University of Massachusetts Boston

About: University of Massachusetts Boston is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 6541 authors who have published 12918 publications receiving 411731 citations. The organization is also known as: UMass Boston.

Message framing in green advertising: the effect of construal level and consumer environmental concern

Abstract: Many firms adopt green advertising and put great emphasis on the value of green marketing strategies. However, little research has examined the effectiveness of green appeal in advertisements. Building on message framing and construal level theory, this study examines the moderating role of temporal distance in effects of gain or loss framed messages on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions towards advertised brand. The findings demonstrate that a congruency between loss frame and low level construal, as well as the match between gain frame and high level construal, leads to more positive outcomes in consumers' attitudes and purchase intention. Furthermore, this research reveals that salience of the congruency effect varies in line with the level of consumer environmental concern, which has important theoretical and practical implications.

A National Study of Youth Attitudes toward the Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract: The authors surveyed a national random sample of 5,837 middle school students on their attitudes toward the inclusion of peers with intellectual disabilities (ID). The national sample provided results that were accurate, with a margin of error of ± 1.4%. Findings indicated that youth (a) have limited contact with students with ID in their classrooms and school; (b) perceive students with ID as moderately impaired rather than mildly impaired; (c) believe that students with ID can participate in nonacademic classes, but not in academic classes; (d) view inclusion as having both positive and negative effects; and (e) do not want to interact socially with a peer with ID, particularly outside school. Structural equation modeling showed that youths' perceptions of the competence of students with ID significantly influence their willingness to interact with these students and their support of inclusion.

Disruption of ecosystem processes in western North America by invasive species

Abstract: Muchos ecosistemas de Norteamerica occidental han cambiado dramaticamente a causa del efecto producido por especies no autoctonas Aqui se muestra una revision del impacto ecologico producido por 56 especies diferentes de plantas, animales y hongos, y especies de protistas que fueron traidos a esta region por humanos Discutimos las caracteristicas de las especies invasoras que pueden producir un gran impacto en el ecosistema, y exploramos como las especies invasoras pueden alterar de forma muy diferente los atributos de un ecosistema Especificamente, incluimos ejemplos de especies invasoras que afectan a la geomorfologia, a los regimenes del fuego, a la hidrologia, al microclima, a la composicion atmosferica, al ciclo de nutrientes, y a la productividad Finalmente, revisamos las consecuencias directas de invasiones biologicas de algunas especies autoctonas Resumimos los ejemplos de este articulo en el Anexo 1 Nuestros ejemplos ilustran como, a medida que la especie invasora llega a ser dominante a lo largo de areas extensas de ecosistemas como los prados del oeste de Norteamerica occidental, en zonas arbustivas, dunas, cauces de rios y estuarios, las propiedades y el funcionamiento de estos ecosistemas han cambiado Hasta ahora, algunos ecosistemas en esta region, como los bosques, permanecen relativamente intactos por efecto de la especies invasoras Sin embargo, ataques recientes de patogenos a los bosques ponen de manifiesto la vulnerabilidad potencial de estos ecosistemas

Engineering properties of tire/soil mixtures as a lightweight fill material

Abstract: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates that over 279 million discarded tires are being added annually to the already existing stockpile of two billion tires. Current disposal and stacking methods of waste tires are not acceptable due to the possibility of fire and health hazards. Several states and the federal government have issued legislation that encourages or mandates the recycling of discarded tires. One application where shredded tires can be used is as a lightweight fill material behind retaining walls or in highway embankments over weak or compressible soils. This paper presents the engineering properties of shredded tires, Ottawa sand, and a mixture of 50% Ottawa sand and 50% shredded tires by volume (70% Ottawa sand and 30% shredded tires by weight). The maximum size of the tire chips used was 4.75 mm. Gradation, specific gravity, void ratio, density, permeability, and consolidated-drained (CD) triaxial tests were performed as part of the testing program. Although the data obtained were limited to the above three mixes, the results indicate that the use of shredded tires/Ottawa sand mixes as a lightweight fill material is very promising. However, long-term impact of leachates from tires on groundwater quality should be investigated.

Broadband nonvolatile photonic switching based on optical phase change materials: beyond the classical figure-of-merit

Abstract: In this Letter, we propose a broadband, nonvolatile on-chip switch design in the telecommunication C-band with record low loss and crosstalk. The unprecedented device performance builds on: 1) a new optical phase change material (O-PCM) Ge2Sb2Se4Te1 (GSST), which exhibits significantly reduced optical attenuation compared to traditional O-PCMs, and 2) a nonperturbative design that enables low-loss device operation beyond the classical figure-of-merit (FOM) limit. We further demonstrate that the 1-by-2 and 2-by-2 switches can serve as basic building blocks to construct nonblocking and nonvolatile on-chip switching fabric supporting arbitrary numbers of input and output ports.