title: Disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions: an exploratory study of collaboration among healthcare professionals in Amazonia

authors: Luz, Saturnino

subjects: computer supported cooperative work

abstract: The development and deployment of information technology, particularly mobile tools, to support collaboration between different groups of healthcare professionals has been viewed as a promising way to improve disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions. The effects of global climate change combined with rapid changes to land cover and use in Amazonia are believed to be contributing to the spread of vector-borne emerging and neglected diseases. This makes empowering and providing support for local healthcare providers all the more important. We investigate the use of information technology in this context to support professionals whose activities range from diagnosing diseases and monitoring their spread to developing policies to deal with outbreaks. An analysis of stakeholders, their roles and requirements, is presented which encompasses results of fieldwork and of a process of design and prototyping complemented by questionnaires and targeted interviews. Findings are analysed with respect to the tasks of diagnosis, training of local healthcare professionals, and gathering, sharing and visualisation of data for purposes of epidemiological research and disease surveillance. Methodological issues regarding the elicitation of cooperation and collaboration requirements are discussed and implications are drawn with respect to the use of technology in tackling emerging and neglected diseases.

text: Disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions: an exploratory study of collaboration among healthcare professionals in Amazonia The development and deployment of information technology, particularly mobile tools, to support collaboration between different groups of healthcare professionals has been viewed as a promising way to improve disease surveillance and patient care in remote regions. The effects of global climate change combined with rapid changes to land cover and use in Amazonia are believed to be contributing to the spread of vector-borne emerging and neglected diseases. This makes empowering and providing support for local healthcare providers all the more important. We investigate the use of information technology in this context to support professionals whose activities range from diagnosing diseases and monitoring their spread to developing policies to deal with outbreaks. An analysis of stakeholders, their roles and requirements, is presented which encompasses results of fieldwork and of a process of design and prototyping complemented by questionnaires and targeted interviews. Findings are analysed with respect to the tasks of diagnosis, training of local healthcare professionals, and gathering, sharing and visualisation of data for purposes of epidemiological research and disease surveillance. Methodological issues regarding the elicitation of cooperation and collaboration requirements are discussed and implications are drawn with respect to the use of technology in tackling emerging and neglected diseases.

year: 2015

title: The impact of a product-harm crisis on marketing effectiveness

authors: van Heerde, Harald J.

subjects: brand management

abstract: Product-harm crises are among a firm’s worst nightmares. A firm may experience (i) a loss in baseline sales, (ii) a reduced own effectiveness for its marketing instruments, (iii) an increased cross sensitivity to rival firms’ marketing-mix activities, and (iv) a decreased cross impact of its marketing-mix instruments on the sales of competing, unaffected brands. We find that this quadruple jeopardy materialized in a case study of an Australian product-harm crisis faced by Kraft peanut butter. We arrive at this conclusion by using a time-varying error-correction model that quantifies the consequences of this crisis on base sales, and on own- and cross-brand short- and long-term effectiveness. The proposed modeling approach allows managers to make more informed decisions on how to regain the brands’ pre-crisis performance levels.

text: The impact of a product-harm crisis on marketing effectiveness Product-harm crises are among a firm’s worst nightmares. A firm may experience (i) a loss in baseline sales, (ii) a reduced own effectiveness for its marketing instruments, (iii) an increased cross sensitivity to rival firms’ marketing-mix activities, and (iv) a decreased cross impact of its marketing-mix instruments on the sales of competing, unaffected brands. We find that this quadruple jeopardy materialized in a case study of an Australian product-harm crisis faced by Kraft peanut butter. We arrive at this conclusion by using a time-varying error-correction model that quantifies the consequences of this crisis on base sales, and on own- and cross-brand short- and long-term effectiveness. The proposed modeling approach allows managers to make more informed decisions on how to regain the brands’ pre-crisis performance levels.

year: 2007

title: Joe Gillayley: A model of cultural hybridity in Keri Hulme’s novel The Bone People

authors: Cozma, Codrina

subjects: Literary analysis

abstract: Born and raised at the confluence of two cultures, Western and Māori, the New Zealand author Keri Hulme crafts in her 1983 novel, The Bone People, a vigorous literary discourse whose integrity and realism often topple consecrated stereotyping colonial theories. Joe Gillayley displays complex mechanisms of cultural hybridity in major areas of his private and social life. His initially ambivalent attitude towards both his Western and his Māori heritage are evident in his personal, social and economic life - in his interactions with his family, his semi-adopted son Simon/ Himi, his friend Kerewin, his work, school authorities, and tribal figures such as the mysterious prophet Tiaki Mira. Post-colonial scholarship provides the context in which the analysis provided here is conducted, an analysis that highlights the futility of colonial theories that are based on distorted, stereotypical images of both Western and indigenous life and values.

text: Joe Gillayley: A model of cultural hybridity in Keri Hulme’s novel The Bone People Born and raised at the confluence of two cultures, Western and Māori, the New Zealand author Keri Hulme crafts in her 1983 novel, The Bone People, a vigorous literary discourse whose integrity and realism often topple consecrated stereotyping colonial theories. Joe Gillayley displays complex mechanisms of cultural hybridity in major areas of his private and social life. His initially ambivalent attitude towards both his Western and his Māori heritage are evident in his personal, social and economic life - in his interactions with his family, his semi-adopted son Simon/ Himi, his friend Kerewin, his work, school authorities, and tribal figures such as the mysterious prophet Tiaki Mira. Post-colonial scholarship provides the context in which the analysis provided here is conducted, an analysis that highlights the futility of colonial theories that are based on distorted, stereotypical images of both Western and indigenous life and values.

year: 2004-02