Consumers are more likely to choose products when marketers withhold some favorable information until late in the choice process, according to the Journal of Consumer Research. But marketers need to walk a fine line to disclose information at just the right time. "Conventional wisdom suggests that when seeking to persuade consumers to buy certain products, sellers ought to always 'put their best foot forward' by providing as much favorable information about these products as possible once they have consumers' attention," write authors Xin Ge (University of Northern British ...

The tornado that touched down in Joplin, Missouri earlier this year reminds us just how devastating natural disasters can be. This deadly tornado not only destroyed countless homes, but also decimated a number of Joplin businesses in the process. In a statement to CBS News, Rob O'Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, estimated that as many as 300 businesses were lost due to the tornado - affecting as many as 4,000 jobs. Many of the area's largest employers, including national chains and large businesses, have pledged to rebuild. Even small, local ...

People whose basic needs are met get more life satisfaction when they are more connected to others and when they experience greater autonomy, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But those who live in dire conditions have little hope of achieving such satisfaction. "About three-fourths of the planet's population lives in nations with less than ideal material conditions, defined by low levels of marketplace abundance and lack of bargaining power necessary to access this abundance," write authors Kelly D. Martin (Colorado State University) and Ronald ...

When consumers share their thoughts about products or experiences, their opinions can intensify, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But it depends on whether they're talking about something sensory or practical. "Consumers constantly share stories with others about products and services through word of mouth (WOM)," writes author Sarah G. Moore (University of Alberta). "How does sharing WOM change storytellers' feelings about their own experiences? Does sharing stories make consumers like the experience more or less than before? Moore asks. In ...

Despite the proliferation of social networks, many Americans feel alone and isolated. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, lonely individuals behave differently in the marketplace than people with strong social networks. "Despite the popularity of Wi-Fi technologies and social networks such as Facebook, Americans are more socially isolated than two decades ago," write authors Jing Wang (University of Iowa), Rui (Juliet) Zhu (University of British Columbia), and Baba Shiv (Stanford University). According to the authors, in 2004 almost twenty five ...

It costs 8 percent more on average than it did two years ago for Washington residents to make ends meet, according to a new report from a University of Washington research group. A single parent with one preschooler and one school-age child living in Seattle needs an annual income of $56,904 – up 13 percent from $50,268 two years ago – to meet the family's most basic requirements, according to the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2011 released today. A similar family living in Spokane County needs $41,750, up 8 percent from $38,562 two years ago. "Even ...

Two previously unassociated proteins known to be overly active in a variety of cancers bind together to ignite and sustain malignant brain tumors, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Cancer Cell. This research is the first to connect FoxM1 to a molecular signaling cascade that regulates normal neural stem cells, said senior author, Suyun Huang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Neurosurgery. "When FoxM1 binds to beta-catenin, we found that it also supports ...

by: Edward Macey A recent ruling from Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals specifically confirms that the federal civil rights laws protect certain volunteers from discrimination at work. The case brought by a volunteer firefighter against the Middlefield Fire Dept. was originally thrown out before trial by the lower court. The Appeals court ruling reverses the lower court and sends the discrimination case back for trial, based on a determination that the law's protection against discrimination and harassment for "employees" includes employees who are unpaid. The ...

Athletes know they should just do their thing on the 18th hole, or during the penalty shootout, or when they're taking a 3-point shot in the last moments of the game. But when that shot could mean winning or losing, it's easy to choke. A new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looks at why paying too much attention to what you're doing can ruin performance. "We think when you're under pressure, that your attention goes inward naturally. Suddenly it means so much, you want to make sure ...

"What makes a great violinist, physicist, or crossword puzzle solver? Are experts born or made? The question has intrigued psychologists since psychology was born -- and the rest of us, too, who may secretly fantasize playing duets with Yo Yo Ma or winning a Nobel Prize in science. It's no wonder Malcolm Gladwell stayed atop the bestseller lists by popularizing the "10,000-hour rule" of Florida State University psychologist K. Anders Ericsson. Using Ericsson's pioneering work -- but omitting equally prominent, contradictory, research -- Gladwell's book Outliers argued that ...

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped one arm of a three arm multi-center, clinical trial studying treatments for the lung-scarring disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) for safety concerns. The trial found that people with IPF receiving a currently used triple-drug therapy consisting of prednisone, azathioprine, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) had worse outcomes than those who received placebos, or inactive substances. "These findings underscore why treatments must be evaluated in a rigorous manner," ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Recent studies have suggested that C-11 choline positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans can be utilized as a staging and potentially therapeutic tool in prostate cancer. The results of three studies, released today during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/default.aspx), validate findings in Europe and expand the potential use of C-11 choline PET scans. One study found that C-11 choline PET/CT scans can be used as a staging tool rather than multiple x-rays, ...

A recent study conducted by Rice University reveals that children of divorced parents typically receive less college financial aid from their parents as compared with children of intact marriages. The study surveyed 2,400 undergraduate students and was published in SAGE Publications' June 2011 issue of its "Journal of Family Issues." The study examined whether divorced/separated and remarried parents contribute less in absolute dollars, as a proportion of their income, and as a proportion of their children's financial need, toward their children's college ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The prostate-specific antigen test, commonly known as the PSA test, is valuable in predicting which men should have biopsies and which are likely to be diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings were released today during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/default.aspx) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "The decision to use the PSA test is best made by the patient, in consultation with his doctor," says R. Jeffrey Karnes, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/12463493.html), ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A Mayo Clinic study finds no correlation between the use of shock waves to break up kidney stones and the long-term development of diabetes. The study was released Friday during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/default.aspx) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "We did not identify a significant correlation between shockwave lithotripsy and the long-term development of diabetes mellitus," says Matthew Gettman, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/11940808.html), a Mayo Clinic urologist and co-author ...

Boulder, CO, USA - Another packed issue of GEOLOGY, The Geological Society of America's premier journal and the top-most cited geoscience journal in the world (http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=1907) is online in pre-issue publication. Topics include the San Andreas Fault and SAFOD; the 1944 Tonankai earthquake, Japan; Bonin Island beach sands; the fluid properties of ice; fracturing of the Panamanian Isthmus; diatoms from Ocean Drilling Program Site U1304; China's Loess Plateau; deglaciation and climate change in Turkey; an ancient Death Valley landslide; ...

Researchers from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, have identified a cell cycle-regulated mechanism behind the transformation of normal cells into cancerous cells. The study shows the significant role that protein networks can play in a cell leading to the development of cancer. The study results, published in the October 21 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, suggest that inhibition of the CK1 enzyme may be a new therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer cells formed as a result of a malfunction in the cell's ...

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there is a drunk driving accident fatality every 23 minutes -- with most of them occurring between midnight and 3 a.m. In order to address this issue, and keep the roads safe, the agency launched the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign, which is designed to educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving during nighttime hours and remind drivers that law enforcement will vigilantly patrol at night to keep drunk drivers off the road. "While we have made great strides in reducing drunk driving ...

A recent story in the Tennessean noted that law enforcement in Tennessee is getting ready for an increase of heroin use. The increase, it is suggested, is due to prescription drug users needing a less expensive replacement for their increasingly expensive drugs and dealers' aggressive marketing techniques. The article quotes Dr. Terry Alley, as saying "What's happened is the people who sell this product have made it appear safer, made it less expensive, and they give you the misconception that it's less harmful if you smoke it." He is an addiction specialist ...

Voyages Jules Verne has announced the launch of its Classic Journeys 2011 and 2012 brochure, featuring a host of travel ideas including tours, cruises, trains, resorts and weekends. In association with their longstanding overseas partners, Voyages Jules Verne is delighted to present this compendium of travel opportunities by air, boat and rail, including special sightseeing arrangements and many VJV special events. Among the selection of worldwide departures available until late 2012 are three new tours: Norway's 'Journey to the Arctic Circle' to the remote regions of ...

onShore Networks, completeIT (R) services, recently announced the winners of the onShore Non-profit Giveaway. Because non-profit organizations give so much to the community, onShore Networks decided to give something back. Chicago-area non-profit organizations were invited to select an award from a list of technology services provided by onShore Networks. Organizations that registered were encouraged to spread the word to gather votes for their organization. The contest ran for sixteen weeks. After the votes were tallied, onShore Networks awarded free technology services ...

FrontDoorSoftware Corporation brought home the top prize at the recent VatorSplash competition for entrepreneurs in San Francisco. FrontDoorSoftware wowed the judges with its impressive business plan and opportunity for growth and impact to beat out more than 170 other entrants for the competition's top prize. "We are so honored to win such a prestigious competition like VatorSplash," said Carrie Hafeman, president of FrontDoorSoftware Corporation. "We felt so lucky to have heard our name called and we are really excited about the potential outcome from ...

XPO, a leading provider of international and domestic mailing services, announced today, for the third year, its new Inc. 5000's list of "Fastest Growing Private Companies in America" rankings. The esteemed list is an elite ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies comprised of innovative entrepreneurs. This year, XPO achieved a string of high rankings: 110 in their Logistics & Transportation category, 247 in the Los Angeles Metro area, 623 in California and 647 as a Top Women Run Company nationwide. Inc. 500/5000 is ranked according to ...

Namosofts Music Recovery is a data recovery software that has been developed especially to recover lost music or audio files which have been deleted or corrupted. It is an easy to use data recovery software that can recover MP3 files, WMA files and all other popular music files that have been deleted or lost from your iPod, iPhone, iPad, MP3 player or MP4 player. It can also recover music files from memory cards, hard drives, USB Flash Drive. Namosofts Music Recovery is data recovery software that has been developed especially to recover lost music files. It understands ...

Have you ever wondered what it's really like to sail around the world or even do Slocum's Wake? Well, on October 27th Nat and Betsy Warren-White will share lots of stories and photographs of their adventure "Sailing in Slocum's Wake: Round the World in Five Years". Their voyage eventually took nearly 5 years to complete and along the way they encountered challenging weather, visited with some extraordinary people in amazing places and with the help of more than 50 crew including his son Josh (named after Joshua Slocum). By the time they returned to Maine ...