bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Pretreatment Blood Pressure With Tissue Plasminogen Activator-Induced Arterial Recanalization in Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Tsivgoulis Georgios , Saqqur Maher , Sharma Vijay K. , Lao Annabelle Y. , Hill Michael D. , Alexandrov Andrei V.
Published: January 2007

Background and Purpose—

Elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) and lack of early vessel recanalization are predictors of poor outcome among patients with stroke treated with systemic tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). We aimed to evaluate the potential relationship between pretreatment SBP and tPA-induced recanalization.

Methods—

Consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke resulting from intracranial artery occlusion were treated with standard intravenous tPA and assessed with 2-MHz transcranial Doppler for arterial recanalization. Early arterial recanalization was determined with previously validated Thrombolysis in Brain Ischemia flow grading system at 120 minutes after tPA bolus. Functional outcome at 3 months was evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale.

Results—

A total of 351 patients received intravenous tPA (mean age: 68.7±13.4 years, median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score 16.5). Patients with complete recanalization (n=94) had lower mean pretreatment SBP values (152±23 mm Hg) than patients with incomplete or absent recanalization (n=257, 160±22 mm Hg,
P
=0.010). Pretreatment SBP levels were inversely associated with complete recanalization (OR per 10-mm Hg increase: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.98,
P
=0.022) after adjustment for demographics, risk factors, stroke severity, pretreatment Thrombolysis in Brain Ischemia grades, and continuous versus intermittent exposure to transcranial Doppler. Although patients with poor functional 3-month outcomes (modified Rankin Scale >2) had higher pretreatment SBP values (160±25 mm Hg) than functionally independent patients (154±20 mm Hg,
P
=0.027), pretreatment SBP levels were not independently associated with functional outcome on multivariable analysis. Age, complete recanalization, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and time from symptom onset to tPA bolus were independent (
P
<0.05) predictors of 3-month outcome.

Conclusion—

Higher pretreatment SBP levels are associated with poor recanalization in patients with acute stroke treated with intravenous tPA.
Secondary Stroke Prevention With Ximelagatran Versus Warfarin in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Akins Paul T. , Feldman Harvey A. , Zoble Robert G. , Newman David , Spitzer Stefan G. , Diener Hans-Christoph , Albers Gregory W.
Published: January 2007

Background and Purpose—

Patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at high risk for recurrent stroke. We investigated whether ximelagatran was noninferior to warfarin in patients with prior stroke or TIA.

Methods—

We analyzed pooled data from the SPORTIF III and V trials in patients with prior stroke/TIA. The primary outcome was the composite annual rate of both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes and systemic embolic events. Secondary analyses considered ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes separately, bleeding, and nonrandomized, concomitant therapy with aspirin ≤100 mg/d.

Results—

Patients from SPORTIF III (n=3407) and SPORTIF V (n=3922) trials were categorized by prior stroke/TIA (21%) versus no prior stroke/TIA (79%) and by treatment group (ximelagatran vs warfarin). The primary event rate in patients with prior stroke/TIA was 2.83%/y with ximelagatran and 3.27%/y with warfarin (absolute difference, −0.44%; 95% CI, −1.88 to1.01;
P
=0.625). In those without prior stroke/TIA, the primary event rate was 1.31%/y with ximelagatran and 1.26%/y with warfarin (
P
=NS). Ischemic strokes outnumbered cerebral hemorrhages with both warfarin (31 of 36) and ximelagatran (30 of 32) treatment (difference between treatments was not significant). Combining aspirin with either anticoagulant was associated with higher rates of major bleeding (1.5%/y with warfarin and 4.95%/y with warfarin plus aspirin,
P
=0.004; 2.35%/y with ximelagatran and 5.09%/y with ximelagatran plus aspirin,
P
=0.046) but not lower rates of primary events.

Conclusions—

Ximelagatran was at least as effective as well-controlled warfarin for the secondary prevention of stroke. The nonrandomized, concomitant treatment with aspirin and anticoagulation was associated with increased bleeding without evidence of a reduction in primary outcome events.
Infection After Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Chamorro Ángel , Urra Xabier , Planas Anna M.
Published: January 2007

Background and Purpose—Infection after experimental focal ischemia may result from brain-induced immunodepression, but it is unsettled whether a similar syndrome occurs in human stroke.

Summary of Review—Many patients develop infections shortly after acute stroke regardless of optimal management. Mortality is higher in these patients and the severity of stroke is the strongest determinant of the infectious risk. However, it is controversial whether infections promote neurological worsening or alternatively represent a marker of severe disease. The brain and the immune system are functionally linked through neural and humoral pathways, and decreased immune competence with higher incidence of infections has been demonstrated in several acute neurological conditions. In experimental brain ischemia, infections are associated with the activation of the autonomous nervous system and neuroendocrine pathways, which increase the strength of anti-inflammatory signals. A strong cytokine-mediated anti-inflammatory response was recently observed in stroke patients at higher risk of infection, although infection could not demonstrate an independent association with the progression of the symptoms.

Conclusions—The appearance of infection in patients with acute stroke obeys in part to immunological mechanisms triggered by acute brain injury. An excessive anti-inflammatory response is a key facilitating factor for the development of infection, and it is likely that this immunological response represents an adaptive mechanism to brain ischemia. Contrarily, it is unclear whether infection contributes independently to poor outcome in human stroke. Overall, a better understanding of the cross-talk between the brain and the immune system might lead to more effective therapies in patients with acute stroke.
Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response to Seasonal Modulation of Ocean Color: Impact on Interannual Climate Simulations in the Tropical Pacific
Authors: Ballabrera-Poy J. , Murtugudde R. , Zhang R-H. , Busalacchi A. J.
Published: January 2007

The ability to use remotely sensed ocean color data to parameterize biogenic heating in a coupled ocean–atmosphere model is investigated. The model used is a hybrid coupled model recently developed at the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) by coupling an ocean general circulation model with a statistical atmosphere model for wind stress anomalies. The impact of the seasonal cycle of water turbidity on the annual mean, seasonal cycle, and interannual variability of the coupled system is investigated using three simulations differing in the parameterization of the vertical attenuation of downwelling solar radiation: (i) a control simulation using a constant 17-m attenuation depth, (ii) a simulation with the spatially varying annual mean of the satellite-derived attenuation depth, and (iii) a simulation accounting for the seasonal cycle of the attenuation depth. The results indicate that a more realistic attenuation of solar radiation slightly reduces the cold bias of the model. While a realistic attenuation of solar radiation hardly affects the annual mean and the seasonal cycle due to anomaly coupling, it significantly affects the interannual variability, especially when the seasonal cycle of the attenuation depth is used. The seasonal cycle of the attenuation depth interacts with the low-frequency equatorial dynamics to enhance warm and cold anomalies, which are further amplified via positive air–sea feedbacks. These results also indicate that interannual variability of the attenuation depths is required to capture the asymmetric biological feedbacks during cold and warm ENSO events.
Amazon and Orinoco River Plumes and NBC Rings: Bystanders or Participants in Hurricane Events?
Authors: Ffield Amy
Published: January 2007

The Amazon and Orinoco River plumes and North Brazil Current (NBC) rings are investigated during the 1 June through 30 November Atlantic hurricane season to identify their impact on upper-ocean temperatures in the region and to draw attention to their potential role in hurricane maintenance and intensification. The analysis uses ocean temperature and salinity stratification data, infrared and microwave satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) data, and Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane tracks data. The Amazon–Orinoco River plume spreads into the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean forming an extensive (0°–20°N, 78°–33°W) 10–60-m-thick buoyant surface layer associated with the warmest surface temperatures (up to +3°C) in the region due to the freshwater barrier layer effect. At times the warm Amazon–Orinoco River plume is bisected by cool-surface NBC rings. For the 1960 to 2000 time period, 68% of all category 5 hurricanes passed directly over the historical region of the plume, revealing that most of the most destructive hurricanes may be influenced by ocean–atmosphere interaction with the warm plume just prior to reaching the Caribbean. Statistical analyses of tropical Atlantic SSTs and tropical cyclone wind speeds reveal a significant and unique relationship between warm (cool) SSTs in the Amazon–Orinoco River plume and stronger (weaker) tropical cyclone wind speeds between 35° and 55°W. This implies that warmer (cooler) plume SSTs due to increased (decreased) river discharge may directly contribute to a more (less) vigorous hurricane season.
Early Detection of Changes in the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: Implications for the Design of Ocean Observation Systems
Authors: Keller Klaus , Deutsch Curtis , Hall Matthew G. , Bradford David F.
Published: January 2007

Many climate models predict that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions may cause a threshold response of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC). These model predictions are, however, uncertain. Reducing this uncertainty can have an economic value, because it would allow for the design of more efficient risk management strategies. Early information about the MOC sensitivity to anthropogenic forcing (i.e., information that arrives before the system is committed to a threshold response) could be especially valuable. Here the focus is on one particular kind of information: the detection of anthropogenic MOC changes. It is shown that an MOC observation system based on infrequent (decadal scale) hydrographic observations may well fail in the task of early MOC change detection. This is because this system observes too infrequently and the observation errors are too large. More frequent observations and reduced observation errors would result in earlier detection. It is also shown that the economic value of information associated with a confident and early prediction of an MOC threshold response could exceed the costs of typically implemented ocean observation systems by orders of magnitude. One open challenge is to identify a feasible observation system that would enable such a confident and early MOC prediction across the range of possible MOC responses.
Precipitation and Cloud Structure in Midlatitude Cyclones
Authors: Field Paul R. , Wood Robert
Published: January 2007

Composite mean fields and probability distribution functions (PDFs) of rain rate, cloud type and cover, cloud-top temperature, surface wind velocity, and water vapor path (WVP) are constructed using satellite observations of midlatitude cyclones from four oceanic regions (i.e., the North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, and South Atlantic). Reanalysis surface pressure fields are used to ascertain the locations of the cyclone centers, onto which the satellite fields are interpolated to give a database of ∼1500 cyclones from a two-year period (2003–04). Cyclones are categorized by their strength, defined here using surface wind speed, and by their WVP, and it is found that these two measures can explain a considerable amount of the intercyclone variability of other key variables. Composite cyclones from each of the four ocean basins exhibit similar spatial structure for a given strength and WVP. A set of nine composites is constructed from the database using three strength and three WVP ranges and is used to demonstrate that the mean column relative humidity of these systems varies only slightly (0.58–0.62) for a doubling in WVP (or equivalently a 7-K rise in sea surface temperature) and a 50% increase in cyclone strength. However, cyclone-mean rain rate increases markedly with both cyclone strength and WVP, behavior that is explained with a simple warm conveyor belt model. Systemwide high cloud fraction (tops above 440 hPa) increases from 0.23 to 0.31 as cyclone strength increases by 50%, but does not vary systematically with WVP. It is suggested that the composite fields constitute useful diagnostics for evaluating the behavior of large-scale numerical models, and may provide insight into how precipitation and clouds in midlatitude cyclones respond under a changed climate.
Variability of Tropical Diurnal Sea Surface Temperature*
Authors: Clayson Carol Anne , Weitlich Derrick
Published: January 2007

A dataset consisting of daily diurnal warming values from 1996 through 2000 covering the global Tropics (30°N through 30°S) at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution has been created using a parameterization for the diurnal warming developed previously. The inputs to the parameterization are the peak shortwave solar radiation [determined from International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data] and daily averaged wind speed [determined from Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data]. Comparisons with Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) and Pilot Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) buoys show that the biases are small (mean bias is 0.0012°C; the standard deviation and correlation are 0.26°C and 0.74) and show no discernable geographic bias.

The 5-yr average shows that throughout most regions the values are small, with higher values (approaching 1°C) in the northern Indian Ocean, the western equatorial Pacific, the equatorial eastern Pacific, and several coastal regions. An EOF analysis of the variability indicates that seasonal variability is the most dominant form for each of the basins; in the Atlantic and Pacific basins it is north–south following the solar cycle. In the Indian Ocean the seasonal cycle is dominated by monsoonal variability; both the northern and southern portions of the basin have above-mean or below-mean values at the same times. Seasonal shortwave variability is responsible for the second mode in the Indian Ocean. East–west dipole weight structures appear in the spatial patterns for mode 2 in the Pacific and mode 3 for the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These modes also display seasonally varying characteristics, with late 1997 and early 1998 being somewhat anomalous in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Fall Persistence Barrier of Sea Surface Temperature in the South China Sea Associated with ENSO*
Authors: Chen Jau-Ming , Li Tim , Shih Ching-Feng
Published: January 2007

The authors investigate persistence characteristics of sea surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS) in association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It is found that a persistence barrier exists around October and November. This fall persistence barrier (FPB) is well recognized in the developing phase of strong ENSO cases, but becomes vague in weak ENSO and normal (non-ENSO) cases. During a strong El Niño developing year, salient features of the SCS SST anomaly (SSTA) associated with the FPB include a sign reversal between summer and winter and a rapid warming during fall. One possible cause of these SST changes, as well as the occurrence of the FPB, is the development and evolution of a low-level anomalous anticyclone (LAAC). The analyses show that the LAAC emerges in the northern Indian Ocean in early northern fall, moves eastward into the SCS during fall, and eventually anchors in the Philippine Sea in northern winter. This provides a new scenario for the generation of the anomalous Philippine Sea anticyclone previously studied. Its eastward movement appears to result from an east–west asymmetry, relative to the anticyclonic circulation center, of divergent flow and associated atmospheric vertical motion/moisture fields. The eastward passage of the LAAC across the SCS warms the underlying SST first via increased absorption of solar heating in October as it suppresses convective activities in situ, and next via decreased evaporative cooling in November and December as the total wind speed is weakened by the outer flows of the eastward-displacing LAAC. As such, the SCS SST changes quickly from a cold to a warm anomaly during fall, resulting in an abrupt change in anomaly patterns and the occurrence of the FPB. Analyses also suggest that the LAAC development during fall is relatively independent from the preceding Indian summer monsoon and the longitudinal propagation features of the ENSO-related Pacific SSTA. The aforementioned ocean–atmosphere anomalies contain an opposite polarity in a strong La Niña event. The low-level circulation anomaly weakens in intensity during weak ENSO cases and simply disappears during normal cases. As a result, the SCS FPB becomes indiscernible in these cases.
Impact of Remote Reemergence of the Subtropical Mode Water on Winter SST Variation in the Central North Pacific
Authors: Sugimoto Shusaku , Hanawa Kimio
Published: January 2007

Using long-term datasets of sea surface temperature (SST), core-layer temperature (CLT) of the North Pacific subtropical mode water (NPSTMW), and the North Pacific index, an impact of remote reemergence of NPSTMW on winter SST variation in the central North Pacific is quantitatively investigated.

A running correlation analysis between CLT and winter SST in the remote reemergence area clearly shows that an occurrence of remote reemergence of NPSTMW strongly depends on the specific time period: occurrence period and nonoccurrence period. It is found that background conditions, such as formation rate of NPSTMW, winter mixed layer depth, ocean heat content, and buoyancy flux, play a crucial role in the period-dependent remote reemergence. In the occurrence (nonoccurrence) periods, since a large positive (negative) upper-ocean heat content anomaly is located around the central North Pacific, a deeper (shallower) winter mixed layer is formed in both the formation area and the reemergence area of NPSTMW. Therefore, a large (small) amount of NPSTMW is formed, and consequently the advective part of NPSTMW is preserved (dissipated) from (because of) a vigorous mixing due to salt-finger-type convection. In addition, larger (less) oceanic buoyancy loss contributes to an occurrence of reemergence. These are favorable (unfavorable) conditions for persistence of thermal anomalies and occurrence of reemergence in the central North Pacific.

Using a multiple regression analysis, it is shown that remote reemergence gives a significant impact to an equivalent degree to the surface thermal forcing related with the Aleutian low activity on winter SST variation during the occurrence periods, while there is no significant contribution to SST variation during the nonoccurrence periods. It is also shown that the period-dependent reemergence closely connects with the Aleutian low activity with a lag of 6 to 8 yr, that is, the spinup/spindown of the subtropical gyre.
Estimation of the Impact of Sampling Errors in the VOS Observations on Air–Sea Fluxes. Part I: Uncertainties in Climate Means
Authors: Gulev Sergey , Jung Thomas , Ruprecht Eberhard
Published: January 2007

Sampling uncertainties in the voluntary observing ship (VOS)-based global ocean–atmosphere flux fields were estimated using the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis and ECMWF 40-yr Re-Analysis (ERA-40) as well as seasonal forecasts without data assimilation. Air–sea fluxes were computed from 6-hourly reanalyzed individual variables using state-of-the-art bulk formulas. Individual variables and computed fluxes were subsampled to simulate VOS-like sampling density. Random simulation of the number of VOS observations and simulation of the number of observations with contemporaneous sampling allowed for estimation of random and total sampling uncertainties respectively. Although reanalyses are dependent on VOS, constituting an important part of data assimilation input, it is assumed that the reanalysis fields adequately reproduce synoptic variability at the sea surface. Sampling errors were quantified by comparison of the regularly sampled (i.e., 6 hourly) and subsampled monthly fields of surface variables and fluxes. In poorly sampled regions random sampling errors amount to 2.5°–3°C for air temperature, 3 m s−1 for the wind speed, 2–2.5 g kg−1 for specific humidity, and 15%–20% of the total cloud cover. The highest random sampling errors in surface fluxes were found for the sensible and latent heat flux and range from 30 to 80 W m−2. Total sampling errors in poorly sampled areas may be higher than random ones by 60%. In poorly sampled subpolar latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and throughout much of the Southern Ocean the total sampling uncertainty in the net heat flux can amount to 80–100 W m−2. The highest values of the uncertainties associated with the interpolation/extrapolation into unsampled grid boxes are found in subpolar latitudes of both hemispheres for the turbulent fluxes, where they can be comparable with the sampling errors. Simple dependencies of the sampling errors on the number of samples and the magnitude of synoptic variability were derived. Sampling errors estimated from different reanalyses and from seasonal forecasts yield qualitatively comparable spatial patterns, in which the actual values of uncertainties are controlled by the magnitudes of synoptic variability. Finally, estimates of sampling uncertainties are compared with the other errors in air–sea fluxes and the reliability of the estimates obtained is discussed.
Regional Climate Model Simulations of U.S. Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature during 1982–2002: Interannual Variation
Authors: Zhu Jinhong , Liang Xin-Zhong
Published: January 2007

The fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)-based regional climate model (CMM5) capability in simulating the interannual variations of U.S. precipitation and surface air temperature during 1982–2002 is evaluated with a continuous baseline integration driven by the NCEP–Department of Energy (DOE) Second Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project Reanalysis (R-2). It is demonstrated that the CMM5 has a pronounced downscaling skill for precipitation and temperature interannual variations. The EOF and correlation analyses illustrate that, for both quantities, the CMM5 captures the spatial pattern, temporal evolution, and circulation teleconnections much better than the R-2. In particular, the CMM5 more realistically simulates the precipitation pattern centered in the Northwest, where the representation of the orographic enhancement by the forced uplifting during winter (rainy season) is greatly improved over the R-2.

The downscaling skill, however, is sensitive to the cumulus parameterization. This sensitivity is studied by comparing the baseline with a branch summer integration replacing the Grell with the Kain–Fritsch cumulus scheme in the CMM5. The dominant EOF mode of the U.S. summer precipitation interannual variation, identified with the out-of-phase relationship between the Midwest and Southeast in observations, is reproduced more accurately by the Grell than the Kain–Fritsch scheme, which largely underestimates the variation in the Midwest. This pattern is associated with east–west movement of the Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ): a more western position corresponds to a stronger southerly flow bringing more moisture and heavier rainfall in the Midwest and less in the Southeast. The second EOF pattern, which describes the consistent variation over the southern part of the Midwest and the South in observations, is captured better by the Kain–Fritsch scheme than the Grell, whose pattern systematically shifts southward.
An Analysis of EU Growth Trends, with a Particular Focus on Germany, France, Italy and the UK
Authors: McMorrow Kieran , Roger Werner
Published: January 2007

Since the mid-1990s the growth performance of the Euro Area as a whole, despite some good individual country performances, has failed to keep pace with developments elsewhere in the EU (including the UK) and also in the US. This is especially the case for a number of the larger Euro Area economies. Despite an encouraging performance in terms of its labour input trends, there has been a significant, offsetting, deterioration in the Euro Area's underlying productivity performance. This is driven in large part, worryingly, by a marked downward shift in the growth rate of total factor productivity. Looking to the future, no significant recovery is predicted in the Euro Area's underlying economic performance over the period 2007–11. While the policy challenge is a serious one, the Euro Area as a whole can take comfort from the fact that the gains from a successful refocusing of its overall reform agenda could be considerable. For example, the progressive introduction of the five key measures linked to the Lisbon strategy (i.e. the services directive; reduction of the administrative burden; improving human capital; 3 per cent R&D target; and increases in the employment rate) could boost the Euro Area's economic and employment growth rates by more than ½ a percentage point annually for more than a decade. Such an outturn would give the Euro Area a potential growth rate of around 2½ per cent, a rate of growth which in per capita terms would be broadly comparable to that of the US over the 2007–15 time period and, on the basis of current trends and policies, slightly better than that of the UK.
Decomposing Growth in France, Germany and the United Kingdom Using Growth Accounting and Production Function Approaches
Authors: Barrell Ray , Guillemineau Catherine , Holland Dawn
Published: January 2007

This paper uses Growth Accounting and Production Function Analysis to decompose the factors behind differences in growth between the UK, France and Germany between 1992 and 2005. Most of the growth differential between the United Kingdom, Germany and France since 1993 can be explained by structural factors. The United Kingdom's higher growth has originated essentially in the finance and business sector, which is ICT-intensive. Germany's weak growth reflects in large part the aftermath of the unification shock and a continued fall in the labour input. At the same time there has been a sharp slowdown in knowledge accumulation, which seems to have restrained labour productivity growth. After EMU, the performance of German manufacturing improved relative to both France and the United Kingdom, while capital deepening became less supportive to growth because of lower investment in infrastructures and dwellings. France's higher growth relative to Germany since 1999 comes essentially from the non-tradable sectors and from a higher labour input. This may be partly related to a more significant decline in the volatility of real interest rates.
Rapidly Rising Energy Prices: Does the Driver of the Energy Market Imbalance Matter?
Authors: Bebee Jared , Hunt Ben
Published: January 2007

This paper uses a variant of the IMF's Global Economy Model (GEM) to examine the macroeconomic impact of the rise in energy prices since the end of 2003 in the Euro Area, the United Kingdom and the United Sates. The analysis illustrates how the impact varies across these countries based on their level of energy use and energy production. In addition, the analysis uses Euro Area simulations to consider how the macroeconomic implications depend on the factors driving higher energy prices. If labour supply or tradable sector productivity increases in emerging Asian economies are an important factor driving energy price increases, then industrial countries receive some positive terms-of-trade effects coming through non-energy tradable goods that offset some of the negative implications of permanently higher real energy prices. The stronger are the industrial countries' trade links with emerging Asia, the larger will be the offsets.
Advertising and Publicity: Suggested New Applications for Tourism Marketers
Authors: Loda Marsha D. , Norman William , Backman Kenneth F.
Published: January 2007

This research explores two of the basic tools used by tourism marketers: advertising and publicity. Message stimulus is the independent variable and consists of two parts: message presentation (i.e., publicity or advertising) and message sequencing (i.e., publicity only, publicity then advertising, advertising only, or advertising then publicity). Four dependent variables are organized in two categories: message acceptance (i.e., perceived credibility, message strength) and message response (i.e., attitude toward the destination, purchase intent). Results of the study show that publicity, in either presentation or sequencing, created significantly higher mean scores than advertising for credibility, message strength, and purchase intent. This study reaffirms that publicity is an important element in the tourism marketing mix. Furthermore, it suggests that a publicity-then-advertising strategy is most effective at persuading potential tourists to visit a specific destination.
A Behavioral Assessment of Tourism Transportation Options for Reducing Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gases
Authors: Kelly Joe , Haider Wolfgang , Williams Peter W.
Published: January 2007

This article outlines an approach for examining tourist-destination travel mode choices and forecasting the resulting environmental impact of those selections. Using the tourism destination of Whistler, British Columbia, as a case study, the article initially describes a discrete-choice experiment (DCE) used to estimate tourist mode-choice behavior under different transportation-planning scenarios. It then incorporates the DCE findings into a technical, bottom-up energy-use model to create behaviorally shaped estimates of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The findings suggest that innovative transportation-management strategies can encourage tourists to use public-transit modes rather than private or rental vehicles to access tourism destinations. The modal shifts caused by these initiatives can significantly affect the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with land-based visitor travel. The findings contribute to the growing theoretical and applied strategies needed to inform the creation of more sustainable forms of tourism-destination development.
Implications of Global Climate Change for Tourism Flows and Seasonality
Authors: Amelung Bas , Nicholls Sarah , Viner David
Published: January 2007

Tourism is a climate-dependent industry, and many destinations owe their popularity to their pleasant climates during traditional holiday seasons. This article explores the potential implications of climate change for global tourism, with special emphasis on seasonality. Combination of two climate change scenarios with the Tourism Climatic Index reveals that the locations of climatically ideal tourism conditions are likely to shift poleward under projected climate change. Whereas destinations such as the Mediterranean may see shifts in their peak seasons from summer months to current shoulder periods, regions in higher latitudes are likely to experience a lengthening of their summer seasons. The effects of these changes will depend greatly on the flexibility demonstrated by institutions and tourists as they react to climate change, with substantial implications for both spatial and temporal redistribution of tourism activities. The reader is referred to http://www.carrs.msu.edu/Main/People/faculty%20bios/extra/nicho210- journal.pdf to view the full series of color maps accompanying these analyses.
Relationships between Travel Information Search and Travel Product Purchase in Pretrip Contexts
Authors: Jun Soo Hyun , Vogt Christine A. , MacKay Kelly J.
Published: January 2007

This study adds to understanding the relationships between travel information search and product purchase behaviors by examining online and offline information search and purchase behaviors. A conceptual model of travel planning was developed from case-based vacation planning theory. Results indicated travel information search and product purchase commitments in the pretrip stage are different, travel information search and product purchase vary by travel product categories in the pretrip stage, and travel experiences influence travel information search and product purchase for certain travel products in the pretrip stage. This study suggests that travel-planning theory is strong in explaining complex travel behaviors.
Heritage/Cultural Attraction Atmospherics: Creating the Right Environment for the Heritage/Cultural Visitor
Authors: Bonn Mark A. , Joseph-Mathews Sacha M. , Dai Mo , Hayes Steve , Cave Jenny
Published: January 2007

The popular press is replete with articles discussing the various remodeling efforts afoot in many of the prominent heritage attractions worldwide. Undoubtedly, museum curators have acknowledged the tremendous role external surroundings can play in the overall experience of the heritage visitor. This study investigates the effect of some basic environmental elements on visitors to heritage sites, illustrating that the heritage attraction’s physical environment plays an important role in determining both visitors’ attitude toward the heritage attraction and future repatronage intentions, as well as their willingness to recommend the experience to friends and relatives. The study findings indicate that environmental cues can be used as a differential tool to perpetuate brand meaning and uniqueness in the minds of the consumer, thereby creating a competitive advantage for the heritage attraction.
Politics of Identity and Space: Representational Dynamics
Authors: Santos Carla Almeida , Buzinde Christine
Published: January 2007

This study adopted a symbolic interactionist perspective to examine representational dynamics of a given contested space in which social agents and institutions interact to commodify cultural identity for touristic purposes; it does so by examining the toured Puerto Rican neighborhood of Humboldt Park, Chicago. Interviews conducted with 14 Puerto Rican community members revealed that the awareness of past gentrification experiences as well as current impending gentrification have shaped how agents residing in Humboldt Park represent their neighborhoods’ cultural identity for tourism purposes in three main ways. First, respondents invoke historical detail to represent themselves to tourists as the legitimate residents of Humboldt Park. Second, respondents call on elaborate architectural features to construct representations that affirm their cultural identity through space demarcation. Third, respondents favor tourism representations that focus on the neighborhood’s rich legacy, presence, and persistence in Humboldt Park.
Regulatory Focus and Illusions of Control
Authors: Langens Thomas A.
Published: January 2007

Regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997, 1998) suggests that individuals in a promotion focus emphasize a congruence between an action and an intended outcome, which may foster illusions of control (IOC) even in the absence of an objective relationship between action and outcome. Individuals in a prevention focus should demonstrate a reverse bias that buffers against the development of IOC. Three studies were conducted to test this hypothesis, which either measured chronic individual differences in regulatory focus (Study 1) or manipulated regulatory focus (Studies 2 and 3). All studies found evidence that promotion-focused individuals report higher IOC concerning an uncontrollable outcome than prevention-focused individuals. In addition, Study 3 showed that IOC developed in a promotion focus buffer against the emotional consequences of failure. The results suggest that IOC evolve in a way that increases regulatory fit (Higgins, 2000).
Power, Propensity to Negotiate, and Moving First in Competitive Interactions
Authors: Magee Joe C. , Galinsky Adam D. , Gruenfeld Deborah H
Published: January 2007

Five experiments investigated how the possession and experience of power affects the initiation of competitive interaction. In Experiments 1a and 1b, high-power individuals displayed a greater propensity to initiate a negotiation than did low-power individuals. Three additional experiments showed that power increased the likelihood of making the first move in a variety of competitive interactions. In Experiment 2, participants who were semantically primed with power were nearly 4 times as likely as participants in a control condition to choose to make the opening arguments in a debate competition scenario. In Experiment 3, negotiators with strong alternatives to a negotiation were more than 3 times as likely to spontaneously express an intention to make the first offer compared to participants who lacked any alternatives. Experiment 4 showed that high-power negotiators were more likely than low-power negotiators to actually make the first offer and that making the first offer produced a bargaining advantage.
Antecedents of Men’s Hostile and Benevolent Sexism: The Dual Roles of Social Dominance Orientation and Right-Wing Authoritarianism
Authors: Sibley Chris G. , Wilson Marc S. , Duckitt John
Published: January 2007

The authors argue that individual differences in men’s Benevolent Sexism (BS) stem from a threat-driven security-cohesion motivation, indexed by Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), whereas Hostile Sexism (HS) stems from a competitively driven motivation for intergroup dominance, indexed by Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). In Study 1, meta-analysis indicated that men’s SDO (controlling for RWA) was moderately positively associated with HS (r = .35) but not BS (r = .05), whereas men’s RWA (controlling for SDO) was moderately associated with BS (r = .36) but only weakly associated with HS (r = .16). Study 2 replicated and extended these results by also modeling the dual personality traits and world-views underlying HS and BS. In Study 3, longitudinal analyses demonstrated that SDO predicted increases in HS (but not BS) and RWA predicted increases in BS (but not HS) throughout a 5-month period. Relations between the sociostructural and individual difference bases of men’s ambivalent sexism are discussed.
Shared Cognition as a Product of, and Precursor to, Shared Identity in Negotiations
Authors: Swaab Roderick , Postmes Tom , van Beest Ilja , Spears Russell
Published: January 2007

Three studies examined the hypothesis that shared cognition and group identification can be each other’s catalysts as well as driving forces behind multiparty negotiation outcomes that might not otherwise be realized. Experiment 1 demonstrates that clear links exist between communication, the development of shared cognition and group identification, and integrative outcomes. The subsequent experiments isolated the causal directions of these links. Experiment 2 showed that stronger group identification before interaction was associated with the development of shared cognition in a subsequent phase of negotiation, which then increased the attainment of integrative outcomes. Conversely, a direct manipulation of shared cognition in Experiment 3 resulted in stronger identification during negotiation, which then led to more integrative outcomes. Thus, we find support for the theoretical claim that group identification can be both the product of, and precursor to, the development of shared cognition, with communication functioning as the interface between the two.
Giving Up on Unattainable Goals: Benefits for Health?
Authors: Wrosch Carsten , Miller Gregory E. , Scheier Michael F. , de Pontet Stephanie Brun
Published: January 2007

Three studies examined associations between goal disengagement and goal reengagement tendencies and indicators of physical health (e.g., health problems, cortisol rhythms, sleep efficiency). Based on research showing that goal adjustment tendencies are associated with subjective well-being, the authors predicted that people who are better able to disengage from unattainable goals and reengage with alternative goals also may experience better physical health. Across the three studies, the findings demonstrate that the ability to disengage from unattainable goals is associated with better self-reported health and more normative patterns of diurnal cortisol secretion. Goal reengagement, by contrast, was unrelated to indicators of physical health but buffered some of the adverse effects of difficulty with goal disengagement. The results also indicate that subjective well-being can mediate the associations between goal disengagement tendencies and physical health.
From NASCAR Nation to Pat Tillman
Authors: Kusz Kyle W.
Published: January 2007

The author offers some developing thoughts on a domestic White cultural nationalism that emerged from the ashes of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. More specifically, the author reads the November 10, 2003, National Review cover story and the media spectacle made of Pat Tillman’s death in 2004 while serving in President Bush’s war on terror in the Afghanistan theater as expressions, and producers, of a reactionary White cultural nationalism that emerged in post-9/11 America. In articulating this National Review cover story about NASCAR with the media spectacle made of Pat Tillman’s death and life, one will be able to see how sport—particularly media discourses about sport figures and formations—is being mobilized in post-9/11 America to express, naturalize, and garner public consent for this reactionary form of White cultural nationalism.
Staging the Winter Olympics
Authors: King C. Richard
Published: January 2007

This essay offers a critical reading of the entanglements of White power and the Olympic Games. On the one hand, it traces the centrality of Eurocentrism and White supremacy to the invention and elaboration of the Olympic Games. On the other hand, it highlights the preoccupations of contemporary advocates of White power through an overview of their interpretations of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Throughout, the discussion pays special attention to why sport matters to White power.
The Construction of Black Masculinity
Authors: Ferber Abby L.
Published: January 2007

How can a White supremacist nation, which subjects Black men to ongoing racism and demonization, at the same time admire and worship Black men as athletes? The author argues that key elements of White supremacy and the new racism are reinforced by popular representations of Black male athletes. In viewing far-Right White supremacist and sports cultures, two sites representing seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum of contemporary racism, the author examines the continuing significance of the historical image of the buck and the obsession with controlling and “taming” Black male bodies. The author examines four common themes that permeate the contemporary construction of Black masculinity and work to justify color-blind racism and inequality: a continued emphasis on Black bodies as inherently aggressive, hypersexual, and violent; concern with taming and controlling Black males; inequality depicted as a product of a deficient Black culture; and the naturalization of White supremacy and White male superiority.
Rush Limbaugh, Donovan McNabb, and “A Little Social Concern”
Authors: Hartmann Douglas
Published: January 2007

This article offers an interpretative case study of the controversy that surrounded Rush Limbaugh’s comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb near the beginning of the 2003 National Football League season. Informed by critical race theory, the analysis argues that Limbaugh’s remarks were a textbook example of how the rhetoric of Whiteness operates to assert the cultural normativity of the dominant group and legitimate its privilege. That sport leaders and commentators roundly rejected Limbaugh’s comments and pushed for his removal gives the impression that the sporting establishment was unusually progressive and enlightened on these issues. However, closer reading and basic content analysis suggests that the ideas mobilized to put Limbaugh in his place—specifically those involving the supposed sanctity and colorblindness of sport—were in many ways complicit with Limbaugh’s own White supremacy. Consideration of the market forces that allowed Limbaugh’s hiring implicates sport even further. Lessons for Whiteness theory, White supremacy, and the relationships between them are discussed.
The Efficacy of the Rio Hondo DUI Court
Authors: MacDonald John M. , Morral Andrew R. , Raymond Barbara , Eibner Christine
Published: January 2007

This study reports results from an evaluation of the experimental Rio Hondo driving under the influence (DUI) court of Los Angeles County, California. Interviews and official record checks with 284 research participants who were randomly assigned to a DUI court or a traditional criminal court were assessed at baseline and at 24-month follow-up. The interviews assessed the impact of the DUI court on self-reported drunk driving behavior, the completion of treatment, time spent in jail, alcohol use, and stressful life events. Official record checks assessed the impact of the DUI court on subsequent arrests for driving under the influence and other drinking-related behaviors. Few differences on any outcomes were observed between participants in the experimental DUI court and those assigned to the traditional court. The results suggest that the DUI court model had little additional therapeutic or public safety benefit over the traditional court process. The implication of these findings for the popularity of specialized courts for treating social problems is discussed.
Institutional, Economic, or Solidaristic? Assessing Explanations for Unionization Across Affluent Democracies
Authors: Brady David
Published: January 2007

This study assesses three explanations for cross-national differences in unionization: Western’s (1997) institutional model, economic explanations based on the business cycle or globalization, and Hechter’s (2004) solidaristic theory. This study features a multilevel analysis of employed workers with the late 1990s World Values surveys of 18 affluent democracies. The analyses generally support the institutional model. Left parties and ghent systems remain influential, though ghent is less robust. Neo-corporatism and wage coordination are insignificant whereas workplace access is the more salient indicator of centralization. Beyond Western’s model, right cabinet significantly weakens unionization. Refuting economic explanations, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth, as well as international trade and investment, do not influence unionization. Consistent with Hechter’s claims, the welfare state reduces unionization but, contradicting his claims, immigration does not undermine unions. Ultimately, this study supports a revised institutional model that supplements Western’s model with right cabinet and the welfare state.