The Topic Pain

The topic in the recent call for papers by the Journal of Business Research (“No Pain No Gain”: Understanding and Applications of Pain in Marketing Scholarship & Practice) is very interesting! Some of the questions papers can address include: (1) How do different types of pain (e.g., physical, psychological, mental or emotional) affect consumption? (2) What is the meaning of pain in a digital world? (3) Are there different types of consumers that could be receptive, prone or averse to pain and what are their characteristics? (4) When and why does the creation painful psychological obstacles (e.g., long lines or waiting lists) or outright refusal to sell a coveted item enhances customers’ feelings of bitter satisfaction and consumer motivation to own the desired item? (5) How can pain affect, explain or facilitate other unconventional consumption practices?, and (6) Why are consumers attracted by the pain of others? I think it will be a very informative and interesting special issue.

(View the call for papers here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-business-research/about/call-for-papers).

I know people have different levels of pain tolerance - some people could handle more pain than others. I imagine a person's pain tolerance affects whether he/she is averse or receptive to pain. My guess is that a lot of consumers are averse to pain. I believe people do not want to feel pain especially when shopping or working or when on vacation. Pain is distracting. I am curious about how different types of pain affect decision-making and consumption.

I cannot wait for the special issue!

 

 

Abstracts

I usually write the abstract for my papers last. Sometimes, I am just not sure what to include and how to make it an interesting "elevator pitch" of my article. I definitely need more practice writing abstracts.

I found a short but very informative journal article on writing abstracts. It includes information on the importance of an abstract, alternative formats, and the key messages of each section of the abstract. I especially liked the example of the process of revising a draft conference abstract. I found the list of abstract types/formats to be very interesting. It included tweetable abstracts, graphical abstracts, and video abstracts. I am not familiar with these formats. I would love to see examples.

The journal article:

How to Write a Comprehensive and Informative Research Abstract
By: Amanda Drury, Eva Pape, Maura Dowling, Susana Miguel, Paz Fernández-Ortega, Constantina Papadopoulou, Grigorios Kotronoulas
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2023.151395
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749208123000268)

Interesting Dream

I had an interesting dream last night. It was very strange. In the dream, I was in Linden but from the scenery (that included a large condo building by the ocean) seemed to be someplace else. What I saw did not match what I remember about Linden. The other events/details in the dream were strange too. I wonder what the dream means or what I should take away from it. Some (including psychologist Sigmund Freud) believe that dreams reveal a person's desires, thoughts, and motivations (see https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/dreaming-overview). Based on their belief, these people might say that I have a desire to be in Linden or maybe live by the ocean or other scenic place. Or maybe there is some inconsistency or mismatch I am thinking of in my life. These statements are interesting but are all incorrect or false.

Dreams make me think of Joseph from the Bible. His story is one of my favorite Bible stories. Joseph had a difficult life, but eventually found happiness. His ability to interpret dreams led to a high position and the saving of a lot of lives (from famine). Read Joseph's story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037%3A1-44%3A9&version=NIV

From Joseph's story (or from the Bible), we can say that at least some dreams come from God and can predict the future. How would one know that a dream is from God? I am not certain but it seems reasonable to think that the dreams of Godly people who follow the rules of the Bible are from God.

Phone Issue

My phone stopped working late yesterday. There was a popup message displayed on the screen that prevented me from doing anything else on the phone (everything seemed normal in the background). I was unable to enter my passcode to access the phone, answer calls or read text messages because of the popup message that I just could not clear or remove. I tried to shut down the phone thinking that it would restart normally but I was also unable to restart or power off the phone.
So what did I do?
I let the phone rest for a while hoping it would correct itself. That did not work.
Then I tried to get help from the online community. From my first Google search, I ended up reading about similar issues users reported in the Apple support community. I did not find the exact issue. So, I then tried to enter my issue for assistance. However, the community requires login using your Apple ID to enter an issue. There is two-factor authentication that involves entering the code from a text message. I received the text message but could not open it on my phone so I did not receive/have the code to complete the two-factor authentication. I was a little frustrated but decided to try another Google search. I entered a more descriptive explanation of the problem including the exact text of the popup message for the second search. This time, I found users with my exact issue in the Apple community. I tried one of the posted answers on how to force a restart. It actually worked! Issue resolved. I am so happy. I thought I needed a new phone.

 

 

 

 

 

Oldest Thing I Own That I Use Daily

Wordpress writing prompt for 6/18/2023:

What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily?

I was unable to think of an answer to this question in five minutes. I thought about the answer for about 15 long minutes. My strategy was to think about things I use daily (or almost every day) and then think of the oldest. I thought of my vehicle, a 2004 Nissan. I drove it almost every day for years and years. Unfortunately, I was involved in an accident so I stopped driving the vehicle months ago. I will also lose the vehicle since the insurance company considers it a total loss. I thought of my phone. I use it every day to make and receive calls, send text messages, and so on. I have had that phone for at least three years. The winner is my computer that is over 4 years old (but a much older model). I use it almost every day. Some of the things I use the computer for are: read the bible, check email, and write/edit papers for publishing. I still use an email account that I have had for 19 years (the oldest intangible thing I use every day).

The exercise made me think of my days and how monotonous they are. Each day I repeat a lot of things. These days, I don't go out much or do much spontaneous things. Life was much more fun when I could get into my vehicle for a drive to see a movie, visit the lake or grab a bite. I must get a new vehicle.

 

Observations

A few things I noticed today while searching for and applying for jobs: (1) there are very few part-time positions, (2) a lot of the Senior Technical Writer/Manager positions require a security clearance, and (3) the list of disabilities (for disclosing a disability) has grown. I saw several interesting writing jobs (a lot of them for remote work) and clicked on each hoping that it was a suitable job for me. I was surprised to see that most required a security clearance such as an active secret clearance. This is definitely a change from years past. I hope it is not a new 'thing.' I do not have secret clearance and it will be a hassle to obtain. On the disabilities list, I saw new disabilities such as cancer (past or present) and disfigurement from wounds, accidents, and so on. The list is quite long. It would not surprise me if a significant percentage of the US population is now considered 'disabled' (has a disability).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paper Submitted For Publishing

Today, I submitted a paper to a journal for publishing. I was happy to start submitting papers for publishing again. It has been a few weeks!

The paper I submitted today was inspired by a paper I prepared for one of my PhD classes. It is very similar to my PhD paper but includes new articles that fall under a different topic as well as changes/additions to make the paper more 'publishable' (or worthy of publication). I worked on the paper for quite a while.

I had trouble deciding which journal to submit to. The paper analyzes the results of a number of journal articles and also looks at issues/challenges related to the research method and design of the articles. The topic is technology-related and also retail-related so journals in those fields were options. The paper includes tips for novice researchers who may need to conduct similar research so a journal on research methods was also an option. I settled on a journal on qualitative methods. I await the decision of the editor of the journal.

And, of course, I will continue my work on preparing papers for publishing.

Wall Art With Life Lessons

Today I found and reviewed wall art and posters that include life lessons. A lot of the wall art include only printed text on life lessons. Some included pictures or painted images. Some were inexpensive (between $10 and $20) while others cost $50 and more. I tried to explain why some of the art cost much more. That was a little difficult because the pricing seemed "all over the place." However, in general, those wall art with more text, images and/or framing (a framed canvas with nice framing such as a gold floating frame) had higher prices.

In the past, I thought of creating wall art for sale as part of my Lessons Project. I decided against it because such wall art is widely available and there is much competition. I am still not sure that was a wise decision.

Publishing Information

I found some very informative and interesting posts in LinkedIn that provide information and tips on academic publishing. It turns out that LinkedIn is a great resource for information on writing and publishing articles in journals. I was surprised to see that quite a few professors/PhDs posted information on their experiences.

I just read a post on desk rejects. The author provided some good tips to avoid desk rejection. They include: avoid typos, confirm to templates, confirm to the style guide of the journal (format the paper for the outlet), ensure their are no mismatches such as numbers in a table that don't match the text, and do not leave out important information or make critical mistakes (which can occur when you are in a rush to submit). I was particularly interested in the information on templates. The author explained that some journals have templates while some expect you to deduce it from published articles. "Know and confirm to it!" he wrote.
(Link to post)

This was all good information. I know some journals accept "different" papers (I found one for my paper/research proposal on hand hygiene compliance). I wish there was a list of such journals somewhere. Maybe I will work on one.

Update 6/2

For me, today is a typical day at home. I am working on modifying one of the papers I prepared for publishing months ago. The modification is going well. I have new and different ideas that I am incorporating into the paper. It will be much better. 

This week went by very quickly. Time seems to be racing by. They say time flies when you’re having fun so I must be having lots of fun.