Joseph K. Goodman

Having Versus Consuming: Failure to Estimate Usage Frequency Makes Consumers Prefer Multifeature Products

The authors investigate whether consumers systematically consider feature usage before making multifunctional product purchase decisions. Across five studies and four product domains, the article shows that consumers fail to estimate their feature usage rate before purchasing multifunctional products, negatively affecting product satisfaction. The findings demonstrate that when consumers do estimate their feature usage before choice, preferences shift from many-feature products toward few-feature products. The authors show that this shift in preferences is due to a change in elaboration from having features to using features, and they identify three key moderators to the effect: need for cognition, feature trivialness, and materialism. Finally, the authors investigate the downstream consequences of usage estimation on product satisfaction, demonstrating that consumers who estimate usage before choice experience greater product satisfaction and are more likely to recommend their chosen product. These results point to the relative importance consumers place on having versus using product features.

Pitfalls in endoscopic treatment of mandibular subcondylar fractures.

ObjectivesThe facial trauma surgeon should be able to list indications for endoscopic treatment of mandibular condyle fractures and discuss the limitations and complications of the technique. BackgroundThe ideal treatment of mandibular subcondylar fractures continues to be debated. Acceptable results are often obtained with conservative measures such as mandibular maxillary fixation followed by elastics. On the other hand, an open approaches result in potential risk injury to the facial nerve. These 2 arguments have cautioned many surgeons from open treatment of condylar fractures. Recent advances in endoscopic techniques have made the mandibular condyle more accessible with less risk to the facial nerve. As with any new technique, endoscopic treatment of mandibular subcondylar fractures is not without its own limitations and complications. MethodsThis was a retrospective case series. ResultsThree patients with mandibular subcondylar fractures with complications following endoscopic treatment were reviewed. There were a total of 4 condylar fractures (1 patient had bilateral fractures). There was 1 incidence of temporary facial nerve paresis, 1 failure of hardware positioning, 1 screw placement into the mandibular foramen, 2 condyles where adequate reduction of the fracture was impossible, and 1 failure to secure a screw into the proximal fracture segment. ConclusionsEndoscopic management of mandibular subcondylar fractures is a novel treatment with novel types of complications. Although promising, endoscopic treatment of mandibular subcondylar fractures should be approached prudently to avoid potential pitfalls.

Celebrate or Commemorate? A Material Purchase Advantage When Honoring Special Life Events

Special life events (e.g., graduations, promotions) are rare and meaningful. Consumers often honor these events with a purchase—either a celebratory experience or a commemorative material item. The authors propose that marking special life events with a material purchase provides a stronger connection to the past special event, allowing consumers to be transported back to their positive emotions experienced at the time of the event. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate this material advantage, while studies 3A–3C show that consumers’ predictions run counter to this finding, leading them to choose celebrations over commemorations. Studies 4 and 5 explore this misprediction and demonstrate that when consumers were encouraged to think about permanence, they more accurately forecasted a material advantage and were more likely to choose material purchases over experiences. The results suggest a potential exception to the widely accepted experiential advantage, while providing important implications for how purchases contribute to meaningfulness in life.

Utility & Pitfalls of CO2 Laser in Transoral Robotic Surgery

tertiary care center, four patients treated for papillary thyroid cancer between September 2009 and February 2010 were found to have unusual sites of metastases. We report on this series and perform a review of the current literature regarding typical sites of spread. RESULTS: Metastatic papillary thyroid cancer was found in the following locations: 1) within the sternocleidomastoid muscle, 2) occipital skin, skull, dura, and within the internal jugular vein, 3) retropharynx, and 4) in the right atrium. Review of current literature demonstrated the most common locations of regional metastases are level VI (77%), followed by level III (69%), level IV (66%), and level II (46%) of the deep cervical chain. CONCLUSION: Our patients novel sites of metastatic disease have not been depicted in previous reports. In our series all patients with unusual metastatic disease had a more aggressive course, more aggressive histology, less iodine avidity, and had worse outcomes. Although this disease most often spreads to the deep cervical chain, atypical sites of distant metastases should always be considered in patients presenting with a new mass who have known history of papillary thyroid cancer.