Cultural Customization: An Analysis Of Chinese And Spanish B2C Web Sites

The following paper analyzes the trends in e-commerce, the variations among global e-consumers, and in turn, the imperative for cultural customization of business-to-consumer web sites. A literature review delves into past research done in the field of cultural customization as well as the dimensions and values that distinguish cultures from one another. Furthermore, ten (10) Chinese and ten (10) Spanish B2C web sites from the service, retail and manufacturing sectors are analyzed to view the extent of their cultural customization. The findings conclude that none of the B2C web sites viewed were truly culturally customized, but that there exist advantages for businesses to take the initiative and put forth resources into achieving said status for their respective web sites

CLINICAL FEATURES OF TUBERCULOUS SEPTIC ARTHRITIS IN KHON KAEN, THAILAND: A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract. Tuberculous septic arthritis is difficult to diagnose. A retrospective analysis was done on patients over 15 years of age who attended Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand, between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2006, whose synovial fluid culture was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The medical records of 77 patients were reviewed; one-third were in their sixth decade. Comorbid disease was found in 33 cases (42.9%), with systemic sclerosis being the most common (9 cases) followed by diabetes mellitus (5 cases) and chronic kidney disease (5 cases). Chronic monoarthritis was the most common presentation (34 cases) followed by acute monoarthritis (20 cases). More than half of the polyarticular involvements were disseminated tuberculosis. The knee was the most commonly affected joint (36.4%). Sixty percent had delayed diagnosis due to an incorrect diagnosis. Abnormal chest radiography and blood eosinophilia were found in 40 and 57.3% of cases, respectively. Synovial fluid and synovial tissue staining for acid-fast bacteria were positive in 30 and 40% of cases, respectively. A caseous granuloma was present in 57.5% of cases and non-specific synovitis in 12%. Sixtythree percent had bone erosions. Tuberculous septic arthritis should be considered in patients who present with acute or chronic monoarthritis, and who have an abnormal chest radiograph or eosinophilia. Polyarticular involvement was commonly related to having disseminated tuberculosis and may indicate systemic involvement of tuberculous infection

Designing Incentives to Elicit Creativity

© 2020 Ajanee Bhagya RanasingheIn this thesis, I investigate the effectiveness of incentives for creative tasks. While organizations value and pursue creativity, they must also promote the efficient use of limited resources. Prior research finds that incentives, despite being a key control mechanism, are ineffective for simultaneously encouraging both creativity and efficiency. However, this relatively recent literature has not yet examined how critical attributes relating to individuals, tasks, and incentives may influence incentive efficacy. I conduct two studies to examine the differential effects of combined creativity and quantity incentives for (1) individuals with different creative capacities, (2) distinct types of creative tasks, and (3) varying strengths of incentives. In the first study, I focus on individual creative capacity, which is a crucial, yet unexplored characteristic of individuals engaged in creative tasks. Using an experiment, I hypothesize and find that combined creativity and quantity incentives lead to sustained high creative performance for individuals with high creative capacity. Thus, contrary to prior beliefs that combined creativity and quantity incentives are ineffective, I show that they can be effective for the type of individuals typically employed for creative work. In the second study, I examine creative tasks with pre-specified problems, which is a prevalent task type that is under-studied in the prior literature. Contrary to expectations, my experiment results show that combined creativity and quantity incentives can be detrimental to creative tasks with pre-specified problems. Comparing my study with prior studies on pre-specified problems, I note that incentive efficacy appears to be sensitive to incentive strength. Therefore, I design a follow-up experiment to examine the effect of different incentive strengths on the performance in a pre-specified task. I find that, for pre-specified tasks, combined creativity and quantity incentives are detrimental to performance, regardless of incentive strength, although the effect is predictably lower with weak incentives. This shows that combined creativity and quantity incentives are not just ineffective, as found in the prior literature, but can impede creative performance in tasks with pre-specified problems. Furthermore, weaker incentives may alleviate some of the negative effects of incentives on performance. Overall, my thesis highlights the importance of having a more granular understanding of incentive design in the creativity sphere. It extends prior research by demonstrating that incentives can lead to higher or lower creative performance depending on characteristics of individuals, tasks, and incentives. This highlights the importance of future studies on the use of performance management and rewards to elicit creative performance

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in Thai scleroderma patients and associated factors

Background Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been reported among patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and primarily limited cutaneous SSc in Caucasians. While there is no data on ED among Thais in whom the diffuse cutaneous SSc subset is common. Objectives We aimed to estimate the prevalence of ED among Thais with SSc, evaluate its severity, and determine the associated factors. Methods We did a cross-sectional study among adult Thai male SSc patients. All eligible patients: a) completed the IIEF-15 questionnaire by themselves; b) underwent a genital examination by an experienced urologist to evaluate skin tightness of the penis, scrotum, and phimosis; and, c) were evaluated for Erection Hardness Score. Results A total of 60 male SSc patients were included. The respective mean age and median disease duration was 54.8±7.2 years and 3.1 years (IQR 1.2–7.2). The definition of ED was fulfilled in 53 cases for a prevalence of 88.3% (95%CI 77.4–95.2), while 65% had severe ED, and none had skin tightness of the genitalia. Eight cases had acquired phimosis, and all were in the ED group. The patients with ED vs. those without ED had significantly lower scores for orgasm, sexual desire, and intercourse satisfaction, and trended to be older, have more severe skin tightness and have higher BMI. Conclusion ED is a common problem in men with SSc and is mainly categorized as severe. The severity of SSc might increase the risk of developing ED. We found phimosis was a common genital abnormality co-occurring with ED in SSc

Effect of Rose Scent on Physiological Signifiers of Anxiety

An article that appeared in JASS, issue 2019This study was designed to determine the efficacy of using aromatherapy to treat the physiological symptoms of stress. While taking a high school level math skills test, experimental participants were exposed to aromatherapy via the test proctor applying lotion with rose scent and allowing the scent to diffuse throughout the room. An unscented lotion was applied during the control trials. Respiratory rate (RR), electrodermal activity (EDA), and heart rate (HR) were the three physiological indicators of stress measured. The results of the EDA & HR tests showed no significant differences before and after lotion application in both the treatment and control groups. Both of the RR groups showed significant differences after lotion treatment. The control group showed a decrease in RR after treatment (p < .05). The experimental group showed an increase in RR after treatment (p-value < 0.05). The aromatherapy was not found to be an effective treatment for the physiological symptoms of stress

Restatement of CSR reports:Frequency, magnitude, and determinants

We provide the first direct analysis of the magnitude of unreliable quantitative information disclosed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. CSR report reliability is of particular interest to fund managers for investment decisions as well as to policymakers for regulating and monitoring purposes. However, surprisingly little is known about CSR reporting reliability despite concerns raised in the prior literature (e.g., Laufer 2003; O'Dwyer 2002), We examine how often CSR reports for the Global Fortune 250 (G250) are restated, the magnitude of restatements, and factors associated with restatements during the period 2006 to 2013. During this sample period, the occurrence of restatements increased monotonically, with 39% of G250 CSR reports including one or more line‐item restatements. The magnitude of the line‐item restatements is quite high, with a median restatement of about 10%. We also find evidence of bias in the revised items toward overstatement. We find that restatements occur more frequently in firms that have reported a high level of social performance and that have environmental targets. The occurrence of restatement is also positively associated with firms residing in strong law countries and having their CSR reports audited. Our analysis of reporting bias indicates a negative association between use of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting guidelines and the likelihood of an overstatement. We also find a positive association between having the CSR report audited and the likelihood of revisions associated with overstatements. Together, our exploratory results indicate that CSR information may be unreliable and firms that face pressure to perform well have more restatements. However, our evidence is consistent with the restatements resulting from improvements in information systems over time rather than intentional bias. Our findings will help investors and fund managers better judge the reliability of CSR disclosures, and inform regulators and standard setters on ways to enhance the reliability of CSR reporting. Finally, we contribute to the audit literature examining sustainability assurance

Sleep quality and clinical association with sleep disturbance in systemic sclerosis

Abstract Background Poor sleep quality is a common and potentially debilitating problem in systemic sclerosis (SSc). To date, no data clarifies the potential factors related to poor sleep quality and the clinical associations with sleep disturbance among Thais with SSc—mainly the diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) subset. We aimed to evaluate sleep quality and identify the clinical association with sleep disturbance among SSc patients. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2021 and September 2021. Adult SSc patients were enrolled at the Scleroderma Clinic, Khon Kaen University, Thailand. All patients had their neck circumference measured, underwent airway evaluation using the Mallampati classification, had sleep quality assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Berlin and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 completed. In addition, the clinical association with poor sleep quality (or sleep disturbance) was investigated using the PSQI. Results A total of 88 patients were enrolled. Forty-eight (54.6%) patients experienced poor sleep quality (95%CI 43.6–65.2). Digital ulcers and dyspepsia were associated with poor sleep quality as per a logistic regression (OR 10.73: 95%CI 1.09–106.15 and 4.60: 95%CI 1.01–20.89), respectively. Overall pain—evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS)—was positively correlated with the PSQI score (Rho 0.2586; p = 0.02). Conclusion Around half of the SSc patients reported poor sleep quality, and the significantly associated factors were digital ulcers and dyspepsia. The PSQI scores positively correlated with overall pain as evaluated by VAS. With early assessment and treatment of digital ulcers, stomach symptoms, and pain control, sleep problems might be reduced among SSc patients

Clinical Outcomes of Myocarditis after Moderate-Dose Steroid Therapy in Systemic Sclerosis: A Pilot Study

Background. Myocarditis is reported in systemic sclerosis (SSc); however, treatment options and outcomes are limited. Our objective was to define cardiac outcomes after moderate-dose steroid therapy in SSc patients with myocarditis. Method. An open-label study was conducted among SSc patients with myocarditis—as defined by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), disease onset <5 years, and a NYHA functional class ≥II. All enrolled patients received prednisolone (30 mg/d) which would be tapered off by week 24, and CMR was followed up at the end of treatment. Results. A total of 20 SSc patients were enrolled which 12 patients completed the study. At week 24, 8 of the 12 cases experienced improvement of myocarditis. Compared to those with no improvement, these 8 patients had significantly longer disease duration (p=0.03), higher heart rate at baseline (p=0.049) and week 24 (p=0.04), lower left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) stroke volume at baseline (p=0.002 and p=0.01) and week 24 (p=0.01 and p=0.02), and lower LV and RV cardiac output at week 24 (p=0.01 and p=0.01). Four cases died during follow-up (3 due to cardiac complications, 1 due to renal crisis). The two who died from heart failure had very high NT-prohormone-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and impaired LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and the one who died from arrhythmia had very high sensitivity of cardiac Troponin-T (hs-cTnT). Conclusions. Moderate-dose steroid therapy may improve myocarditis in SSc. A proportion of patients died due to cardiac complications during treatment, particularly those with high hs-cTnT, high NT-proBNP, and impaired LVEF. This trial is registered with NCT03607071