bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Flexible Regression
Authors: Rust Roland T.
Published: December 2018

Marketing researchers who want to do multiple regression often have data in which some of the standard regression assumptions are violated. Flexible regression is a new method for performing a nonparametric multiple regression while relaxing several of the standard assumptions of regression. In particular the assumptions of linearity, normal errors, and homoskedasticity are relaxed. The approach is based on nonparametric density estimation, which results in a more synergistic and less parametrically constrained method of analysis. Asymptotic properties of estimators are explored and necessary conditions are established for the rejection of significance tests that correspond to the major tests of regression. In addition, a necessary condition for rejection of a significance test is provided to determine whether or not to use flexible regression instead of conventional multiple regression. The advantages of the method are illustrated with several examples.
The Relationship between Advertising and Product Quality over the Product Life Cycle: A Contingency Theory
Authors: Tellis Gerard J. , Fornell Claes
Published: December 2018

The relationship between advertising and product quality has been a controversial topic in the literature because of conflicting empirical evidence and divergent theories about advertising's effects. The authors present an integrative theory based on consumer response to advertising and the costs of producing quality products. The theory posits that the relationship between advertising and quality is stronger when (1) quality is produced at lower cost and (2) consumers are less responsive to advertising. Such a scenario is more likely during the latter stages of the product life cycle. An empirical test supports this argument.
Recognition versus Recall as Measures of Television Commercial Forgetting
Authors: Singh Surendra N. , Rothschild Michael L. , Churchill Gilbert A.
Published: December 2018

The authors report the second in a series of experiments on recognition as a dependent variable in the study of learning and forgetting of television commercials. They investigate the impact of time since exposure, commercial length, and commercial repetition on recognition and unaided recall scores. The results indicate that recognition scores are not indiscriminately high, as commonly is argued, and that they do decline with time, contrary to what often is assumed. The data, in fact, show that recognition scores are more sensitive and more discriminating than, and covary with, unaided recall scores. The evidence indicates they warrant more consideration by advertisers.
Print Ad Recognition Readership Scores: An Information Processing Perspective
Authors: Finn Adam
Published: December 2018

An information processing perspective is used to develop hierarchical and divergent models of how individuals process print ads. An aggregation across individuals generated related audience-level models, which were operationalized by using Starch scores and extended to incorporate specific ad characteristics. Confirmatory tests -indicate that these models provide a substantial advance over previous data-driven approaches to analyzing readership scores.
The Price Elasticity of Selective Demand: A Meta-Analysis of Econometric Models of Sales
Authors: Tellis Gerard J.
Published: December 2018

The author describes a meta-analysis of econometric studies that estimated the elasticity of selective sales or market share to price. The literature review yielded 367 suitable price elasticities from about 220 different brands/markets. The results indicate that the price elasticity is significantly negative and, in absolute value, eight times larger than the advertising elasticity obtained from a prior meta-analysis. The omission of distribution or quality, the use of only cross-sectional data, and temporal aggregation lead to severe biases in the estimates of price elasticity. The elasticity also differs significantly over the brand life cycle, product categories, estimation methods, and countries.
Niching versus Change-of-Pace Brands: Using Purchase Frequencies and Penetration Rates to Infer Brand Positionings
Authors: Kahn Barbara E. , Kalwani Manohar U. , Morrison Donald G.
Published: December 2018

The authors examine deviations from Ehrenberg's “ w i (1 - b i) equal to a constant” law to infer the positioning of low share brands as niche versus change-of-pace brands. Results from empirical analyses using NPD panel data for four product classes are reported.
Growth Curve Analysis in Marketing: Method and Application
Authors: Lessne Greg J. , Hanumara R. Choudary
Published: December 2018

Extant methods are incapable of analyzing the short-term time series data often encountered by marketers. The authors present a growth curve approach developed by Finn that fills a void in the array of tools available to marketing researchers. The approach is particularly useful in analyzing test-market data.
Consumer Preference Formation and Pioneering Advantage
Authors: Carpenter Gregory S. , Nakamoto Kent
Published: December 2018

Market pioneers outsell later entrants in both consumer and industrial markets. Entry barriers arising from preemptive positioning and switching costs have been advanced to explain this market share difference, termed “pioneering advantage.” However, empirical studies show that pioneering advantages are present even in mature markets in which brands reposition and switching costs are minimal. In these cases, the authors argue that pioneering advantage can arise from the process by which consumers learn about brands and form their preferences. This process can produce a preference structure that favors the pioneer, making it difficult for later entrants to “compete away” the pioneer's large market share, even if brands can reposition and switching costs are minimal.
Measuring Consumer Attitudes toward the Marketplace with Tailored Interviews
Authors: Balasubramanian Siva K. , Kamakura Wagner A.
Published: December 2018

The authors demonstrate how item response theory can be applied for cost effective measurement of consumer attitudes with multi-item scales. The measurement technique they discuss and illustrate is tailored to each respondent so that each is asked only the scale items most informative of his or her attitude level. This approach yields attitude estimates from only a fraction of the total number of items in the attitude scale, with a measurable and controllable increase in the standard error of measurement. Potential cost-saving implications are discussed.
Reply to Greenacre's Commentary on the Carroll-Green-Schaffer Scaling of Two-Way Correspondence Analysis Solutions
Authors: Carroll J. Douglas , Green Paul E. , Schaffer Catherine M.
Published: December 2018

The authors consider Greenacre's criticisms of the CGS scaling of two-way correspondence analysis. They suggest that Greenacre's indictment of this scaling approach also implies an indictment of multiple correspondence analysis interpretations—interpretations that have been made by him (and by other contributors to correspondence analysis) prior to the publication of their articles.
The Effect of Purchase Quantity and Timing on Variety-Seeking Behavior
Authors: Simonson Itamar
Published: December 2018

Two consumer strategies for the purchase of multiple items from a product class are contrasted. In one strategy (simultaneous choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys several items on one shopping trip and consumes the items over several consumption occasions. In the other strategy (sequential choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys one item at a time, just before each consumption occasion. The first strategy is posited to yield more variety seeking than the second. The greater variety seeking is attributed to forces operating in the simultaneous choices/sequential consumption strategy, including uncertainty about future preferences and a desire to simplify the decision. Evidence from three studies, two involving real products and choices, is consistent with these conjectures. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed.
A Process-Tracing Study of Brand Extension Evaluation
Authors: Boush David M. , Loken Barbara
Published: December 2018

The authors explore the implications of considering a brand as representing a category consisting of its products. They report results of a laboratory experiment in which response times and verbal protocols were used to examine processes related to the evaluation of brand extensions. Evaluations of brand extensions were influenced both by the extension's similarity to the brand's current products (brand extension typicality) and by the variation among a brand's current products (brand breadth). An inverted U describes the relationship between brand extension typicality and evaluation process measures. Moderately typical extensions were evaluated in a more piecemeal and less global way than were either extremely typical or extremely atypical extensions. Subjects’ attitudes toward brand extensions were correlated highly with their ratings of brand extension typicality.
Measuring the Short-Term Effect of In-Store Promotion and Retail Advertising on Brand Sales: A Factorial Experiment
Authors: Bemmaor Albert C. , Mouchoux Dominique
Published: December 2018

In a replicated in-store factorial experiment with 12 national brands in six nonperishable consumer goods categories, the authors find price deal elasticities in the [2–11] range, with larger values for smaller brands. Those elasticities increase 20% to 180% when deals are advertised by the retailer; the rates of increase are smaller for the leading brands. The price deal cross-elasticities of the higher priced brands are found to be smaller than those of the other brands; they are in the [2–2.7] range. Optimal retail deal rates are shown to be robust to model specification.
Adaptive Conjoint Analysis: Some Caveats and Suggestions
Authors: Green Paul E. , Krieger Abba M. , Agarwal Manoj K.
Published: December 2018

In the short span of five years, Sawtooth Software's Adaptive Conjoint Analysis (ACA) has become one of industry's most popular software packages for collecting and analyzing conjoint data. The authors critically examine ACA's assumption structure and measurement procedures; both formal and empirical findings are reported. They conclude with a series of constructive suggestions for increasing the reliability and versatility of the ACA package.
Encoding and Retrieval of Ad Affect in Memory
Authors: Stayman Douglas M. , Batra Rajeev
Published: December 2018

The relationship in memory between affect evoked by an ad during exposure and the brand name is discussed and tested. Two studies tested the possible role of advertising in strengthening ties between affect and a brand name in memory by examining accessibility of ad affect and its possible relevance to decision making. The first study assessed whether the brand name could serve as a prime for ad affect and whether such affect is likely to have greater influence in low than high involvement decisions. The second study showed that subjects whose brand preferences were influenced by positive affect during ad exposure were more able to feel positive when the brand name was used as a subsequent retrieval cue than either subjects without positive affect at exposure or subjects for whom a different brand name was used as the subsequent retrieval cue. Implications are drawn from these results for the storage and retrieval of advertising-elicited affect in memory.
The Performance of the Polychoric Correlation Coefficient and Selected Fitting Functions in Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Ordinal Data
Authors: Rigdon Edward E. , Ferguson Carl E.
Published: December 2018

In a simulation study, no combination of the polychoric correlation coefficient with any LISREL 7 fitting function produced unbiased estimated standard errors or a correctly distributed chi square statistic. However, there were major differences in the performance of the five fitting functions in the analysis of ordinal data.
Competitor Orientation: Effects of Objectives and Information on Managerial Decisions and Profitability
Authors: Armstrong J. Scott , Collopy Fred
Published: December 2018

Managers are often advised, “beat your competitors,” which sometimes contrasts with the advice, “do the best for your firm.” This may lead managers to focus on comparative measures such as market share. Drawing on game theory, the authors hypothesize that managers are competitor oriented under certain conditions, in particular, when they are provided with information about competitors’ performance. Empirical studies lead to the additional hypothesis that a competitor orientation is detrimental to performance. To examine these hypotheses, the authors conduct two studies. The first is a laboratory study in which 1016 subjects made pricing decisions. When information about the competitor's profits was provided, over 40% of the subjects were willing to sacrifice part of their company's profits to beat or harm the competitor. Such competitor-oriented behavior occurred across a variety of treatments. The second is a field study used to examine the performance over a half-century of 20 large U.S. firms with differing objectives. Firms with competitor-oriented (market share) objectives were less profitable and less likely to survive than those whose objectives were directly oriented to profits.
Modifying Cluster-Based Segments to Enhance Agreement with an Exogenous Response Variable
Authors: Krieger Abba M. , Green Paul E.
Published: December 2018

K-means clustering programs are frequently used to group buyers into market segments. Segment members exhibit similar background profiles, based on such characteristics as psychographics, benefits seeking, conjoint-based partworths, and so on. In addition, researchers also may use data on one or more exogenous variables for the same respondents. The authors describe and apply an algorithm for systematically modifying the original K-means segmentation to enhance prediction of an exogenous variable (either continuous or categorical). The modification is designed to respect a user-specified constraint on the permissible percentage decrease in the initial partition's ratio of among-groups sums of squares to total-groups sums of squares. The authors compare this approach with models drawn from the highly popular clusterwise regression literature.
Ritual Links Worship and Learning: An Empirical and Theoretical Contribution from the Perspective of Young People Participating in the Lord's Supper
Authors: De Kock A. (Jos) , Sonnenberg P.M. (Ronelle)
Published: December 2018

This article aims at more clarity on the interrelationship between worship and learning, and more insight into the ‘how’ of the formative power of worship practices. By a theoretical discussion, and by an empirical investigation into the practice of the Lord's Supper, this article serves current practical theological research on the edge of liturgical studies and religious education. The leading research question is: How do worship practices of the Lord's Supper contribute to the religious learning of young participants? The authors conclude that religious learning can be interpreted as a communal quality of participation in the Lord's Supper, which is anchored in social, cognitive and action processes before, in and after participation in the liturgical – ritual aspect of the practice of worship. The conclusion is that the liturgical ritual basically serves the relationship between worship and learning in faith communities.
Authority and Litugical Formation: About a Reformational Dream, a Complex Set of Relationships, and a Play Worth Playing
Authors: Deeg Alexander
Published: December 2018

The question of authority interrupts self-evident relationships of liturgical praxis and liturgical formation. It makes visible what otherwise would usually remain hidden. Both implicit actors and hidden power structures become identifiable.

The Reformation was, among other things, a movement that became powerful by questioning previously dominant power structures. Liturgically it meant a normative centering of liturgical worship on just two active subjects: God and the community. In any case that is how we can describe the liturgical dream of the reformers to which Luther gave special expression in his 1544 Torgau church-dedication sermon. To be sure, this dream was never a reality at any time. For it was above all the pastor who gained control of the worship service; and from the outset, Evangelical worship was threatened by a horizontalizing of liturgical communication that tented to push, along with the community, even ‘God’ into becoming secondary subjects of the liturgy. Hence it is necessary to paint a more realistic picture of those who play a part in the liturgy. This results in a liturgical pyramid at the horizontal base of which we find pastors, the community, and the ‘Agende’ (ritual/tradition/Church), and whose verticals are constituted by the God-relation. Liturgical praxis takes place in the interplay of these poles, whereby in Evangelical Christianity it is usually the pastor who turns out to be the strong liturgical subject (even today in the context of the “Evangelisches Gottesdienstbuch”, 1999).

Hence the question: How can we bring about a strengthening of the authority of the community in the God-community word-exchange of the liturgy? This requires liturgical instruction on at least three levels:
Spatial patterns and driving forces of uneven dual-track urbanisation in Fujian Province: An approach based on employment sectors
Authors: Lin Lijie , Shen Jianfa
Published: December 2018

This paper analyses the spatial patterns and driving forces of uneven dual-track urbanisation in Fujian province using an approach based on the employment sector. It is found that uneven dual-track urbanisation is driven by four major driving forces, including the administrative force, the general internal market force, the specific internal market force, and the external force. Four area types based on employment structure have different levels of dual-track urbanisation. The relatively balanced levels of state-sponsored and spontaneous urbanisation are found in state-led urbanised areas and less developed areas. However, the levels of two urbanisation tracks in state-led urbanised areas far exceed other areas. Their high level of state-sponsored urbanisation is backed up by a large state-owned sector. There is also significant spontaneous urbanisation owing to the rising private sector and inflow of migrant workers to main urban centres. Coastal developed areas have a high level of spontaneous urbanisation but a relatively low level of state-sponsored urbanisation. Less developed areas have low levels of both state-sponsored and spontaneous urbanisation. The Fujian case shows that the two tracks of urbanisation have beenadvancing despite the relative decline of the employment share of state-owned and collective-owned sectors. The economic sectors other than state-owned and collective-owned sectors have contributed to both tracks of urbanisation. The results shed new light on the relationship between the employment sectors and dual-track urbanisation in China.
Alcohol Consumption and Management Strategies Among Gay Bar Patrons in San Francisco and Oakland, CA
Authors: Lin Jessica , Hecht Jennifer , Plenty Albert H. , Siedle-Khan Bob , Zamudio-Haas Sophia , Ayala Alicia , Charlebois Edwin D.
Published: December 2018

Despite significant attention on gay men’s substance use, much remains unknown about how environmental factors may contribute to gay men’s elevated drinking patterns. We undertook a qualitative study of 51 gay bar patrons in San Francisco and Oakland, CA, in an effort to better understand the context of drinking motivations and management within the gay community in San Francisco and Oakland and to identify areas for potential interventions to encourage drinking moderation. A thematic analysis framework guided the process used to identify overarching themes and organize data around the social ecological framework. A focus on drinking motivations and management strategies emerged as a recurring theme across interviews. In this article, we describe alcohol consumption and management strategies that suggest that gay bar patrons experience encouragement from the individual, interpersonal, community, and structural levels to drink and that environmental and internal motivators for drinking often override participant’s intentions and individualized strategies for moderation. Our findings suggest an unmet need for assistance in helping men to create effective harm reduction strategies around drinking, as well as an opportunity for creating interventions that address community- and structural-level motivators for drinking and management.
Cultural Identity, Africultural Coping Strategies, and Depression as Predictors of Suicidal Ideations and Attempts Among African American Female College Students
Authors: Morrison Kara S. , Hopkins Reginald
Published: December 2018

Suicide prevention is a growing health concern in America for many minority groups. Although experts agree suicide is associated with cultural practices and beliefs, there is limited evidence on how African American women cultural values and practices influence their low rates of suicide. This study explores cultural identity, Africultural coping strategies, and depression as predictors of suicidal ideations and attempts among African American female college students. It was hypothesized that suicidal ideations and attempts are negatively related to cultural identity and Africultural coping styles, but positively related to depression. One hundred and thirty-seven African American female students were administered a battery of measures assessing cultural identity, coping strategies, and suicidal ideations and attempts. Results revealed that Africultural coping strategies and depression emerged as significant predictors of suicidal ideation and attempts. Results are discussed in terms of African American culture as a buffer to possible suicidal behavior in African American women.
From Chiefdom to Kingdom and Empire: Trajectories of State in South India
Authors: Veluthat Kesavan
Published: December 2018

This article seeks to trace the journey of the state in South India under the Cōļas. They begin as chiefs in a relatively undifferentiated society. It was the proximity of the kinsmen with the chiefs or otherwise that determined the relative status of different sections of society and not differentiation on account of unequal access to resources and surplus at this stage. However, changes in the means and relations of production, especially the introduction of non-kin labour for purposes of agricultural production, brought about major changes in the social order. This changed order required the institution of the state, and the emergence of the Cōļa kingdom in the Kāvēri valley can be shown as a response to this demand. Further elaboration and refinement enabled the Cōļa state to graduate to the level of an empire; but since the parts too were coming of age, this empire fell apart in about a century. By the close of the thirteenth century, the Cōļa kingdom fell prey to the Hoysala invasions and became already a thing of the past, but with vivid memories recounted in legend and song.
Zebrafish embryos exposed to deltamethrin exhibit abnormalities despite induced expression of related genes (you, you-too, momo and u-boot)
Authors: Shabnam Kuder Reshma , Gangappa Dharmapuri , Philip Gundala Harold
Published: December 2018

Evaluation of the toxic effects of a widely used synthetic pyrethroid, deltamethrin (DM), was carried out in this study. This pesticide is preferred for pest control because of its low environmental persistence and toxicity. We investigated the expression pattern of four genes, namely, you ( you), yot ( you-too), momo ( mom) and ubo ( u-boot) during early development of zebrafish, that is, from 12 hpf to 48 hpf stages. These stages are selected as most of the important developmental aspects take place during this period. All four genes are known to play a vital role in development of notochord and somites. To understand the effect of DM on development, embryos of 4 hpf stage were exposed to two concentrations (100 and 200 µg/L) of DM, and observations were made at 12, 24 and 48 hpf stages. Our earlier studies have shown phenotypic abnormalities such as notochord bending, tail deformation, yolk sac and pericardial edema, lightening of body and eye pigmentation and interfered in somite patterning, during these stages of development. Understanding the relationship of phenotypic abnormalities with these four genes has been our primary objective. These four genes were analyzed by Reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction and intensity of the bands has shown induction in their expression after exposure to the toxicant. In spite of the expression of genes, it was noticed that DM caused abnormalities. It can be said from the results that translational pathway could have been affected.
Multilevel Factors Influencing Young Mothers’ Breastfeeding: A Qualitative CBPR Study
Authors: Chopel Alison , Soto Danielle , Joiner Bre’Jaynae , Benitez Tina , Konoff Ruth , Rios Lucy , Castellanos Elva
Published: December 2018

Background:

Young mothers (age 14–24 years), who are often low income, are less likely than other mothers to breastfeed for 6 months. They also are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive forms of breast cancer; breastfeeding significantly reduces this risk. While adolescent breastfeeding has been investigated from the perspective of the individual, the social ecological model recognizes the influence of factors at multiple levels.

Research aim:

The aim was to identify social and structural barriers to and motivators of breastfeeding that young mothers may encounter.

Methods:

Using a cross-sectional prospective qualitative design with a community-based participatory research approach, we sought to identify influential factors at each social ecological level: individual, relationship, community, and societal/structural. We used purposeful sampling, and enlisted snowball sampling. We interviewed stakeholder experts ( n = 9) and dyads ( n = 6) consisting of a young mother and her decision-making partner. Groups of young mothers ( n = 6 groups) collectively created community maps while discussing their feelings about infant feeding in different locations. Using collaborative data analysis, we identified themes and categorized barriers and facilitators according to the social ecological levels.

Results:

Four meta-themes emerged: roles, place, stigma, and support. While some barriers and facilitators were similar to those experienced by mothers of all ages, participants reported multiple overlapping stigmas, requiring more support.

Conclusion:

Young mothers who decide to breastfeed encounter barriers at multiple levels. Policies and programs aiming to increase breastfeeding rates in this group must address these barriers and enlist identified facilitators.
Validation of a New North American Islet Donor Score for Donor Pancreas Selection and Successful Islet Isolation in a Medium-Volume Islet Transplant Center
Authors: Gołębiewska Justyna E. , Bachul Piotr J. , Wang Ling-jia , Matosz Sabrina , Basto Lindsay , Kijek Mark R. , Fillman Natalie , Gołąb Karolina , Tibudan Martin , Dębska-Ślizień Alicja , Millis J. Michael , Fung John , Witkowski Piotr
Published: December 2018

The selection of optimal pancreas donors is one of the key factors in determining the ultimate outcome of clinical islet isolation. North American Islet Donor Score (NAIDS) allows for estimating the chance of the success of islet isolation. It was developed based on the data from over 1000 donors from 11 islet isolation centers and validated in the University of Alberta, Edmonton, on the cohort from the most active islet transplant center. Now we aimed to also validate it in our much less active program. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) and logistic regression analyses were obtained to test if NAIDS would better predict successful islet isolation (defined as post-purification islet yield >400,000 islet equivalents (IEQ)) than previously described Edmonton islet donor score (IDS) and our modified version of IDS. We analyzed the donor scores with reference to 82 of our islet isolation outcomes. The success rate increased proportionally as NAIDS increased, from 0% success in NAIDS < 50 points to 40% success in NAIDS ≥ 80 points. AUROCs were 0.67 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55–0.79) for NAIDS, 0.58 (95% CI 0.44–0.71) for modified IDS, and 0.51 (95% CI 0.37–0.65) for IDS and did not differ significantly. However, based on logistic regression analyses, NAIDS was the only statistically significant predictor of successful isolation (p = 0.01). The main advantage of NAIDS is an enhanced ability to discriminate poor-quality donors than previously used scoring systems at University of Chicago, with 0% chance for success when NAIDS was <50 as compared with 40% success rate for IDS <50. NAIDS was found to be the most useful available tool for donor pancreas selection in clinical and research practice in our center, allowing for identification and rejection of poor-quality donors, saving time and resources.
A Social Cognitive Perspective on Opportunity Evaluation
Authors: Kushev Trayan , Ahuja Manju K. , Carter Robert E.
Published: December 2018

This study uses social cognitive theory as basis to propose an integrative, multilevel research model that examines how entrepreneurs evaluate opportunities. We use a conjoint experiment coupled with hierarchical linear modelling to empirically test the model. Results indicate that age, gender, social capital relatedness and dispositional regulatory focus will have an impact on evaluation decisions. The study contributes to the extant research on opportunity evaluation by examining how entrepreneurs evaluate opportunities and by providing an integrative framework for the field of entrepreneurship.
Book Review: Jake H. Davis (Ed.), A Mirror Is for Reflection: Understanding Buddhist Ethics
Authors: Tewari Anil Kumar
Published: December 2018

Jake H. Davis (Ed.), A Mirror Is for Reflection: Understanding Buddhist Ethics, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017. 358 pages. ₹1,395, US$69.95. ISBN 978-0-19-049977-8 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-19-049976-1 (paperback).
Monism vs. pluralism, the global financial crisis, and the methodological struggle in the field of International Political Economy
Authors: Wullweber Joscha
Published: December 2018

In recent years, a comprehensive debate has been taking place over the ontological, epistemological and methodological roots underlying the discipline of International Political Economy. A fundamental and sometimes fierce discussion arose over the questions of which research strategies should prevail, which methods should be applied and what kind of knowledge counts as scientific. The debate has tended to reduce the different positions and International Political Economy approaches to American International Political Economy on the one side and British International Political Economy on the other. Framing the perspectives in this way, however, is misleading. This article argues that the issue at the core of the methodological debate is not the American versus the British school, but rather theoretical monism versus theoretical pluralism. Hence, the core of the debate addresses the question whether scientific work in International Political Economy should ultimately subscribe to one methodology or one fundamental principle or whether the field should make use of a wide variety of theories and methods so as to enable scholars to adapt their research strategy depending on the case under study. A short analysis of existing approaches to the global financial crisis shows the importance of the existence of multiple perspectives, concepts and theoretical approaches. The paper concludes that the 2008 financial crisis in particular has shown how dangerous it is to reduce intellectual endeavour to a narrow mindset. Only pluralism conveys the ability to respond in an adequate manner to the old and new challenges of our times.
Tensions and Rewards: Behind the Scenes in a Cross-Cultural Student–Staff Partnership
Authors: Stanway Bonnie Rose , Cao Yiyuan , Cannell Tony , Gu Yihui
Published: December 2018

In the domain of “internationalization of the curriculum,” this article introduces the rarely incorporated dimension of “engaging students as partners” (SaP) to address and explore challenges of increasingly diverse universities. The aim of this qualitative research was to explore engaging international students as partners in a modest and targeted internationalization innovation, which was specifically designed to address the needs of Chinese international students at a prominent Australian university business school. The innovation involved embedding WeChat, a prevalent Chinese social media platform, in a postgraduate learning module to form a cross-cultural bridge to better connect academics and learning support staff at the Business School with their Chinese international student cohorts. Staff and partnered Chinese international students in this small-scale cross-cultural partnership have coauthored this article, which reports on the identified tensions and rewards behind the scenes in this partnership. Findings mostly align with existing SaP literature; however, some unique benefits also emerged from having an explicit cross-cultural focus for the partnership.
Are Police-Led Social Crime Prevention Initiatives Effective? A Process and Outcome Evaluation of a UK Youth Intervention
Authors: Hobson Jonathan , Lynch Kenneth , Payne Brian , Ellis Liz
Published: December 2018

Police-led interventions with “at-risk” young people raise a number of debates around policing in society including the allocation of resources at a time of fiscal austerity, the extent to which the police should prioritize the safety and well-being of young people, and the role that the police should take in preventing youth crime. This article explores the impact and effectiveness of a police-led social crime prevention initiative in England. It adopts the QUALIPREV approach by Rummens, Hardyns,Vander Laenen, and Pauwels on behalf of the European Crime Prevention Network to analyze the data allowing for a detailed and replicable analysis of core aspects including police engagement, risk management, offending rates, and police–community relations. Drawing on comparisons between the UK case study and previous studies on police-led social crime prevention projects in Australia and Canada, this article identifies a number of common challenges for schemes of this nature including problems with multiagency working, developing a clear project identity, unequal resources across different locations, and the difficulty in recruiting and retaining volunteers. However, there were also significant benefits to such schemes, including positive impacts on offending rates, engagement of at-risk young people, and wider benefits to the communities within which the young people live, including participation, volunteering, and reduction in risks of community harm. A cost–benefit analysis also shows such schemes have the potential to offer significant savings to the criminal justice system as a whole.
Managing the Gray Market in the European Union: The Case of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Authors: Chaudhry Peggy E. , Walsh Michael G.
Published: December 2018

The emergence of significant trade blocks, such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement, has established the need for studies on managerial strategies to effectively circumvent gray markets in these regional marketplaces. Therefore, this article reviews the necessary market conditions required to foster gray markets by specifically exploring the regulated price and legal environments of the pharmaceutical industry in the EU. The article addresses the significance of, and relationship between, Articles 30 (promoting the free movement of goods within the EU) and 36 (permitting limits on imports and exports in certain cases) of the EU Treaty. Relevant decisions of the European Court of Justice are summarized and analyzed, with particular emphasis on those applying the Exhaustion of Rights Doctrine established in the 1974 landmark case of Centrafarm v. Sterling Drug. The article also examines the limits that the European courts have placed on the doctrine and suggest possible tactics that may be employed by pharmaceutical managers attempting to curtail the distribution of gray market pharmaceuticals.

Also addressed are managerial perceptions regarding gray markets in the EU by means of personal interviews with 13 multinational pharmaceutical firms. Four principal themes emerged in the interviews on the topic of parallel imports: the degree to which a firm's exposure to gray markets varies in the EU; the current consolidation of wholesalers to bolster parallel imports; national governments’ overt or covert condonation of parallel imports to reduce the national drug bill; and the lack of managerial control to prevent gray markets. In this connection, the article concludes with a discussion of various anti-gray marketing strategies to facilitate managerial control in this trade block. In general, the manager must employ strategic links between the regulated price and legal framework governing the pharmaceutical marketing environment in the EU with various anti-gray marketing strategies such as supply interference, product differentiation, and marketing information systems.
Educator Insights: Euro Disney—What Happened? What Next?
Authors: Spencer Earl P.
Published: December 2018

In its first 18 months of operation, Euro Disney, a new theme park outside Paris, France, lost almost $1 billion. How could an improved version of a highly successful enterprise like Disneyland in California fare so poorly? This article attempts to highlight Disney's miscalculations in translating its theme park experiences from one culture to another, and suggests a possible course of action to address Euro Disney's problems.
Franchising versus Company-Run Operations: Modal Choice in the Global Hotel Sector
Authors: Contractor Farok J. , Kundu Sumit K.
Published: December 2018

Franchising is already an important component of global strategy in many service sectors such as hotels. This article asks, “Given a choice between a company-run and a franchised operation, what factors will tip the strategic selection toward franchising, for a particular hotel property?” The modal choice is influenced by both the environment or conditions in the market in which the hotel property is located— as well as the characteristics and strategy of the global hotel firm that is to decide whether to franchise, or run the property themselves. The propensity to franchise is shown to reflect a mix of factors, including: level of development of the intended foreign market; the extent of globalization and international experience of the firm; and strategic factors such as the degree of investment in its global reservations system and brand, as well as the size of its overall operations.
Executive Insights: Managerial Judgment of Export Performance
Authors: Madsen Tage Koed
Published: December 2018

The concept of export performance is very important for managers because they have to evaluate each individual export venture in order to make decisions about future international commitments. This article discusses export performance as it is expressed through the perceptions and goals of export managers. Managers appear to be oriented toward short-term sales when they assess the performance of a particular export venture. Furthermore, they often use a benchmarking approach, comparing the results of a particular export venture with results of other export markets or the domestic market. Consequences of such practices are explored, and alternative managerial judgment criteria are discussed.
Correlation Between ROTEM FIBTEM Maximum Clot Firmness and Fibrinogen Levels in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients
Authors: Tirotta Christopher F. , Lagueruela Richard G. , Madril Danielle , Salyakina Daria , Wang Weize , Taylor Thomas , Ojito Jorge , Kubes Kathleen , Lim Hyunsoo , Hannan Robert , Burke Redmond
Published: December 2018

This study evaluated whether rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM; Tem International GmbH, Munich, Germany) FIBTEM maximum clot firmness (MCF) can be used to predict plasma fibrinogen level in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Linear regression was conducted to predict plasma fibrinogen level using FIBTEM MCF (0.05 level of significance). Scatter plot with the regression line for the model fit was created. Fifty charts were retrospectively reviewed, and 87 independent measurements of FIBTEM MCF paired with plasma fibrinogen levels were identified for analysis. Linear regression analysis suggested a significant positive linear relationship ( P < .0001) between plasma fibrinogen levels and MCF. Both MCF intercept and slope were significantly correlated with fibrinogen level ( P < .0001). The estimated regression equation (predicted fibrinogen = 78.6 + 12.4 × MCF) indicates that a 1-mm increase in MCF raises plasma fibrinogen level by an average of 12.4 mg/dL. The statistically significant positive linear relationship observed between MCF and fibrinogen levels ( P < .001) suggests that MCF can be used as a surrogate for fibrinogen level. This relationship is of clinical relevance in the calculation of patient-specific dosing of fibrinogen supplementation in this setting.
Fingerprint pattern of bone mineralisation on cemented and uncemented femoral stems: analysis by [18F]-fluoride-PET in a randomised clinical trial
Authors: Ullmark Gösta , Sörensen Jens , Maripuu Enn , Nilsson Olle
Published: December 2018

Purpose:

We present a randomised clinical study using 18F-fluoride positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-PET/CT) to analyse the osteoblastic part of bone metabolism (new bone mineralisation) in periprosthetic bone adjacent to femoral stems following total hip arthoplasty (THA) surgery. Patients with hip osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to THA surgery with cemented or uncemented femoral components.

Patients and methods:

THA was performed on 26 patients (26 cases) with hip osteoarthritis. The patients received either an uncemented HA-coated femoral stem or a cemented one. The contralateral healthy femur was used as referent for normal bone metabolism. The patients were analysed with clinical score, radiography and F-PET/CT preoperatively, and postoperatively at 6 weeks and 6 months. After 2 years, clinical score and radiography was analysed again. We used the Polar Map system for analysing and presenting the PET results in 13 regions of interest adjacent to the whole stem.

Results:

The clinical results were good in all patients; there were no major complications. Radiographically, all stems were stable. PET analyses after 6 weeks showed that bone mineralising activity was significantly higher around the uncemented stems, both compared to the cemented group and to the contralateral healthy reference femur group. The cemented group also had elevated activity but only at a barely significant level.

Interpretation:

Mineralising activity analysed with F-PET/CT was significantly higher for the uncemented group and also decreased at a slower rate. F-PET/CT is a useful new tool for analysing secondary stabilisation of femoral stems after THA. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT01623687).
Neonatal Cholestasis: A Pandora’s Box
Authors: Pandita Aakash , Gupta Vishal , Gupta Girish
Published: December 2018

Neonatal cholestasis (NC) is a diagnostic dilemma frequently countered in a neonatal care unit. Early diagnosis is vital for achieving an optimal patient outcome as many causes of cholestasis such as biliary atresia are time-sensitive and amenable to treatment if analyzed and treated early. Nonetheless, it is not generally simple to analyze these cases right on time as some of them are regularly missed due to the presence of pigmented stools, lack of newborn metabolic screening, and named as instances of prolonged jaundice. In this manner, we prescribe to explore all reasons for prolonged jaundice stretching out past 14 days in neonates. Besides, we suggest that stool card ought to be a piece of release rundown for all newborn children being released from the nursery. This is of most extreme significance in the nation like India where guaranteeing customary follow-up is as yet a tough assignment. These stool cards will help in the early determination of patients with NC particularly biliary atresia and guarantee their auspicious cure. Another reason which needs exceptional say is parenteral nutrition–associated liver illness, as the proportion of preterm babies is getting greater and greater with better neonatal care. These extreme preterm infants are in the requirement for prolonged (>14 days) total parenteral nourishment because of which they are at high hazard for NC contrasted with their more developed peers. In this survey, we will give an understanding of clinical approach, differential diagnosis, and clinical review of NC.
Dynamics between brand diversification and segment diversification on firm value
Authors: Koh Yoon
Published: December 2018

Developing a thick portfolio of multiple brands across different levels of services is unique to the lodging industry. Therefore, consideration of brand diversification necessitates thoughts of segment diversification to the lodging portfolio development. Although various diversification strategies have investigated in relation to a firm’s performance, segment diversification has received insufficient attention. This article aims to shed light on that. This article finds evidence that brand diversification increases lodging firm value more significantly when segment is diversified at the same time. When a company diversifies brands within a focused lodging segment, increase in firm value was insignificant.
Analysis of association football playing styles: An innovative method to cluster networks
Authors: Diquigiovanni Jacopo , Scarpa Bruno
Published: December 2018

In this work, we develop an innovative hierarchical clustering method to divide a sample of undirected weighted networks into groups. The methodology consists of two phases: The first phase is aimed at putting the single networks in a broader framework by including the characteristics of the population in the data, while the second phase creates a subdivision of the sample on the basis of the similarity between the community structures of the processed networks. Starting from the representation of the team's playing style as a network, we apply the method to group the Italian Serie A teams’ performances and consequently detect the main 15 tactics shown during the 2015–2016 season. The information obtained is used to verify the effect of the styles of play on the number of goals scored, and we prove the key role of one of them by implementing an extension of the Dixon and Coles model.