Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study

Customer switching behavior damages market share and profitability of service firms yet has remained virtually unexplored in the marketing literature. The author reports results of a critical incident study conducted among more than 500 service customers. The research identifies more than 800 critical behaviors of service firms that caused customers to switch services. Customers’ reasons for switching services were classified into eight general categories. The author then discusses implications for further model development and offers recommendations for managers of service firms.
Managing Under Austerity, Delivering Under Pressure

Contemporary public managers find themselves under pressure on many fronts. Coming off a sustained period of growth in their funding and some complacency about their performance, they now face an environment of ferocious competitiveness abroad and austerity at home. Public managers across Australia and New Zealand are finding themselves wrestling with expenditure reduction, a smaller public sector overall, sustained demands for productivity improvement, and the imperative to think differently about the optimal distribution of responsibilities between states, markets and citizens. Given ever-shrinking resources, in terms of staffing, budgets and time, how can public managers and public services become more productive, more outcome-driven and more agile? How can we achieve better alignment between ever-growing citizen expectations and the realities of constrained service provision? What can we learn from the best combination of innovation and austerity already being delivered in other countries and sectors, including harnessing the grounded wisdom of frontline service delivery practitioners? This book focuses on practical ways public managers at home and abroad are dealing with these shared dilemmas. It brings together renowned scholars in the fields of public sector productivity, performance management, ‘frugal innovation’ and budget stringency, with leading international and Australasian practitioners sharing their successes and challenges.
Low back pain (chronic).

INTRODUCTION Over 70% of people in developed countries develop low back pain (LBP) at some time. But recovery is not always favourable: 82% of non recent-onset patients still experience pain 1 year later. Many patients with chronic LBP who were initially told that their natural history was good spend months or years seeking relief. METHODS AND OUTCOMES We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of oral drug treatments? What are the effects of injection therapy? What are the effects of non-drug treatments? What are the effects of non-surgical and surgical treatments? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and other important databases up to April 2009 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically; please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). RESULTS We found 64 systematic reviews or RCTs that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions. CONCLUSIONS In this systematic review, we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: acupuncture, analgesics, antidepressants, back schools, behavioural therapy, electromyographic biofeedback, exercise, injections (epidural corticosteroid injections, facet joint injections, local injections), intensive multidisciplinary treatment programmes, lumbar supports, massage, muscle relaxants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), non-surgical interventional therapies (intradiscal electrothermal therapy, radiofrequency denervation), spinal manipulative therapy, surgery, traction, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
Government Response to Oil Price Volatility : Experience of 49 Developing Countries

Oil prices rose from 2004 to historic highs in mid-2008, only to fall precipitously in the last four months of 2008 and lose all the gains of the preceding four and a half years. The steep price increase from January 2007 to July 2008 was challenging for all economies. While the sharp drop in prices since August 2008 has been welcome news for consumers, the cause of it, the global financial crisis, is not. Moreover, currency depreciation against the dollar in many developing countries has meant that, in local currency units, petroleum product prices have not fallen as sharply as in U.S. dollars. This report examines the policy responses of 49 developing country governments to world oil price movements in the last three years. The sample includes 16 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 15 in Asia, 10 in Latin America, and 8 in the Middle East and North Africa. The report updates a companion 2006 publication on coping with higher oil prices and builds upon two other publications: one on oil price volatility and another on the degree of pass-through of world oil price increases between January 2004 and August 2009. As with all other publications in this series, this report examines issues related to oil price levels and volatility in the downstream petroleum sector and other sectors where oil is an important input, such as transport, fisheries, and agriculture, from the point of view of consumers. It does not consider macro-level policies (such as monetary or exchange rate policy) or the impact of oil price changes on the macroeconomic performance of countries, nor does it discuss management of the windfall income by large oil exporters and the long-term economic consequences of revenue management.
Formal Contractual Agreements: An Exploratory Assessment of Transaction Cost Theory from Emerging Markets Perspective

This study aimed at exploring how formal contractual agreements are predicted by Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) theory using firms from emerging markets. The setting of this study was Tanzania. Dependent variable was formal contractual agreement, while performance ambiguity and buyer asset specificity were used as key predictor variables. The study was conducted through surveying which included small, large and medium enterprises. N = 150 firms involved and all of them were engaging in to business-business relations (buyer-seller relations). The response rate was about 65%. Data analysis used ordinary least square regression analysis. This study found out that asset specificity still had strong determination on formal contractual agreement. Performance ambiguity itself found not to have significant positive effect on formal contractual agreement but its effect was dependent on asset specificity i.e. the interaction between asset specificity and performance ambiguity influence positively on formal contractual agreement. These findings do not contradict with other empirical studies from developed economies. This suggests the possibility for extending TCA theoretical predictions to firms in emerging markets, especially at this time when there is growing need for outsourcing in these markets. Again this has to take into account other variables like nature of firm, institutional and cultural differences. Such variables have not been used in this exploratory study.
Paraoxonase-1 activity in subfertile men and relationship to sperm parameters.

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of male infertility. Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) is a high-density lipoprotein-associated antioxidant enzyme that prevents oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein. Our aims in the study were to investigate 1) seminal PON-1 activity in subfertile men and 2) whether seminal PON-1 activity had any relationship to semen parameters. The study included 28 men with idiopathic subfertility, 32 subfertile men with abnormal semen parameters, and 30 fertile male volunteers. Seminal PON-1 activity was measured spectrophotometrically. Seminal total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) were determined by using colorimetric methods. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated as ([TOS/TAS] x 100). TOS and OSI were significantly higher and PON-1 activity and TAS were significantly lower in subfertile men with abnormal semen parameters than in men with idiopathic subfertility and fertile donors. PON-1 activity was also strongly correlated with sperm concentration (r = .68, P < .0001), motility (r = .58, P < .0001), and morphology (r = .62, P < .0001) in the overall group. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed a high diagnostic value for PON-1 activity with respect to male-factor subfertility, with an area under curve of . 95 (95% confidence interval = 0.89-1.01), sensitivity = 97%, and specificity = 88%. Men with abnormal semen parameters have decreased levels of PON-1 activity in their seminal plasma. This may play an important role in the pathogenesis of male-factor subfertility.
Starting a new business later in life

Self-employment in later life may be either a career option or a form of partial retirement. This paper adds knowledge about those individuals who start a business when they are older. A large longitudinal data set is utilized to examine the transitions of individuals aged 55–74 to self-employment in Finland. The significance of prior activity as well as personal, household, financial, and environmental characteristics is analyzed for the transitions. The results show that most of those entering self-employment in later life have prior self-employment experience, thus suggesting that entrepreneurship at later ages is often habitual. Habitual entrepreneurs deviate from novice entrepreneurs in many respects at older ages: they are less educated, more likely men, and live mostly in urban areas. An entrepreneurial spouse has a significant effect for both, but this effect is greater for novice entrepreneurs. In most cases, a large income increases the probability to start a business at older ages.
Consumer Sentiment towards Marketing in Hong Kong

An attempt is made to assess consumer sentiment in Hong Kong towards marketing by measuring consumer attitudes towards the four components of the marketing mix – product, price, advertising and retailing. The finding, showed that Hong Kong consumers had a slightly favourable attitude towards marketing. Among the four marketing areas, product was most favourably perceived, while price and advertising were negatively rated. Differences were found among demographic variables.
Normal volume of the thyroid gland in children

This study has attempted to establish normal values for the pediatric thyroid gland volume. The real‐time ultrasound images of the thyroid gland in 300 healthy children were prospectively analyzed to determine the normal thyroid gland volume. The volume was calculated assuming each lobe of the thyroid gland to be a prolate ellipsoid. The thyroid gland volume was correlated with height, weight, body surface area, and age. Mean thyroid gland volume as a function of height was obtained. No significant difference was observed between males and females in each height group.
Linking Brand Orientation with Service Quality, Satisfaction, and Positive Word-of-Mouth: Evidence from the Higher Education Sector

Brand orientation has been recognized as having a positive impact on organizational performance in both commercial and nonprofit sectors. However, limited studies have examined the moderating effects of brand orientation in the nonprofit sector, particularly in the higher education context. This study attempts to examine the construct of brand orientation from the perspective of the students and examine its moderating role on the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth (WOM) communication behavior. Two hundred and fifty-eight questionnaires were completed by undergraduate students of an Australian university. The study found that students’ perception of a university’s brand orientation significantly moderates the relationship between service quality, loyalty, and WOM communication behavior. Significant managerial and theoretical implications were identified.
Enhancing the Primary Care Team to Provide Redesigned Care: The Roles of Practice Facilitators and Care Managers

ABSTRACT Efforts to redesign primary care require multiple supports. Two potential members of the primary care team—practice facilitator and care manager—can play important but distinct roles in redesigning and improving care delivery. Facilitators, also known as quality improvement coaches, assist practices with coordinating their quality improvement activities and help build capacity for those activities—reflecting a systems-level approach to improving quality, safety, and implementation of evidence-based practices. Care managers provide direct patient care by coordinating care and helping patients navigate the system, improving access for patients, and communicating across the care team. These complementary roles aim to help primary care practices deliver coordinated, accessible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care.
CEO Reputation and Earnings Quality

We examine the association between CEO reputation (proxied by the extent of press coverage) and the quality of the firm's earnings (proxied by two accruals-based measures). We test three explanations for an association between these constructs: the efficient contracting hypothesis suggests that reputed CEOs are associated with good earnings quality, while the rent extraction and matching explanations argue that reputed CEOs are associated with poor earnings quality. Using a simultaneous equations system to capture the endogeneity of the constructs, we find (consistent with the rent extraction and matching arguments) that more reputed CEOs are associated with poorer earnings quality than are less-reputed CEOs. Further tests find little support for the rent extraction hypothesis. We conclude that the reason more reputed CEOs are associated with poor earnings quality firms is that such firms require more talented managers and, therefore, employ more reputed CEOs.
The BOP consumer's ethical evaluation of target marketing

This paper investigates the ethical evaluation of targeted marketing of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) to BOP consumers, from BOP consumers' viewpoint. The goal was to discover whether these consumers perceive themselves as vulnerable, whether they believe that marketers are acting ethically or unethically in targeting their segment and whether they are willing to take action based on their ethical assessments of the company's marketing practices. BOP consumers surveyed do not view themselves as vulnerable consumers. Respondents also did not believe that companies marketing FMCGs were unethically targeting their segment. BOP consumers did not see a difference between marketing basic or discretionary products to their segment; they wanted access to all types of goods. These consumers want access to the same products that other consumers with more resources have, and make no distinction between basic and discretionary FMCGs. FMCGs were viewed as necessities that make life easier. Marketers of FMCGs should therefore freely market these products to this segment, provided their products meet basic quality standards, and can be offered in small, lower-priced quantities.
Employees' Perceptions about the Effectiveness of Performance Appraisals: The Case of Pakistan

The current research investigates employees’ perceptions about the outcomes of performance appraisal and aims to identify the factors which can harm the successful implementation of performance appraisal. The sample of 120 employees at managerial level was selected on the basis of simple random sampling technique from the plastic furniture manufacturing organizations located in the province of Punjab in Pakistan. The findings suggest that the employees are aware of the useful outcomes of the performance appraisal but they lack knowledge in implementing an effective performance appraisal system. A significant difference in perceptions regarding the outcomes of performance appraisal was found among the respondents. The study will help policy makers in designing effective performance management systems for their organizations by minimizing the perceived risks and detriments to effective implementation of performance management systems.
Repeated episodes of thrombosis as a potential mechanism of plaque progression in cardiac allograft vasculopathy.

AIMS The pathogenesis of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains complex and may involve multiple mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that the multilayer (ML) appearance, an intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) finding suggestive of repetitive thrombosis, is associated with plaque progression in heart transplant (HTx) recipients. METHODS AND RESULTS Our study population consisted of 132 HTx recipients undergoing at least two grayscale and virtual histology (VH)-IVUS examinations. A retrospective serial analysis was performed between the first (baseline) and the last (follow-up) IVUS data during a median follow-up of 3.0 years. The subjects were divided into two groups based on the presence of the ML appearance on the baseline IVUS. At baseline, subjects with ML appearance (n = 38) had a longer time elapsed since transplant, larger vessel volume, and larger plaque volume than those without (n = 94) (all P < 0.01). Intraluminal thrombi and plaque ruptures were identified only in subjects with ML appearance (P < 0.01 vs. those without). More subjects with ML appearance at baseline developed subsequent ML formation compared with those without [21 (55%) vs. 22 (23%), P < 0.01] during follow-up. There was an increase in plaque volume, necrotic core volume, and dense calcium volume in subjects with ML appearance (all P < 0.01 vs. those without). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that ML appearance was a potential predictor of plaque progression (regression coefficient 0.28, 95% CI 0.10-0.45, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The current study demonstrates that a finding of ML appearance, indicative of repeated episodes of mural thrombosis, is not infrequent in asymptomatic HTx recipients and possibly contributes to progression of CAV.
Value-added tax on virtual world transactions : a South African perspective

The dawn of the internet age has brought about concepts such as electronic commerce, virtual worlds and digitized products. When consumption tax laws such as value-added tax (VAT) or goods and service tax (GST) were legislated, these concepts were not envisaged. The aim of this article is to determine whether the South African value-added tax (VAT) Act is applicable to transactions occurring in virtual worlds. The article critically analyses section 7(1) of the VAT Act to determine its applicability to transactions occurring in virtual worlds. The benefit of this article will be to highlight the deficiency in the South African VAT Act in dealing with electronic commerce transactions as well as transactions arising in virtual worlds. The study reported here concluded that the South African VAT Act in its current format does not appear to deal with transactions occurring in virtual worlds effectively. Consequently, amendments to existing law should be effected in order to deal effectively with the transactions.
Dermal non‐neural granular cell tumour (so‐called primitive polypoid granular cell tumour): a distinctive entity further delineated in a clinicopathological study of 11 cases

Aims : Cutaneous and soft tissue granular cell tumour is a well‐characterized benign neoplasm of neural origin. However, there remains a subcategory of granular cell tumour, first described by Le Boit as ‘primitive polypoid granular cell tumour’, that shows no obvious line of differentiation. The aim of this study is to further the characterization of this lesion by undertaking a clinicopathological review.
Strategic competitiveness in the 1990s: challenges and opportunities for U.S. executives

Executive Overview U.S. firms face a major global competitiveness challenge. Although the problems relate, in part, to differences in the economic structure, history and cultural differences between the U.S. and foreign rivals, these factors may not explain as much of the variance in competitiveness as they did in the past. Competitiveness problems are also linked to a number of strategic factors under the control of managers. Among them are the absorption of managerial energy in mergers and acquisitions, increasing levels of debt, increasing firm size, greater firm diversification, lack of investment in human capital and inappropriate corporate culture. In response to these problems, many firms are restructuring. When executed properly, restructuring can help managers regain strategic control and improve the competitiveness of their companies. However, restructuring efforts must be accompanied by a renewed emphasis on competitive strengths, improvements in human resource development programs, a refocus o.
The Effect of Green Events on Cultural Corporate Image and Purchasing Intention

The mainstream marketing studies have been focusing on the effect of events on the sales. The purpose of this study is to empirically prove the effect of events on corporate images and purchasing intention and the difference in the effect according to the frequency of participation in the same events. This study conducted a survey, targeting 490 participants in some specific events that have continued under the same theme over the last 10 years. The results prove there is a difference in corporate image and purchasing intention between before and after the event, which means that events have a positive, yet there is no difference in the effect according the frequency of event participation. Furthermore the corporate image built through events has a positive effect on purchasing intention
Levels and Health Risk of Carbonyl Compounds in Air of the Library in Guangzhou, South China

ABSTRACTThe concentrations of 18 carbonyl compounds and their health risks for people were investigated in indoor and outdoor air of three different rooms of a library in Guangzhou, South China. Indoor air samples were collected during normal activities of staff and students, and carbonyl compounds were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results show that the total concentrations of 18 carbonyls ranged from 8.8 to 73.9 µg m–3 with a mean value of 24.7 µg m–3. Acetone was the most abundant species with a mean value of 10.8 µg m–3 in indoor air, followed by formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The levels of carbonyls in this study were relatively lower than most of other microenvironments in the literature. The average total concentration of carbonyls in the electronic reading room was higher than those in stack room and compact stack room. Diurnal variation in carbonyl concentrations was not distinct in the three rooms. The indoor/outdoor ratios and Spearman correlation coefficients demonstrated that endogenous emission sources contributed significantly to most of indoor carbonyls, while outdoor infiltration might be one of the main sources for acetaldehyde. The personal exposure, lifetime cancer risk, and non-cancer chronic health impacts through inhalation associated with formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were estimated and discussed.