337 research outputs found
Examining the moderating role of brand loyalty among consumers of technology products
The long-term survival of a company depends on its economic sustainability. It costs several times more to acquire new customers than retain current ones, and loyal customers spend more than new ones. Unfortunately, consumers are increasingly becoming less loyal to brands/products than before. Unearthing the underlying reasons for this diminishing consumer loyalty is critical. This forms the motivation of this study, which aims to examine the moderating role of loyalty among consumers of technology products. Specifically, the study explores the heterogeneity in the factors (antecedents) influencing brand-loyal attitudes and behavior among consumers of different loyalty levels. A total of 355 survey responses were obtained from an administrated survey across three loyalty groups (high loyalty—155; medium loyalty—99; low loyalty—90) in the United Arab Emirates. Structural equation modeling and multi-group moderation tests were used to test the hypothesized differences in the relationships between antecedents (trust, self-image, quality, and perceived ease of use) and customer attitude, and between customer attitude and repurchase intentions among the different loyalty groups. The results show that the different levels of loyalty have a moderating impact on the relationships. The findings are useful for marketers to better understand and manage customer attitudes, and subsequent purchase/repurchase intention depending on the levels of loyalty they may be in, as well as maneuver their customers through the different levels of loyalty to achieve business sustainability
Management of Non-Pulmonary Forms of Tuberculosis : Review of TRC Studies over Two Decades
Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai has been conducting randomized controlled clinical trials in both
adults and children (n = 1015) in various non-pulmonary forms of tuberculosis, for the last two decades. This
communication discusses the salient findings of these studies. The important finding is that short course
chemotherapeutic regimens have been proven to be highly effective in tuberculosis of spine, superficial tuberculous
lymphadenitis, abdominal tuberculosis, brain tuberculoma and Potts paraplegia. However, in tuberculous meningitis,
the outcome appears to be directly related to the stage of the disease on admission. The intermittent regimens have
been found to be as effective as daily regimens. The other important aspects highlighted are the need to obtain
bacteriological/histo-pathological confirmation by resorting to relevant diagnostic procedures, value of Mantoux as a
diagnostic tool and role of surgery
Benchmarking the research performance of United Arab Emirates with gulf cooperation council countries – A bibliometric study
The research performance of a country is an indicator of its scientific progress and benchmarking it with regional countries is critical to assess a country’s regional competitiveness. This study aims to assess and benchmark the research productivity of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against other member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, who have similar macroeconomic and socio-cultural characteristics. Scopus was used as the data source to extract the research output of each of the six countries studied for the period 1995–2019. Bibliometric indicators covering both quantity and impact of research such as publication output, citation, and collaboration indicators were used to assess the research performance of UAE and other GCC countries. The findings indicate good progress in the UAE’s overall research performance during the period of study. Also, UAE’s research performance in most of the bibliometric indicators is comparable or superior to the other GCC countries. This study is the first of its kind and addresses the dearth of bibliometric studies assessing UAE’s research productivity and GCC countries in general. The findings are useful for administrators and policymakers to benchmark the performance of the UAE with other GCC countries, including its impact, growth, and trajectories. For researchers, the study indicators and methods can be replicated to assess the overall research performance of other countries
Intestinal dysfunction in liver cirrhosis: its role in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a common illness in patients with cirrhosis and ascites that occurs without any apparent focus of infection. Bacterial translocation plays an important role in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and it is evident from a variety of studies that the gut is a major source of this bacteria. Gut motility alterations, along with bacterial overgrowth and changes in intestinal permeability, probably play a role in this bacterial translocation. The present review looks at the role of the intestine in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis induced by liver cirrhosis and the factors influencing bacterial translocation in this disease
A case of late generalised tuberculosis with normal chest radiograph
A case of Late Generalised Tuberculosis with extensive systemic involvement but normal chest radiograph is described
Costs to patients with tuberculosis treated under DOTS programme
Background: The economic burden of TB in India is enormous as TB perpetuates and exacerbates poverty. Revised National
Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) based on DOTS strategy is currently being implemented in India. The purpose
of this study is to estimate the costs incurred by tuberculosis patients treated under RNTCP in a district in Tamilnadu where
services are decentralized for diagnosis and treatment.
Method: In all, 455 patients registered under RNTCP between June and December 2000, in Tiruvallur district were
interviewed to collect the following information: Demographic, socio-economic characteristics of patients, expenditure
incurred due to illness and effect of illness on employment. Based on the data collected, various costs (direct medical, nonmedical,
indirect and total costs incurred on account of tuberculosis before and during treatment) were estimated. In addition
Standard of Living Index (SLI) was calculated for patients.
Results: Of 455 patients, 62% had low SLI. The median direct, indirect and total costs for 343 patients who successfully
completed treatment were as follows: pre treatment direct costs were Rs 340, during treatment direct costs Rs 100; more
than 50% of patients did not incur any indirect costs in both pre treatment and during treatment periods and overall total
costs were Rs 1398. About 12% of patients lost more than 60 workdays and after completing treatment, 88% returned to
work.
Conclusion: For patients registered under RNTCP in Tiruvallur district in Tamilnadu, the findings that the total patient
costs were Rs 1398/- and also the patients returned to work early establishes the economic benefits to patients treated under
DOTS and lend support to rapid expansion of DOTS programme, particularly in low-income countries
Short-course chemotherapy in neuro-tuberculosis - Brief review of clinical trials undertaken at the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Madras
Tuberculosis of the nervous system can present as tuberculous meningitis,
tuberculoma of brain, Potts paraplegia, tuberculosis of spine and rarely as arachnoiditis
and vasculitis.
Tuberculosis is conventionally treated for 12 to 18 months to ensure adequate cure,
stabilise quiescence and prevent relapses. With the introduction of rifampicin and
pyrazinamide it became feasible to shorten the duration of chemotherapy to 6 to 9
months. Many controlled clinical trials conducted all over the world have confirmed the
success of this approach in pulmonary tuberculosis by evolving 100% effective SCC
regimens 1-5. In a few studies especially tuberculous lymphadenitis, tuberculous abdomen
and pericarditis SCC has also been used and found to be as effective as conventional
regimens6,7. However, only recently has SCC been tried for neurotuberculosis. This
presentation briefly highlights some of the chemotherapy trials conducted at the
Tuberculosis Research Centre in some areas of CNS tuberculosis8-10.
What is SCC? SCC refers to chemotherapeutic regimens containing powerful
bactericidal drugs like INH, Rifampicin and Pyrazinamide, by the use of which the
duration of treatment of TB is reduced from the conventional 12 to 18 months to 6 to 9
months
A Dangerous Twist of the 'T' Wave: A Case of Wellens' Syndrome
Wellens’ syndrome is a condition in which electrocardiographic (ECG) changes indicate critical proximal left anterior descending artery narrowing occurring during the chest pain-free period. Due to the severity of the obstruction, if such cases are managed by early invasive revascularisation therapy, a major threat in the form of a massive myocardial infarction or sudden death may be averted. We present the case of a patient with previous chest pain, whose ECG showing subtle ischemic changes was initially overlooked. A repeat ECG taken during the painless period showed a biphasic T wave, suggestive of Wellen’s’ syndrome. This was confirmed by an immediate coronary angiogram
Identifying effective communication channels in a rural community: A field report from south India
Background: There is scarcity of information on communication channels in rural areas where about 38% of people are
illiterate.
Objective: To identify the channels of communication available in rural areas by interviewing key informants.
Method: This study was conducted in 51 villages of Ellapuram block, Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu in the year 2004.
Key informants selected from the villages were interviewed by a Medical Social Worker. The questionnaire included
information on modes of communication channels, availability of markets, public facilities, and local associations.
Result: The study block included 9893 households covering a population of 39255. Their main occupation was
agriculture (86%). Electricity was available in all the villages. More than 80% of the villagers had community TV/cable
connections, >50% of the villages had cinema star fan associations, mahila mandals, youth clubs, self-help groups,
anganwadi centres and ration shops. The main source of communication as per interview was television (100%), wallposters
(55%); publicity through panchayat office meetings (53%) and dandora or beat of drums(43%).
Conclusion: Main communication channels, commonly used to disseminate information were TV and wall
posters. More than 50% of villages had local associations which can be used for effective communication. This
information is vital for disseminating important information on public health programmes and educating the
rural community
- …