and three months. Tumor response was evaluated at six weeks using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) criteria.  Before TACE, the aspects of the functional scales most significantly impacted were global health status (53.1±29.3%) and physical functioning (68.7±20.7%). The commonly reported symptoms and their corresponding QoL scores were as follows: fatigue (46.4±32.5%), followed by insomnia (32.6±36.6%) and abdominal pain (32.2±30.8%). Financial constraints (63.0±37.1%) were also a significant concern for the patients. Most functional and symptom scores showed a reduction at two weeks and improvement at three months. Global health status improved to 68±28.2% (p=0.455), whereas physical functioning improved to 73.8±23.2% (p=0.005) at three months following TACE. After three months following TACE, the QoL scores for the following symptoms improved from baseline: fatigue (30.5±28.2; p=0.012), insomnia (25.9±27.4; p=0.896), and pain (28.5±30.8; p=0.005). High alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), high C-reactive protein (CRP), low albumin, and an increase in Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores were found to have a negative impact at three months. Following TACE, 26 (57%), nine (20%), three (7%), and seven (16%) patients had complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD), respectively. Quality of life scores showed a positive response at three months in subjects with CR, PR, and SD, while in those with PD, QoL continued to deteriorate over time. Effective symptom management, along with the implementation of coping strategies to improve functionality, is crucial when caring for patients who have undergone TACE, particularly during the first two weeks post-procedure.

Although the aesthetic properties of a product have often been linked to consumers’ emotional responses, theory and empirical evidence are yet to fully explain how and why aesthetic properties of a product evoke an emotional response. Drawing on an eclectic literature, we propose hypotheses connecting aesthetic principles with the subconscious cognitive appraisals associated with emotions. Specifically, we empirically test the relationships between the aesthetic principle of harmony and cognitive appraisals (attentional activity and pleasantness), while exploring the moderating role of typicality. Our results suggest that harmony and typicality interact to affect appraisals of pleasantness and attentional activity. Specifically, consumers tend to prefer designs that balance the levels of attentional resources needed and pleasantness in visually evaluating the design. This work advances the growing literature in product design and aesthetics by providing an understanding of the mechanisms through which aesthetic principles might prompt emotional responses in consumers.

Continuous improvement products (CIPs) are designed so that firms can make post-purchase improvements without requiring the user to fully replace the product. Although CIPs are becoming increasingly common in the marketplace, there are challenges in having customers adopt these products. In this multimethod research using two different types of studies, we find that sharing information about development progress increases adoption of the current version of the CIP, and that this relationship is mediated by the perceived commitment of developers to the product. Furthermore, we find that product familiarity moderates this mediation relationship. Our research offers insight to scholars interested in this new wave of products, and offers direction for managers in how to market their CIPs. Specifically, we recommend that firms developing CIPs use product development information as a marketing tool to communicate their commitment to the continued improvement of the product and to spur the purchase of the current versions of their CIPs.

Product design is one of the core elements of a product and is defined as the discrete properties of a product's form (i.e., the aesthetics of the tangible good and/or service) and its function (i.e., its capabilities) together with the holistic properties of the integrated form and function (Luchs & Swan, 2011; Noble & Kumar, 2010). Often the first point of contact for consumers, in retail aisles or on websites, the product's design can create a lasting impression that affects whether the product is actively considered for purchase (Bloch, 1995). It can have a pervasive effect on the desirability of a good, its sales, its fit with the parent brand, and, eventually, the satisfaction consumers derive from its use (Kumar, Townsend, and Vorhies 2014; Landwehr, Labroo, & Hermann, 2011; Noble & Kumar, 2008). To name just a few examples, products such as the iPod, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Dyson vacuum cleaner have succeeded in large part due to their design (Nussbaum, 2004).

This paper reviews to what extent linked Data can support information management in the humanitarian decision making processes during the early stages of a disaster response. On the immediate onset a disaster there is little or no reliable information, especially about the effected population and the presence of relief agencies including their services. At the cost of time and people in need of help, decision-makers are faced with uncomfortable choices where they must act on less reliable information or wait longer for additional verifications. This study proposes to link data using specific semantics vocabularies crowd generated content as well as information extracted from humanitarian agency specific assessment reports.

It is widely known that product design is important in consumers' evaluation of goods. However, managers and researchers do not fully understand the broad values that design creates for consumers and how these values create preference for a product. Based on work by Holbrook, other researchers and this work on “consumer value,” it is shown that product design can create four types of broad based values: (1) Social (2) Altruistic (3) Functional and (4) Emotional (SAFE values). This dissertation explores how product designers can create the SAFE values and embed them into the product through the new product development process. It also empirically evaluates how well the initial design goals of the product designers are implemented in the final developed product and explores the factors that help or impede this implementation. The developed product is then evaluated by consumers from the target market of the product to assess the effectiveness with which they perceive the values the designers embedded into the product. In this context, it also evaluates the role of consumer expectations. Longitudinal multiple informant data were collected on 62 different products in the new product development process over a period of one year and were analyzed. The results indicate that product design does, indeed, create the SAFE values and that the product designer is central to this value creation. The analysis showed NPD creativity, cross functional integration and experience as important factors that can help designers overcome resource constraints and bring their initial visions of value in the products, to reality. The research shows that when the vision of the designer is more successfully manifested in the final product, it is more likely that the consumer will perceive the values as they were intended to be perceived. This research finds that user centered market research is key in informing designers about the needs of the target market and bringing their conception of value closer to the target market's conception of value. This type of creative and user centered approach of bringing new products or service ideas to the target market will define how products are created and marketed for years to come.

Empirical Studies Study 1 and Study 2 aimed at testing the main effect of visual harmony on attractiveness and the moderating role of respondent sex. [...]in Study 7 78 students responded to various visuals (typefaces, logos, and kettles) by rating stimulus attractiveness, visual harmony, and indicating their sex. To shed light on the role of social expectations in gendered responses towards visuals, Study 4 investigated implicit associations with visual harmony and explored gender differences. Because research on explicit measures is based on the assumption that people are aware of their identity and/or willing to share their opinion, past research nominated the implicit association test (IAT) as a powerful procedure for assessing automated attitudes (Greenwald et al. 1998). [...]as individuals seem to construct their gender in social interactions, consumption context is an important boundary condition for gender differences in aesthetic preferences.

BackgroundChildren with congenital anomalies of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are at high risk of progressive deterioration of kidney function and further developing stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD 5), even after a successful surgery. This prospective study was designed to determine whether urinary biomarkers can predict progressive deterioration of kidney function in children with CAKUT.MethodsThe study included 50 consecutive children, aged < 14 years, who were diagnosed with congenital uropathies (PUV, VUR, and PUJO) and 20 age-matched controls. Examination of four urinary biomarkers, i.e., trefoil family factors (TFF) 1 and 3, neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) and microalbuminuria (MALB) was done at the beginning of follow-up. Kidney function was assessed, at the beginning and after 12-months of follow-up, by technetium-99m diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) scans. Progressive deterioration in the kidney function was defined as a fall in the GFR from ≥ 60 to < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 on comparing the baseline and latest DTPA scans; and/or new-onset cortical scar/scars or increase in the size of previous scar/scars on serial DMSA scans. Group 1 and group 2 included children without and with progressive functional deterioration respectively.ResultsThe median (IQR) age of children with CAKUT and controls was 3 (1.5–5) and 2.3 (1.2–3.6) years, respectively, and showed no significant difference (p = 0.29). Median concentrations of TFF1, TFF3, NGAL, and microalbumin in patients were 44.5, 176.5, 281.2, and 15.5 mcg/gCr, respectively, and were significantly elevated as compared to controls (p < 0.05). Children belonging to group 2 had significantly higher concentration of biomarkers as compared to those in group 1. TFF3 was found have the highest AUC (0.9198) on ROC curve for predicting progressive functional deterioration.ConclusionUrinary TFFs, NGAL, and microalbumin significantly correlate with progressive deterioration of kidney function in children harboring CAKUT. TFF3, with the strongest prediction of functional deterioration, is an emerging peptide showing sufficient potential to be included in the biomarker panel.

Background In India, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax remain in circulation. Accurate detection of the parasite species remains crucial for prompt initiation of treatment and reducing onward transmission. Methods A cross-sectional study across 12 sites of varying malaria endemicities was conducted from September 2023 to April 2024. Febrile participants were tested for malaria using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and microscopy. Malaria positivity proportions along with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were presented separately by parasite species. The diagnostic performance of the RDT was compared against microscopy. Results A total of 10,290 febrile participants were tested by both RDT and microscopy: 1,516 (14.7%, 95% CI 7.7–21.8%) malaria cases were identified by RDT and 1,436 (14.0%, 95% CI 6.9–21.1%) by microscopy. Of the 1,516 RDT positives, 1,105 (72.9%) had P. falciparum mono-infection, 290 (19.1%) had P. vivax mono-infection, and 121 (8.0%) had P. falciparum and P. vivax mixed infections. The sensitivity and specificity of RDT were 95.0% [95% CI 94–96%] and 99% [95% CI 98–99%], respectively, for detecting P. falciparum mono-infection, 83% [95% CI 78–87%] and 100% [95% CI 99–100%] for detecting P . vivax mono-infection, and 88% [95% CI 80–93%] and 100% for detecting a mixed infection of P. falciparum and P. vivax . Overall, 43 (0.4%) participants who were RDT negative were found to have malaria on subsequent microscopic examination. Conclusion Approximately 15% of the febrile participants tested were identified as malaria positive by RDT, of which nearly one-fifth were P. vivax mono-infections and 8% harboured P. falciparum and P. vivax mixed infections. Low sensitivity of the RDTs for identifying P. vivax underscores an urgent need for developing reliable diagnostics.