No abstract

With the advent of WEBTRUST™, accountants are providing assurances about online transactions to consumers who may otherwise hesitate to engage in electronic commerce. This study explores the influence of assurance services on consumers' online transaction expectations and intent to purchase online. In short, the study supports the notion that many of the marketing efforts associated with WEBTRUST™ can have desirable effects on consumer behavior. Results suggest that consumers who pay more attention to the WEBTRUST™ seal and disclosures at the web site or who have been exposed to WEBTRUST™ advertising have higher online transaction expectations and stronger intent to purchase online than their counterparts. Similarly, consumers' knowledge about CPAs positively influences their online transaction expectations, but not intent to purchase online. However, the study also indicates areas of concern for practitioners and researchers. Only 56 percent of subjects noticed the seal, 27 percent clicked on the seal, and 8.5 percent had seen ads related to WEBTRUST™, indicating a need to investigate more effective marketing. In addition, these results suggest that consumers believe the WEBTRUST™ service should and does provide assurances that are clearly beyond its scope.

Oxytocin has been suggested as a treatment to promote positive social interactions in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, it is difficult to test this effect outside of the laboratory in realistic social situations. One way to resolve this issue is to study behavioral changes in closely related species with complex social relationships, such as chimpanzees. Here, we use captive, socially housed chimpanzees to evaluate the effects of oxytocin in a socially complex environment. After administering intranasal oxytocin or a placebo to an individual chimpanzee (total n = 8), she was returned to her social group. An experimenter blind to the condition measured the subject's social behavior. We failed to find a behavioral difference between conditions. As one of the goals for oxytocin administration as a treatment for ASD is increasing prosocial behaviors during ‘real world’ encounters, it is problematic that we failed to detect behavioral changes in our closest living relatives. However, our null findings may be related to methodological challenges such as determining an effective dose of oxytocin for chimpanzees and how long oxytocin takes to cross the blood-brain barrier. Thus, more research on intranasal oxytocin dosing and uptake are needed to continue exploring whether oxytocin changes social behavior in naturalistic settings and as a treatment for ASD.

This review provides recommendations for the evaluation and management of individuals with beta‐propeller protein‐associated neurodegeneration (BPAN). BPAN is one of several neurodegenerative disorders with brain iron accumulation along with pantothenate kinase‐associated neurodegeneration, PLA2G6‐associated neurodegeneration, mitochondrial membrane protein‐associated neurodegeneration, fatty acid hydroxylase‐associated neurodegeneration, and COASY protein‐associated neurodegeneration. BPAN typically presents with global developmental delay and epilepsy in childhood, which is followed by the onset of dystonia and parkinsonism in mid‐adolescence or adulthood. BPAN is an X‐linked dominant disorder caused by pathogenic variants in WDR45, resulting in a broad clinical phenotype and imaging spectrum. This review, informed by an evaluation of the literature and expert opinion, discusses the clinical phenotype and progression of the disease, imaging findings, epilepsy features, and genetics, and proposes an approach to the initial evaluation and management of disease manifestations across the life span in individuals with BPAN. The complex epilepsy profile of beta‐propeller protein‐associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) often resolves in adolescence. The treatment for an individual with BPAN is supportive, with attention to sleep disorders, complex epilepsy, and behavioral problems. Individuals with BPAN have shifting needs throughout their life span requiring multidisciplinary care.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the satisfaction formation process under conditions of varying involvement for new, nontraditional, credence‐based service offerings.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were tested using an on‐line simulation of a service encounter, beginning with perceptions of an advertisement and continuing through satisfaction with the completed service report. ElderCare, an assurance service provided by Certified Public Accountants to the children of an elderly parent, was the context of study.FindingsThe findings indicated expectations were not influential in the satisfaction formation process for these services, regardless of involvement. Under conditions of high involvement, performance evaluation was the dominant predictor of satisfaction. Low‐involvement subjects used disconfirmation to assess satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of the research stem from the use of a convenience sample in a simulated service encounter. Future research should examine the influence of individual characteristics, particularly innovation, on the results. Additional research examining the determinants of model variables, from disconfirmation to involvement, across subjects in a variety of situations would also be valuable.Practical implicationsThis research suggests a heightened need to guide the consumer experience where expectations are hard to develop and performance is hard to evaluate. Providers should carefully spell out key service dimensions, provide tangible information about performance outcomes for high‐involvement individuals, and focus on emotional appeals, provider qualities and sensory aspects of the service for low‐involvement individuals.Originality/valueThis paper helps researchers and practitioners better understand the applicability of expectancy disconfirmation theory and role of involvement in the context of new, nontraditional, credence‐based services.