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Background: Fast food establishments are available on many college campuses and, as a result, many students consume foods that are high in calories and contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Purpose: This study measured college students' knowledge of the calorie content for fast food items and whether the provision of calorie information for those foods influenced their future purchasing intentions. Method: Randomly selected undergraduate college students (N = 201) completed an online survey that measured baseline knowledge of calorie content for a fast food item and intention to purchase that item in the future. After provision of accurate calorie information, students were posttested for intention to purchase that item in the future. Results: The majority of students underestimated calorie content for fast food items. After receiving accurate calorie information, those who initially underestimated calorie content were significantly more likely to change their intention to purchase that food item in the future. Discussion: Many college students are interested in avoiding high-calorie fast food items but are uninformed about calorie content. Translation to Health Education Practice: Colleges should provide calorie information for fast food items at the point of purchase so that students can make informed decisions that will promote their health. © 2015, Copyright © SHAPE America.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative methodology that uniquely involves stakeholders in all stages of the research process. CBPR has been widely utilized in the field of public health, but not widely employed with college populations. This study utilized CBPR methods within a college community to gain insight into excessive alcohol consumption. Six student researchers planned and carried out a rigorous qualitative study at a public university in the Northeast region of the United States. A total of 48 undergraduate participants were recruited for focus groups that were facilitated by two student researchers, and transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Students' reasons for drinking alcohol were focused within the themes of inclusion, habitual default, and the student development process. Social media, strict policy/enforcement, and student's desire to avoid responsibility led to increased risk and consequences related to drinking. Students recommended late night transportation and a Good Samaritan policy as strategies to improve student safety. This study led to student advocacy and policy change directed at improving student's health and safety and demonstrated that CBPR methods show promise for engaging students and producing meaningful data.

The observation that “(d)rugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them” seems obvious; however, for older people living with HIV and cardiovascular disease (CVD), the potential for taking large numbers of medications on a regular basis may present as an overwhelming task, particularly as HIV and CVD progress and worsen over time. The extent to which older people living with HIV and CVD follow medication schedules for the treatment of these chronic health conditions is not understood well, and myriad questions exist with regard to medication adherence and older people living with HIV and CVD. For instance, do older people living with HIV and CVD take all medications as prescribed? Does this group prioritize which medications to take, perhaps demonstrating a preference for taking antiretroviral medications for the treatment of HIV as opposed to statins for the treatment of CVD? In the process of answering these and other questions, recognizing the individual and his or her attitudes and behaviors within the context of the dyadic relationship shared between patient and physician is paramount. Developing a more thorough understanding of this dyadic relationship allows for a better grasp of the context within which medication adherence occurs for older people living with HIV and CVD. That said, because of the ability to lend itself to an understanding of human behavior, human development, and psychology, the Andersen and Newman Behavioral Model of Health Service Use provides a worthwhile conceptual basis for beginning to answer these questions. © 2015 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

The chapter traces the development of Orthodoxy by focusing on the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church in the early modern period. It is based on the premise that in both cases Orthodoxy faced three main challenges: imperial/political, intellectual, and financial. In both the Ottoman and the Russian empires, the Orthodox Church played important roles in the political, administrative, cultural, economic, ideological, and social lives of the Orthodox believers. Orthodoxy usually provided legitimizing ideological support to state authority, was forced to reckon with Western cultural and theological trends, and also proactively defended its economic interests. For most of the period, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church maintained constant contacts, even in the face of mutual suspicions of each other’s motives. The chapter argues that early modern Orthodoxy proved adaptive, developed over time, and withstood the challenges it faced, ultimately keeping its symbolic capital largely intact.

This study uses a multifactor REIT-specific model to estimate and compare REIT idiosyncratic volatility vis-A-vis the same from the Fama-French three-factor model. Estimates of conditional idiosyncratic volatility and conditional betas obtained from a multifactor REIT-returns model and a bivariate EGARCH model respectively are found to be positively and significantly related with REIT returns. Consistent with Merton's (1987) predictions, we observe that larger REITs post higher average returns when idiosyncratic risk is introduced in cross-sectional regressions. Persistence of past market-risk does not appear to be short-lived and seems to have a lasting impact on future idiosyncratic volatility. We also observe mild evidence of persistence of past idiosyncratic risk, albeit short-lived, thereby suggesting that past idiosyncratic risk has a short-term impact on future idiosyncratic risk. Published by Elsevier Inc.

In this study, we investigate whether the performance of emerging market hedge funds (EMHFs) follow a pattern similar to that reported for advanced market hedge funds. In contrast to the pre-2007 period, our results for the post-2006 period showthat EMHFs exhibit performance patterns similar to those reported for hedge funds that focus on the developed markets. Unlike in the pre-2007 period, EMHFs in general do not exhibit significant exposure to specific asset classes in the post-2006 period. On a risk-adjusted basis, we find that EMHFs do not consistently outperform the benchmarks. The reported performance patterns may provide useful insights to both academics and portfolio managers.

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the link between financing patterns, information asymmetry and legal traditions in 37 countries during the 1990-2004 period. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on three theories: the trade-off theory, pecking order hypothesis and market timing hypothesis. The authors test the predictions of these theories/hypotheses using regression analysis. The econometric method used is panel data with firm and country fixed effects. The authors develop a modified pecking order model which controls for short- and long-term debt level changes and simultaneously test the predictions of all theories. Findings – Consistent with studies for US firms, the results show that firms across all countries adjust toward the target leverage, but with significantly different rate. The long-term debt contribution in the rate of adjustment is 64 percent in common law countries and 51 percent in civil law countries. The ability of the model to explain changes in leverage ratios is higher in common law countries. The authors find support for market timing hypothesis but no support for pecking order of financing. These results support their conjecture that stronger investor protection, higher transparency and well-developed financial markets in common law countries reduce the cost of recapitalization. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this study comes from lack of data availability to measure contract enforcement, transparency, and corporate governance variables. Future research can incorporate these variables to explain the differences in capital structure decisions across countries with different legal systems. Practical implications – The findings show that firms' capital structure decisions are not only a function of their own characteristics but also the result of legal and financial market development in which they operate. Originality/value – This is the first study that sheds light about rate of adjustment to optimal capital structure and pecking order of financing in 37 countries with different legal traditions and financial market developments. The authors are not aware of any other study that uses a modified pecking order model in an international context. © 2011, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Three neighborhoods in Lexington, Kentucky, share a common flood history, including property acquisitions, as a means to mitigate against flooding; yet, the interactions of residents with the buyout landscapes vary significantly among the neighborhoods. Although the same institutions and structural controls implemented flood buyout programs in all three neighborhoods, semi-structured interviews illustrate that differing perspectives, personalities, and neighborhood politics shaped unique identities and land uses for the acquired properties in each neighborhood. Varying levels of resident engagement with the buyout landscape resulted in a range of attitudes towards hazard preparation, management, and mitigation, thus leaving some neighborhoods more resilient to future flooding than others. This study explores key residents, termed magnetic agents, who drove neighborhood civic action and land uses on the open space created through floodplain property acquisition. This research indicates magnetic agents can serve as important partners for local governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in building community-based projects aimed at reducing vulnerability to flood events and instituting high utility land uses on floodplain buyout open space.(C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP) is a famous issue in spatial analysis that states the output of a spatial analysis is influenced by the spatial extent of the units used in the analysis. This study demonstrates that the MAUP is accompanied with another intractable spatial issue in spatial modeling; the Modifiable Conceptual Unit Problem (MCUP). The MCUP states that the conceptualization of spatial processes impacts the output of spatial analysis and occurs when a model with one spatial dimension is applied to a spatial model with more than one spatial dimension. This study demonstrates the MCUP by developing three conceptual models of dispersal and showing how they produce different results even when given the same initial dispersal curves and areal units. Three conceptual models of dispersal (sum of curve points model, area of distance range model, and the volume of distance range model) are described and applied to a grid landscape with a single point of dispersal and a grid landscape with multiple points of dispersal. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to evaluate how the models differ in their distribution of pollen or seeds across the landscapes. The three models of dispersal are each valid conceptualizations of the dispersal process, but when given the same dispersal curve parameters, they produce different distributions of dispersed items across grid landscapes. The sum of curve points model is the least complicated model because it only uses a few points from the defined dispersal curve. The area of distance range model uses the entire dispersal curve, but is based on a single dimension of space and thus conceptually abstracted from the grid landscape. The volume of distance range model uses the two spatial dimensions present in the grid landscape and thus is the most conceptually sound model of the three. The underlying conceptualization of the dispersal process can impact the results of dispersal models. Applying dispersal curves with one spatial dimension to grids with two spatial dimensions makes inherent assumptions about the conceptualization of dispersal. This study highlights the necessity of researchers to declare their conceptual models of dispersal when applying modeled dispersal curves to grid landscapes. © 2016 The Author.

Purpose - The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides guidelines for the management of open space created through property acquisition (buyouts); however, land use decisions are primarily left to local governments manifesting in a variety of uses. The purpose of this paper is to provide a land use assessment of buyout sites, to describe the changes in those uses that have occurred during a ten-year period from 1990 to 2000, and to offer an assessment of management approaches employed across these sites. Design/methodology/approach - Using a mixed-methods approach consisting of a land use classification survey and a semi-structured questionnaire of floodplain managers, this study explores the land use trends at buyout sites, diverse approaches local governments take in managing the open spaces created through floodplain buyout programs, and the successes and challenges communities face in open space management. Findings - Results indicate strong support from floodplain managers for property acquisition and several cases emerged where communities put their newly acquired public land to creative uses. However, the opportunity to leverage these properties for greater public values is largely being missed, primarily because of limited funding. Practical implications - The analysis indicates strong support among floodplain managers for the buyout approach; however, additional resource-sharing and funding opportunities are needed to increase the utility of buyout properties. Originality/value - By evaluating the long-term management strategies floodplain managers utilize on buyout sites, this study adds to an underrepresented area of scholarship and is of value to practitioners, government officials, and academics.

Human societies are known for their resilience and ability to adapt to short- and long-term environmental change. Despite their pragmatism and adaptability, humans could be forced to move and/or seek better conditions for survival, especially when climate change and water availability are at issue. This chapter provides case studies on easy-to-adopt rainwater harvesting applications as effective climate change adaptation strategies in rural and urban settings to increase human resiliency.

Two new Jaltomata species (Solanaceae) of Peru that produce red floral nectar are described. Jaltomata neei of Department Cajamarca has 1–4 flowers per inflorescence, the campanulate corolla is green and then changes to blue, corolla lobes (5) and lobules (5) are equally prominent, a corona is lacking, five radial staminal-corolla thickenings create nectar troughs between, and the stigma is capitate. Jaltomata quipuscoae of Department Arequipa has solitary flowers, a purple, broadly crateriform, 5-lobed corolla, a corona on which nectar pools, a punctiform stigma, lacks corolla thickenings, and the mature fruit is whitish. Photographs, illustrations and tables are included that allow comparison with closely related species. © 2014, The New York Botanical Garden.

Long Island Sound (LIS) is a relatively shallow estuary with a mean depth of 20 m (maximum depth 49 m) and a unique hydrology and history of pollutant loading. These factors have contributed to a wide variety of contamination problems in its muddy sediments, aquatic life, and water column. The LIS sediments are contaminated with toxic compounds and elements related to past and present wastewater discharges and runoff. These include nonpoint and stormwater runoff and groundwater discharges, whose character has changed over the years along with the evolution of its watershed and industrial history. Major impacts have resulted from the copious amounts of nutrients discharged into LIS through atmospheric deposition, domestic and industrial waste water flows, fertilizer releases, and urban runoff. All these sources and their effects are in essence the result of human presence and activities in the watershed, and the severity of pollutant loading and their impacts generally scales with total population in the watersheds surrounding LIS. Environmental legislation passed since the mid-to-late 1900s (e.g., Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) has had a beneficial effect, however, and contaminant loadings for many toxic organic and inorganic chemicals and nutrients have diminished over the last few decades (O’Shea and Brosnan 2000; Trench et al. 2012; O’Connor and Lauenstein 2006; USEPA 2007). Major strides have been made in reducing the inflow of nutrients into LIS, but cultural eutrophication is still an ongoing problem and nutrient control efforts will need to continue. Nonetheless, LIS is still a heavily human impacted estuary (an “Urban Estuary,” as described for San Francisco Bay by Conomos 1979), and severe changes in water quality and sediment toxicity as well as ecosystem shifts have occurred since the European colonization in the early 1600s (Koppelman et al., 1976). The Sound has seen the most severe environmental changes over the last 400 years during its 10,000 year history (Lewis, this volume), suggesting that human impacts have overwhelmed the natural forces at play.