bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The role of the marketing function in small and medium sized enterprises
Authors: Walsh Michael F. , Lipinski John
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), its role as a driver of competitive advantage, and, therefore, its importance to the firm.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted with 100 SMEs located in the mid‐Atlantic region of the United States.

Findings

The marketing function is not as well developed or influential in SMEs as it is in large corporations. Two environmental factors, type of market (consumer) and firm orientation (hierarchal), facilitate marketing's influence within a firm.

Research limitations/implications

Analyses conducted and conclusions reached in this research are based on a very limited sample of SMEs located in one region of one country. Broader sampling would help in generalization of the findings.

Practical implications

The results of this study are particularly troubling because marketing resources are one driver of competitive advantage. For marketing to increase in influence, individuals trained in marketing must gain a seat at the management table. Although marketing departments are responsible for marketing the firm's products and services, the job of marketers themselves internally remains unclear. Marketing departments must do more to ensure that marketing's voice is heard when key decisions are made.

Originality/value

This research fills a gap in the literature relating to the influence of marketing in SMEs. More importantly, the findings differ from conclusions raised by a similar study conducted for larger firms.
The relationship between the manager and growth in small firms
Authors: Andersson Svante , Tell Joakim
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the relationship between the manager and growth in small firms, through a review of earlier research.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of articles published during the last 25 years is carried out in order to answer the question: How does the top manager influence growth in small firms?

Findings

Three key relationships are identified: between growth and, respectively, managerial traits and characteristics, managerial intentions, and managerial behavior or roles. The diverse findings in the literature are contradictory and give a paradoxical picture of the impact of the manager. A deeper analysis of the results from the review, supplemented with leadership theory, yields a better understanding of small‐firm growth with a special focus on the behavior of the manager.

Research limitations/implications

This paper problematizes the complexity in managing small‐firm growth, and can be further empirically validated by using multiple methods including qualitative ones such as observational studies.

Practical Implications

The findings have a bearing on education and policy implications. If a behavior can be identified that promotes small firms' growth, education and policy implications can be developed in line with these results.

Originality/value

In small firms there seems to be a general consensus that managers do influence the performance of small firms, but so far there has not been a systematic review of earlier empirical research, that is done in this paper. From this review, a more complete picture of how managers influence growth in small firms is presented.
The dyadic bank‐SME relationship
Authors: Silver Lars , Vegholm Fatima
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to emphasise the theory of adaptation in the analysis of banks' ability to meet the needs of their SME customers. This analysis involves examining the interaction process between the two parties, determining how the role of bankers is perceived and studying how banks as organisations function.

Design/methodology/approach

In the study a total of 60 interviews are conducted, of which 45 are conducted with SME owners. For this specific study, data drawn from in depth interviews conducted with SME owners and with bankers are presented.

Findings

The following main factors affect the adaptation process and can help explain the difficulties of banks to adapt to their SME customers: the lack of communication and contact in the interaction process, the lack of knowledge and competence of individual bankers as regards their customers' specific businesses and the centralised and standardised system that prevails within the banking organisation. Also, in this study it is found that the organisational structure influences how individual bankers perceive themselves and their ability to adapt to the needs of SMEs, which in turn affects the individual bankers' adaptability when interacting with their SME customers.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, adaptation has not been examined in relation to the concepts of interaction, role and organisation, or within the banking industry.
Entrepreneurship: an organisational learning approach
Authors: Franco Mário , Haase Heiko
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the interface between learning and entrepreneurship, i.e. to show how entrepreneurship can be studied as a never‐ending, dynamic learning process.

Design/methodology/approach

By applying the typology of learning concepts at different organisational levels, the paper will elucidate how the entrepreneur's learning process is fundamental in his quest for new business opportunities and describe learning as a crucial factor for entrepreneurial activity.

Findings

From observations, a new definition of the entrepreneur is derived (entrepreneur as a learner) and a conceptual model of entrepreneurial learning theory is synthesized.

Research limitations/implications

The newly developed conceptual model has not been empirically validated. In terms of the guidelines for future research, this topic should be addressed by collecting information to expand the conceptual model presented here.

Originality/value

Key entrepreneurial learning components are identified and included in the model: intuiting and interpreting, external motivation, alertness and creativeness. The paper concludes with some theoretical ideas on what may influence the entrepreneur's learning and which entrepreneurship educators are suitable for empirical evaluation in future research.
Education, mobility and rural business development
Authors: Bosworth Gary
Published: November 2009

Purpose

In a period of rural economic change, knowledge and skills transfers and the generation of new economic opportunities are seen as essential for promoting rural development. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the impact of educated in‐migrants establishing new business activity in rural areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The research employs qualitative interviews with rural business owners informed by an earlier postal survey of rural microbusinesses in the North East of England. The interview data are used to explore the implications of owners' past education and work experience for the development of their businesses. The attitudes and networking behaviour of business owners are also explored in order to assess the extent to which social capital facilitates the exchange of valuable knowledge and opportunities between rural businesses.

Findings

Data indicate that rural in‐migrants, defined as having moved at least 30 miles as adults, arrive with significantly higher education qualifications than their local business‐owning counterparts. It also indicates that those with higher levels of education are most likely to engage with networking groups and business advice providers. This leads to the conclusion that as well as bringing higher levels of human capital, the integration of in‐migrants into local economies is indirectly increasing the potential levels of human and social capital across the rural economy.

Originality/value

The research highlights important data concerning the levels of education among in‐migrants and local business owners. It continues by developing theoretical explanations about the way that a business owner's background can influence their business activity. This raises awareness of the diversity of skills and networks among rural business owners that are enhancing the stocks of human and social capital in the rural economy.
Incorporating network perspectives in foresight: a methodological proposal
Authors: Nugroho Yanuar , Saritas Ozcan
Published: November 2009

Purpose

A particular feature that makes foresight powerful is its capability to learn from past trends to help guide decision‐making for future policy. However, in studying both past and future trends, network perspectives are often missing. Since networks are capable of revealing the structure that underpins relationships between stakeholders, key issues and actions in the past, they are powerful to help envisage the future. The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological framework to incorporate network analysis in foresight.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a generic framework to incorporate network analysis into foresight's five stages. Trends identified by respondents of the Big Picture Survey are used to demonstrate how we operationalize this framework.

Findings

A network perspective can enrich foresight analysis in that it helps reveal structural linkages between trends and thus can better identify emerging future issues, both of which are critical in foresight.

Research limitations/implications

The inclusion of network analysis can shed light on the process of understanding complex data and assist in building a model based on links and relationships. Network analysis can reveal otherwise unobservable structural features of the data and can help boundary setting discussions in foresight.

Practical implications

Network concepts and measures could usefully enrich the interpretation of foresight data for further analysis, or plausible scenarios.

Originality/value

Network analysis offers a new way of looking at the foresight data by disentangling complicated issue webs. As shaping the future becomes more essential because of the complexity of science, technology and society interrelationships, the incorporation of network perspectives in foresight might be one of the ways to propel future studies.
Understanding and improving patient safety: the psychological, social and cultural dimensions
Authors: Øvretveit John
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of how organisation behaviour research (OBR) helps to understand and resolve patient safety problems in health care.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper describes psychological, sociological and other social science theories and research which help to understand the causes of patient safety problems, how to implement change effectively and how to create an organisational culture of safety.

Findings

Social science perspectives and organisational behaviour research are beginning to show why improvements in patient safety are slow, and how to make lasting and effective change.

Research limitations/implications

Social sciences and OBR have already helped make healthcare safer, but could make a greater contribution. Progress could be faster with greater awareness of the findings of this research and understanding of social science research paradigms.

Practical implications

Better implementation and safer care could result from providing implementers and decision makers with more knowledge and access to social science research. More useful social science research could be developed by research funders and proposal reviewers gaining a greater understanding of social science methods and potential, and by including this research in a field made up largely of traditional experimental medical research methods.

Originality/value

This paper provides an overview of the scientific and practical contributions of social sciences to patient safety and shows where future studies could assist understanding of current challenges and speed implementation of change.
Analysing the “field” of patient safety employing Bourdieusian technologies
Authors: Travaglia Joanne F. , Braithwaite Jeffrey
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse the development of patient safety as a field within which patients are peripheral stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors examined the patient safety movement from the perspective of a field in which agents struggle for control over various forms of capital, including economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital. In order to undertake this analysis the authors drew on the literature on errors and patient safety, key inquiries into patient safety, and research conducted with health professionals in New South Wales, Australia.

Findings

The patient safety movement has created a heightened sense of awareness of errors and risk across health systems, thereby attracting and creating significant amounts of capital. The authors argue that in the process of struggle to constitute and contain a new field of health, patients and their narratives are rendered vulnerable to appropriation and incorporation.

Research limitations/implications

By considering patient safety from a sociological rather than a technical framework, it is possible to gain new insights into why reducing the levels of medical errors have proven so difficult.

Practical implications

Improved knowledge of how patient safety operates as a field may contribute to more effective strategies in reducing those types of errors.

Originality/value

Despite the growth in the number of publications in patient safety there has been only minimal analysis of the field itself, rather than its technical or organisational components. This paper contributes to a new way of conceptualising and enacting patient safety, one that acknowledges the vulnerability of the parties involved, particularly patients.
Building knowledge integration systems for evidence‐informed decisions
Authors: Best Allan , Terpstra Jennifer L. , Moor Gregg , Riley Barbara , Norman Cameron D. , Glasgow Russell E.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to describe methods and models designed to build a comprehensive, integrative framework to guide the research to policy and practice cycle in health care.

Design/methodology/approach

Current models of science are summarised, identifying specific challenges they create for knowledge to action (KTA). Alternative models for KTA are outlined to illustrate how researchers and decision makers can work together to fit the KTA model to specific problems and contexts. The Canadian experience with the evolving paradigm shift is described, along with recent initiatives to develop platforms and tools that support the new thinking. Recent projects to develop and refine methods for embedded research are described. The paper concludes with a summary of lessons learned and recommendations that will move the KTA field towards an integrated science.

Findings

Conceptual models for KTA are advancing, benefiting from advances in team science, development of logic models that address the realities of complex adaptive systems, and new methods to more rapidly deliver knowledge syntheses more useful to decision and policy makers.

Practical implications

KTA is more likely when co‐produced by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. Closer collaboration requires shifts in thinking about the ways we work, capacity development, and greater learning from practice.

Originality/value

More powerful ways of thinking about the complexities of knowledge to action are provided, along with examples of tools and priorities drawn from systems thinking.
Consumer behavior at an industrial travel show
Authors: Milner Laura M.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavior of consumers in an industrial trade show context – the ITB tourism trade show.

Design/methodology/approach

The current study addresses whether it is strategically astute to allow final consumers into an industrial trade show. Using a mall intercept method, questions were designed to elicit whether final consumers mimic industrial segments of current, potential or nonusers? Are they repeat or first time? How serious are they? Where in the search process are they? Are they product specific or simply engaged in information collection? How do they search? How are booth choices made?

Findings

Participants are current or potential and typically repeat. They are motivated and directed with booth choices being pre‐planned.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of convenience samples apply here. Study should be repeated. Future research should address whether consumers be allowed into other types of industrial trade shows.

Practical implications

This study addresses the utility of free promotional gifts and the strategic implications of allowing consumer access to an industrial event.

Originality/value

Only one other study was uncovered which examined consumer trade shows and it focused on vendor behavior.
Agri‐tourism and rural development: the Low‐Valdelsa case, Italy
Authors: Contini Caterina , Scarpellini Paola , Polidori Roberto
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the demand of tourists who stay in agri‐tourist facilities and assess the impact of agri‐tourism on local development in terms of income and employment. The study was conducted in Tuscany, a region which is pre‐eminent in terms of the Italian agri‐tourist supply and which has a strong attraction for tourists seeking natural resources, the countryside and the local culture.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology called for the use of the input output model based on a regional accounting matrix which was appropriately modified, according to data obtained from a direct investigation. Tourist spending was ascertained by means of a questionnaire submitted to tourists who stayed in agri‐tourist facilities. Main weaknesses of the tourist system were highlighted by means of personal interviews which were conducted with key informants.

Findings

The results emphasize a lack of coordination between the suppliers of products and services provided in the territory which limits local product visibility. An improved coordination would imply strengthening of individual actions and enhancing the value of products by linking them to the specific resources of the local system and cultural identity. This would determine a higher impact of agri‐tourism on the development of the area.

Practical implications

The research gains a better understanding of the community's interest in promoting agri‐tourism and provides insights for the drafting of local development strategies.

Originality/value

The paper intervenes in the debate on the role of rural tourism in local development with a case study in which agri‐tourist demand was analyzed, its impact on local income and employment was assessed and existing constraints in achieving socio‐economic development were identified and discussed.
Worker and consumer face‐off on cultural distance and satisfaction
Authors: Boylu Yasin , Tasci Asli D.A. , Gartner William C.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is threefold: measure the differences in importance of cultural values between Turkish hosts and European guests; measure perceived cultural difference (distance) to see if importance of cultural values are commensurate with cultural distance perception; and identify potential influence of perceived cultural distance on job satisfaction for Turkish service providers (hosts) and trip satisfaction for European consumers (guests).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey research was conducted in tourist towns in the Southwest part of Turkey to gather data from Turkish hosts (service providers) and European tourists. Two stepwise regression analyses were conducted to assess the magnitude of the relative impact of several variables on job satisfaction for hosts and trip satisfaction for guests.

Findings

Although results revealed differences in cultural values, cultural distance perception and satisfaction, the stepwise regression analyses did not reveal any influence of perceived cultural distance on satisfaction for either hosts or guests.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this study may not apply to all tourism consumption settings since respondents were surveyed in a general tourism setting context rather than limiting them to a certain consumption setting such as a restaurant, a hotel or a cruise ship.

Originality/value

By shedding light on cultural distance and its influence on both demand and supply side aspects, this study addresses a long‐neglected aspect in literature. Although several studies provide discussions on the impact of culture on both service providers' and consumers' attitude and behavior, there is a lack of empirical studies on the relationship between cultural distance and satisfaction.
The interrelations of decision‐making rationales around BSC adoptions in Finnish municipalities
Authors: Ilmari Rautiainen Antti
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the interrelations of the decision‐making rationales around accounting performance measurement (PM) adoptions in Finnish municipalities. Previous studies informed by new institutional sociology (NIS), have tended to assume that accounting PM adoptions occur because of either “rational” or “institutional” reasons. The accuracy of this “polar” view is empirically analyzed in this paper (as called for by Ribeiro and Scapens).

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data (199 responses, 48 per cent response rate) were analyzed with factor analyses using, for example, SPSS and LISREL programs.

Findings

The decision‐making rationales (factors) around Balanced Scorecard (BSC) adoption were labeled “mimetic”, “rational” and “normative‐experimental”. Mimetic rationale correlated negatively with the other factors.

Research limitations/implications

The data was small. Further, as case studies and LISREL diagnostics often suggest, there may be other forces involved in PM adoption related decision‐making.

Practical implications

Understanding the interplay of the various pressures may facilitate the management of PM development projects.

Originality/value

Rational and institutional rationales are opposed also in the Finnish public sector (corroborating DiMaggio and Powell), but this “polar” view needs to be amended with individual or “experimental” aspects (corroborating Granlund). Acknowledging all three rationales refines public sector PM adoption literature (Lapsley and Wright). Finally, the rationales were interrelated, i.e. able to interact or counteract in PM adoption related decision‐making.
Lean can be a survival strategy during recessionary times
Authors: Singh Bhim , Garg S.K. , Sharma S.K.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a survival strategy for industry in recessionary time by means of lean principles and philosophies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents the views of the authors regarding the application of lean principles and philosophies to overcome recession, followed by interaction with industrial personnel about recession, its effects and prevention.

Findings

Recessionary time is the time for industries to follow lean guidelines and to look in to their business chain from raw material to end customer in order to remove all types of waste.

Originality/value

The paper provides some real help as to how to survive in recession as there is little published research on this topic.
Revisiting women managers and organisational acceptance
Authors: Wood Glenice J.
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to revisit earlier predictions by Judi Marshall in 1991 to explore whether similar issues were evident in a sample of contemporary female managers.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data from six Australian female managers who had participated in a longitudinal study over a period of ten years were examined. Career advancement aspirations and outcomes were compared with those of male managers, and reflections on the managerial role, and organisational practices were sought.

Findings

Examples of organisational resilience “to involve women in organisations on equal terms” were evident in all the six female managers in the study. In addition, even when levels of success were achieved, it could be questioned whether these women could be seen as “definers of meaning (or culture)”.

Practical implications

Organisational culture appears to continue to create difficulties for contemporary women in management. A system of accountability is strongly recommended, based on a similar reporting programme adopted by the Equal Opportunity for Woment in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) to measure the equal opportunity programmes on offer in the workplaces of organisations with 100 or more employees.

Originality/value

The paper is highly original as it seeks to compare predictions made by an eminent UK scholar in the field of women in management in 1991 with the experiences of a small sample of contemporary Australian female managers over a ten‐year period in their management roles.
Exploring psychological contract contents in India: the employee and employer perspective
Authors: Aggarwal Upasana , Bhargava Shivganesh
Published: November 2009

Purpose

This paper aims to examine psychological contract contents, as perceived by two parties of the employment relationship, the employee and the employer.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted in two phases. Study 1 employs critical incidence technique (CIT) to elicit from individuals their perceptions regarding organization obligations. Study 2 is designed to corroborate the findings of the first study through a survey of 401 employees and 66 employer representatives (functional heads).

Findings

The results of the two studies are consonant with existing literature; nevertheless the role of culture on psychological contract contents is visible. The study reveals variation in employee and employer perspective regarding organizational obligations.

Practical implications

In India, recruiters need to go far beyond the discussions on compensation and focus on building relational aspects of job such as the job content avenues for career growth as well as creating a supportive work culture.

Originality/value

The study contributes to existing literature by examining content of psychological contract, a relatively neglected area of research in a fast growing Asian economy, India.
Indian gamers' recall, recognition and perceptions of in‐game placements
Authors: Kureshi Sonal , Sood Vandana
Published: November 2009

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of in‐game placements on the explicit memory of Indian gamers and understand their attitude towards this form of communication. It attempts to find out whether the memory effects differ due to the nature of the games. The avenues for in‐game placements for the rapidly growing Indian video gaming industry are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

The effect of the nature of the game on the recall and recognition is measured using a sample of 240 gamers; two games of different nature (fast versus slow) are used as stimuli and the recall and recognition of the in‐game placements are compared. Subsequently the perceptions towards this type of placement are tapped. The moderating effect of gaming experience on the explicit memory is also tested.

Findings

The paper finds that in‐game placements do affect the explicit memory of gamers. Games with lower perceptual load (slow game) result in a significantly higher recall and recognition as compared to the games with higher perceptual load (fast game). Indian players have a positive attitude towards placements in this medium and do not find this practice either intrusive or unethical.

Research limitations/implications

Further research using different combinations of games is required to confirm, expand and generalize the findings.

Practical implications

This medium provides an opportunity to brand managers and game developers as an alternative communication vehicle. In‐game placements provide an avenue to companies as they are cost effective, they facilitate building brand awareness and are not viewed negatively.

Originality/value

The arena of in‐game placements is an unexplored one in India. This study is the first step towards understanding views and effects of in‐game placements on Indian gamers and may encourage more research in this field.
Technology development in China and India: a comparative evaluation
Authors: Bhaumik Pradip K. , Chakrabarti Alok K. , Mäkinen Saku
Published: November 2009

Purpose

During past ten years China and India have emerged as the favorite destination for R&D investment. In this paper a comparative evaluation of the process of technology development in China and India is carried out. The objective is to identify the rate of growth of technology and the patterns of development in different technology sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on the tangible, measurable and recorded output of the technology development process – namely grant of patents. The authors have used US patents as the surrogate measure for the technological output between 1992 to 2007. The authors obtained data on inventor's background, ownership pattern of the patents, as well as technology sectors and descriptive statistics are used to compare the trends between the two countries.

Findings

The paper finds that both China and India have achieved very high growth rates in patents granted with some resident research between 1992 and 2007. Both have a high percentage of foreign‐owned and low percentage of joint ownership of patents. Also, a clear polarization in the composition of research teams is detected in both China and India in that international researcher teams have largely been used only for foreign and jointly owned patents. The authors find that corporations have become much more active in recent years in patenting and multi national companies have led the local companies in patent development across many sectors. The authors also detect some significant differences in the Chinese and Indian pursuit of patent development. About 30 to 35 percent of all patents developed in China are design patents – the rest being utility patents. For India almost all such patents – more than 95 percent – are utility patents. The authors find a clear dominance along the mechanical trajectory among the patents developed in China, while for India a similar dominance is along the chemical trajectory that includes pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Another interesting finding is the growing share of ICT patents in both China and India, particularly in the last few years China has emerged ahead of India in terms of its patent development as well as in the internationalization of its patent development as reflected in the ownership of patents developed. However, even for foreign patents developed in these countries, researcher collaboration is showing a downward trend.

Originality/value

This paper carries out a comparative evaluation of the process of technology development in China and India. The analysis is based on the tangible, measurable and recorded output of the technology development process – namely grant of patents. The paper uses US patents as the surrogate measure for the technological output from China and India.
Probabilistic Forecasts of Wind Speed: Ensemble Model Output Statistics by using Heteroscedastic Censored Regression
Authors: Thorarinsdottir Thordis L. , Gneiting Tilmann
Published: November 2009

As wind energy penetration continues to grow, there is a critical need for probabilistic forecasts of wind resources. In addition, there are many other societally relevant uses for forecasts of wind speed, ranging from aviation to ship routing and recreational boating. Over the past two decades, ensembles of dynamical weather prediction models have been developed, in which multiple estimates of the current state of the atmosphere are used to generate a collection of deterministic forecasts. However, even state of the art ensemble systems are uncalibrated and biased. Here we propose a novel way of statistically post-processing dynamical ensembles for wind speed by using heteroscedastic censored (tobit) regression, where location and spread derive from the ensemble. The resulting ensemble model output statistics method is applied to 48-h-ahead forecasts of maximum wind speed over the North American Pacific Northwest by using the University of Washington mesoscale ensemble. The statistically post-processed density forecasts turn out to be calibrated and sharp, and result in a substantial improvement over the unprocessed ensemble or climatological reference forecasts.
Breast Cancer Survival, Competing Risks and Mixture Cure Model: A Bayesian Analysis
Authors: Basu Sanjib , Tiwari Ram C.
Published: November 2009

Cancer is a major public health burden and is the second leading cause of death in the USA. The US National Cancer Institute estimated overall costs of cancer in 2007 at $219.2 billion. Breast cancer has the highest cancer incidence rates among women and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women. The ‘Surveillance, epidemiology, and end results’ programme of the National Cancer Institute collects and publishes cancer survival data from 17 population-based cancer registries. The CANSURV software of the National Cancer Institute analyses cancer survival data from the programme by using parametric and semiparametric mixture cure models. Another popular approach in cancer survival is the competing risks approach which considers the simultaneous risks from cancer and various other causes. The paper develops a model that unifies the mixture cure and competing risks approaches and that can handle the masked causes of death in a natural way. Markov chain sampling is used for Bayesian analysis of this model, and modelling and computational issues of general and restricted structures are discussed. The various model structures are compared by using Bayes factors. This Bayesian model is used to analyse survival data for the approximately 620000 breast cancer cases from the programme. The estimated cumulative probabilities of death from breast cancer from the proposed mixture cure competing risks model is found to be lower than the estimates that are obtained from the CANSURV software. Whereas the estimate of the cure fraction is found to be dependent on the modelling assumptions, the survival and cumulative probability estimates are not sensitive to these assumptions. Breast cancer survival in different ethnic subgroups, in different age subgroups and in patients with localized, regional and distant stages of the disease are compared. The risk of mortality from breast cancer is found to be the dominant cause of death in the beginning part of the follow-up whereas the risk from other competing causes often became the dominant cause in the latter part. This interrelation between breast cancer and other competing risks varies among the different ethnic groups, the different stages and the different age groups.
ATRA inhibits ceramide kinase transcription in a human neuroblastoma cell line, SH‐SY5Y cells: the role of COUP‐TFI
Authors: Murakami Masashi , Ito Hiromi , Hagiwara Kazumi , Yoshida Kayo , Sobue Sayaka , Ichihara Masatoshi , Takagi Akira , Kojima Tetsuhito , Tanaka Kouji , Tamiya‐Koizumi Keiko , Kyogashima Mamoru , Suzuki Motoshi , Banno Yoshiko , Nozawa Yoshinori , Murate Takashi
Published: November 2009

Ceramide is the central lipid in the sphingolipid metabolism. Ceramide kinase (CERK) and its product, ceramide 1‐phosphate, have been implicated in various cellular functions. However, the regulatory mechanism of CERK gene expression remains to be determined. Here, we examined CERK mRNA level during all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA)‐induced differentiation of a human neuroblastoma cell line, SH‐SY5Y. ATRA reduced CERK mRNA and protein levels. Over‐expression and small interfering RNA (siRNA) of CERK revealed that CERK is inhibitory against ATRA‐induced neuronal differentiation and cell growth arrest. ATRA inhibited the transcriptional activity of 5′‐promoter of CERK. Truncation and mutation study suggests that ATRA‐responsible region was mainly located in the tandem retinoic acid responsive elements (RARE) between −40 bp and the first exon. The electrophoresis mobility shift assay revealed that ATRA produced two retarded bands, which were erased by antibody against chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor I (COUP‐TFI), RARα, and RXRα, respectively. DNA pull‐down assay confirmed increased binding of these transcription factors to RARE. Transient expression of RAR, RXR, and COUP‐TFI and siRNA transfection of these genes revealed that COUP‐TFI inhibited CERK mRNA. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed the recruitment of co‐repressors as well as three transcription factors. These results suggest that COUP‐TFI was the ATRA‐responsive suppressive transcription factor of CERK gene transcription.
Noninvasive Assessment of UV‐induced Skin Damage: Comparison of Optical Measurements to Histology and MMP Expression
Authors: Papazoglou Elisabeth , Sunkari Chetana , Neidrauer Mike , Klement John F. , Uitto Jouni
Published: November 2009

Acute exposure to UV radiation (UVR) causes visible skin damage such as erythema and results in local and systemic immunosuppression while chronic exposure can result in photocarcinogenesis. These deleterious effects can be quantified by histology and by bioassays of key biological markers, including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), or tryptophan moieties. We now report our results in quantifying UV skin damage with noninvasive optical methods based on reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy and compare these noninvasive measurements to histopathology and MMP‐13 expression. A solar simulator with spectral output nearly identical to that of solar radiation was developed and used in our experiments. SKH1 hairless mice were exposed to solar‐simulated UVR at a total dose of 21 MED delivered over 10 weeks. Changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin were measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and tryptophan changes were monitored via a fluorescence monitor. Our results show that there is an increase in erythema, skin fluorescence, sunburn cells and MMP‐13 after a series of suberythemal doses of UV irradiation on a hairless mouse animal model. Increased skin fluorescence is observed with increasing UV exposure. The levels of MMP‐13 increase as the cumulative UV dose increases but their increase does not correspond to noninvasively measured changes.
Limitations to performance during alpine skiing
Authors: Ferguson Richard A.
Published: November 2009

Alpine skiing is characterized by high‐intensity exercise of between 90 and 120 s duration that requires repeated phases of high‐force isometric and eccentric contractions. The nature of these contractions, during which all fibre types are active, results in restricted blood flow to the working muscle, thereby reducing oxygen delivery and increasing metabolite accumulation. The consequence of this will be skeletal muscle fatigue, through both central and peripheral mechanisms, and a potential loss of motor control which will ultimately limit skiing performance.
Training in hypoxia fails to further enhance endurance performance and lactate clearance in well‐trained men and impairs glucose metabolism during prolonged exercise
Authors: Lecoultre Virgile , Boss Andreas , Tappy Luc , Borrani Fabio , Tran Christel , Schneiter Philippe , Schutz Yves
Published: November 2009

The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effects of endurance training and hypoxia on endurance performance in normoxic and hypoxic conditions (∼3000 m above sea level) as well as on lactate and glucose metabolism during prolonged exercise. For this purpose, 14 well‐trained cyclists performed 12 training sessions in conditions of normobaric hypoxia (HYP group, n= 7) or normoxia (NOR group, n= 7) over 4 weeks. Before and after training, lactate and glucose turnover rates were measured by infusion of exogenous lactate and stable isotope tracers. Endurance performance was assessed during incremental tests performed in normoxia and hypoxia and a 40 km time trial performed in normoxia. After training, performance was similarly and significantly improved in the NOR and HYP groups (training, P < 0.001) in normoxic conditions. No further effect of hypoxic training was found on markers of endurance performance in hypoxia (training × hypoxia interaction, n.s.). In addition, training and hypoxia had no significant effect on lactate turnover rate. In contrast, there was a significant interaction of training and hypoxia (P < 0.05) on glucose metabolism, as follows: plasma insulin and glucose concentrations were significantly increased; glucose metabolic clearance rate was decreased; and the insulin to glucagon ratio was increased after training in the HYP group. In conclusion, our results show that, compared with training in normoxia, training in hypoxia has no further effect on endurance performance in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions or on lactate metabolic clearance rate. Additionally, these findings suggest that training in hypoxia impairs blood glucose regulation in endurance‐trained subjects during exercise.
A Two-Dimensional Conjugate Heat Transfer Model for Forced Air Cooling of an Electronic Device
Authors: Zebib A. , Wo Y. K.
Published: November 2009

Thermal analysis of forced air cooling of an electronic component is modeled as a two-dimensional conjugate heat transfer problem. The velocity field in a constricted channel is first computed. Then, for a typical electronic module, the energy equation is solved with allowance for discontinuities in the thermal conductivity. Variation of the maximum temperature with the average air velocity is presented. The importance of our approach in evaluating possible benefits due to changes in component design and the limitations of the two-dimensional model are discussed.
Enhanced Boiling on Microconfigured Surfaces
Authors: Wright N. , Gebhart B.
Published: November 2009

New results are presented for pool boiling from vertical, smooth and regularly microconfigured etched silicon surfaces, in saturated water at 1 atm. All specimens were 1.27 cm square and approximately 300 μm thick. The etched microstructures were hexagonal dimples and rectangular trenches. The dimples were 4.1 μm deep and 11.5 μm across, on 22 μm centers. The trenches were 51 μm deep, 12.6 μm wide and 101 μm long, with repeat distances of 22 and 110 μm, in the two directions. The surface densities of the microstructures were 2 × 105 per cm2 for the dimples and 0.4 × 105 per cm2 for the trenches. Electrical heating was accomplished by applying an electrical potential across the phosphorous doped dry side of the silicon specimen substrate. The hexagonally dimpled specimen in the nominal nucleate pool boiling region had heat transfer increased by a factor of 4.2 over that of the smooth specimens. The heat transfer enhancement was a factor of 3.1 over the smooth specimen data, for the trenched specimen data. In the nominally convective-vaporization regime, both the smooth and microconfigured specimens had as much as 5 times the heat transfer compared to a uniform flux natural convection correlation. Comparable heat transfer measurements in subcooled water verified the experimental procedure and also indicated that only a small fraction of this large enhancement may be explained by edge effects, on these small heaters.
Thermal Analysis of a New IMPATT Semiconductor Device
Authors: Tseng A. A.
Published: November 2009

In many cases, functions of semiconductor devices are limited by thermal rather than electronic considerations. A microcomputer code has been developed to analyze the steady-state thermal behavior of a new multilayered IMPATT device. A two-step modeling approach which can reduce the computer memory needed for computation was employed to allow the present study to be conducted in a microcomputer. The new device was originally designed for electronic purposes. However, the present study found that the multilayer design can provide a favorable thermal environment to improve the heat dissipation rate. The present results also indicate that an increase of the operating frequency increases the thermal resistance which is consistent with most observations. Since the detailed information on temperature distributions throughout the device as well as the proposed packaging (heat sink) is available, the present study can contribute not only to better understanding of the device’s thermal characteristics but also to better design of the packaging.
Oil Films on Electroplated Gold Contact Surfaces
Authors: Bayer R. G. , Conrow K. M. , Lazarou P. A.
Published: November 2009

This study was performed to quantify the amount of oil applied to Au electroplated sample sufaces and to support friction and wear studies performed to determine the optimum metallurgy and lubricant coverage of such samples. An oil coating technique was developed that was gravimetrically reproducible. Polarized light microscopy was used to measure oil thickness on these surfaces and document by photomacrograph the type of oil coverage present. It was determined that the type of oil coverage is influenced by the distance between the asperities of the Au electroplated surface with a secondary dependency on their shape. As oil coverage of these electroplated surfaces can be discontinuous, a method to quantify the equivalent thickness of this oil film as if it had been continuous was developed. Also a model was developed to relate surface parameters to the thickness of the oil layer.
Creep Rupture Behavior of Selected Turbine Materials in Air, Ultra-High Purity Helium, and Simulated Closed Cycle Brayton Helium Working Fluids
Authors: Ammon R. L. , Eisenstatt L. R. , Yatsko G. O.
Published: November 2009

Five turbine materials, IN100, 713LC, MAR-M-509, MA-754 and TZM were selected as candidate materials for use in a Compact Closed Cycle Brayton System (CCCBS) study in which helium served as the working fluid. The suitability of the alloys to serve in the CCCBS environment at 927 C (1700 F) was evaluated on the basis of creep-rupture tests conducted in air, ultra-high purity helium (>99.9999 percent), and a controlled impurity helium environment. Baseline reference creep rupture properties for times up to 10,000 hr were established in a static ultra-high purity helium environment.
Stator Endwall Leading-Edge Sweep and Hub Shroud Influence on Compressor Performance
Authors: Tweedt D. L. , Okiishi T. H. , Hathaway M. D.
Published: November 2009

The use of stator endwall leading-edge sweep to improve axial-flow compressor stator row performance was examined experimentally. The aerodynamics of three stator hub (inner diameter) conditions, namely, a running clearance, a stationary clearance, and a shroud, were also investigated. Leading-edge sweep in the endwall regions of a stator blade can be beneficial in terms of loss reduction on the casing (outer diameter) end of a stator blade. It can also help at the hub end of a stator blade when either a stationary hub clearance or a hub shroud is used. A leading-edge sweep is detrimental (local loss increase) on the hub end of a stator blade when a running hub clearance is used. A running clearance is aerodynamically preferable to a stationary clearance.