American and Chinese Thinking Styles: Attitude Effects on Holistic and Attribute Ads

American (i.e., Western) thinking favors the analytic style, focusing on the focal object and internal attributes; Chinese (i.e., Eastern) thinking favors the holistic style, paying attention to the context and whole system. This research investigates whether such holistic and analytic thinking styles affect attitudes towards holistic ads which contain many types of information (availability, price, company, etc.) and attribute ads which contain only one type of information (product feature). The first study showed that (i) American consumers prefer attribute ads more than Chinese consumers do; (ii) both American and Chinese consumers prefer holistic ads more than attribute ads; and both prefer the holistic ads equally well. The second study showed that the impact of cultural differences in thinking styles on ad attitudes were not influenced by thinking speed – whether the thinking was fast and automatic or whether the thinking was slow and effortful. The stable and verifiable managerial implication is that ad content in the East and West, in the US and China must include more, diverse information

The Impact of Inter-Organizational Systems

Application of information technology to facilitate information flows associated with coordinating transactions between two are more organizations are commonly known as inter-organizational systems (IOS). Such systems, on one hand allow for smoother and cheaper linkage between two organizations by the transactions to take place more efficiently thus lowering the over all cost of transacting. On the other hand, they allow for the initiating firm to achieve an edge over its competition. Such a competitive edge (by the initiating) firm is achieved in a two-fold way: (i) by introducing systems which require large capital investment, the entry barrier is raised thereby decreasing threat of new entries and (ii) by forcing the other party (buyers or suppliers) to invest into specialized assets like hardware, software, and skills (which of course are eventually paid back by the reduced cost of transacting), thereby increasing the cost of switching. In some cases the benefits of an IOS were deemed by the initiator firm to be so significant that it provided the other party with the necessary equipment at a no cost. Because of their ability to provide the first-mover advantage, IOS have been labeled as strategic systems. Recently, large retailers have used IOS toimplement Vendor Managed Inventory systems where even the demand analysis and forecasting decisions are delegated to the suppliers. Since the supplier has immediate access to the demand data it can adjust its production level more quickly in response to fluctuations in the demand. Many other retailers and consumer good producers have responded to the competitive threat posed by large retailers like Wal-Mart by developing joint warehousing systems, which are commonly known by Efficient Consumer Response systems, thereby providing benefits of virtual integration without individual firms loosing their identities. While in many cases, the focus of IOS has been dyadic relationship between buyers and sellers [GASK85, ZAHE94], for some industries, the entire value chain involving many different players have been transformed. In distribution channels (or just channels in the sequel) products flow through many different stages before (and in some cases even after) getting committed to a customer. Since channel members perform interrelated activities, the organizational effects of an IOS are not confined to just the immediate trading partners linked by the system. Rather, resulting changes percolate throughout the channel

Čimbenici guranja i privlačenja starijih putnika: zadržani utjecaj prošlih ograničenja

Purpose – The paper analyzes push and pull motivations of senior travelers who have experienced externally imposed travel restrictions earlier in life. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study is designed to measure push and pull factors of senior travelers, together with positive and negative effects among the respondents who have experienced travel restrictions in their past. The exploration of lingering effects from previous travel restrictions is based on the comparison of findings with prior studies, conducted in environments that did not include the contextual factor of previous travel restrictions. In order to enable the comparison, a selected study is followed by using similar methodological and analytical approaches (e.g. survey sample and methods of analysis). This kind of analysis allowed discovering differences in findings that can be attributed to the lingering effects of past restrictions on travel and that still influence motivations of current senior travelers. The survey was conducted in Lithuania, a country with a memory of historical restrictions on traveling, rather typical of many countries of Eastern Europe and several others in other parts of the world. Findings and implications – The study found that the lingering effects of past restrictions on travel influences current motivations of senior travelers; thus, their motivations differ from those of senior travelers coming from the countries in which there were no travel restrictions in the past. Specifically, the differences include increased importance of travel cost and of personal ego enhancement, and lower sensitivity to comfort. Limitations – Although the study is based on a sample drawn from one country (Lithuania), the findings may be extended to other countries of Central and Eastern Europe sharing similar historical conditions, especially in terms of travel restrictions in the past. Originality – The study investigates the unique contextual factor of travel restrictions in travel motivations analysis, and shows the specificity of motivational effects in the countries which experienced past travel restrictions.Svrha – Rad analizira motivacije guranja i privlačenja starijih putnika koji su prije doživjeli izvana nametnuta putna ograničenja. Metodološki pristup – Istraživanje je osmišljeno tako da mjeri čimbenike guranja i privlačenja starijih putnika zajedno s pozitivnim i negativnim utjecajima među ispitanicima koji su nekad prije iskusili nametnuta putna ograničenja. Istraživanje zadržanih učinaka prethodnih putnih ograničenja temelji se na usporedbi rezultata s ranijim istraživanjima koja su provođena u okruženjima koja nisu uključivala kontekstualni čimbenik prethodnih putnih ograničenja. Kako bi se omogućila usporedba, provedeno istraživanje slijedi odabrano istraživanje sličnog metodološkog i analitičkog pristupa (npr. uzorak ankete i metode analize). Ovaj je način analize omogućio otkrivanje razlika u rezultatima koje mogu biti pripisane zadržanim učincima prošlih putnih ograničenja koji još uvijek utječu na motivacije sadašnjih starijih putnika. Istraživanje je provedeno u Litvi, zemlji koja predstavlja stanje s povijesnim ograničenjima pri putovanju, koja su dosta tipična za mnoge zemlje Istočne Europe i nekoliko slučajeva u drugim dijelovima svijeta. Rezultati i implikacije – Istraživanje je otkrilo da zadržani učinci putnih ograničenja iz prošlosti utječu na trenutnu motivaciju starijih putnika. Stoga se njihove motivacije razlikuju u odnosu na one starijih putnika koji dolaze iz zemalja gdje u prošlosti nije bilo putnih ograničenja. Konkretnije, razlike uključuju povećanu važnost putnih troškova i poboljšanje osobnog ega te smanjenu osjetljivost na udobnost. Ograničenja – Iako se istraživanje temelji na uzroku iz jedne zemlje (Litve), rezultati se mogu proširiti na ostale zemlje Istočne i Centralne Europe koje su imale slične povijesne uvjete, posebice u pogledu putnih ograničenja u prošlosti. Doprinos – Istražen je jedinstveni kontekstualni čimbenik prošlih ograničenja u motivacijama za putovanjem, a pokazana je i specifičnost motivacijskih učinaka u zemljama u kojima su u prošlosti bila na snazi putna ograničenja

HIV reverse transcriptase: Structural interpretation of drug resistant genetic variants from India

The reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme is the prime target of nucleoside/ nucleotide (NRTI) and non-nucleoside (NNRTI) reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Here we investigate the structural basis of effects of drug-resistance mutations in clade C RT using three-dimensional structural modeling. Apropos the expectation was for unique mechanisms in clade C based on interactions with amino acids of p66 subunit in RT molecule. 3-D structures of RT with mutations found in sequences from 2 treatment naïve, 8 failed and one reference clade C have been modeled and analyzed. Models were generated by computational mutation of available crystal structures of drug bound homologous RT. Energy minimization of the models and the structural analyses were carried out using standard methods. Mutations at positions 75,101,118,190,230,238 and 318 known to confer drug resistance were investigated. Different mutations produced different effects such as alteration of geometry of the drugbinding pocket, structural changes at the site of entry of the drug (into the active site), repositioning the template bases or by discriminating the inhibitors from their natural substrates. For the mutations analyzed, NRTI resistance was mediated mainly by the ability to discriminate between inhibitors and natural substrate, whereas, NNRTI resistance affected either the drug entry or the geometry of the active site. Our analysis suggests that different mutations result in different structural effects affecting the ability of a given drug to bind to the RT. Our studies will help in the development of newer drugs taking into account the presence of these mutations and the structural basis of drug resistance

Which Market Entry and Product Line Strategies Ought Organisations to Adopt for Emerging Economies?

Emerging economies offer tremendous potential for organisations seeking to expand globally and to attain the associated rewards. However, organisations differ in their entrepreneurial tendencies to enter new markets and to introduce new products in emerging economies. Organisations also differ in their abilities to manage their development programs, that is, their execution of different types of projects that lead to success in emerging markets. Finally, organisations differ in which overall measures of program performance are consistent with their strategic objectives. This study provides a literature foundation and conceptual framework designed to understand which market entry and product line strategies and performance measures are appropriate for organisations pursuing strategic success in emerging markets. This study sets forward grounded propositions that different strategic types will vary in their market entry and product line strategies, in the project composition of their development programs, and in the orientations of performance measures used to evaluate their development programs. Prospectors, according to type, will enter emerging economies by introducing new product lines to new customer types, and by emphasizing new-to-the-world products. They will evaluate their development programs with Growth-oriented performance measures. Defenders will more typically occupy secure niches within emerging economies by emphasizing product improvement and cost reduction projects for current types of customers. They will evaluate their development programs with Efficiency-oriented performance measures. Analyzers will either target new customer types with proven products, or serve an existing market niche with new product lines. They will evaluate their development program performance with Strategy-oriented measures

Stress relaxation behavior of organically modified montmorillonite filled natural rubber/nitrile rubber nanocomposites

International audienceTo reduce material consumption, it is important to have reinforced material with longer life time. Incorporation of nanoparticles to reinforce and compatibilize polymer blends is one of the widely undergoing research areas in polymer science technology. A series of natural rubber and nitrile rubber (NR/NBR) nanocomposite vulcanazite, reinforced with two different organically modified clay (OMt) were prepared. To predict the performance of a material over long periods of time, stress relaxation studies with both the reinforced systems were done. The effects of loading, blend composition, filler polarity and temperature on stress relaxation of OMt reinforced NR/NBR nanocomposites were carefully measured. Based on the stress relaxation measurements, it was observed that due to its polarity difference, O1Mt (Mt modified with dimethyl, benzyl, HT modification provided by Southern Clay Products) was preferentially located at the NBR phase while O2Mt (Mt modified with mercapto silane provided by English India Clay) had more affinity with natural rubber in the NR/NBR nanocomposites. The preferential localization of OMt has been analyzed by HRTEM. The nature of interaction of the nanoclay was found to influence the stress relaxation rate. NR/NBR nanocomposites with higher filler loading showed higher rates of relaxation rate due to the presence of more filler-filler interactions. At 70 degrees C, the viscosity ratio was found to influence the reinforcement, and consequently relaxation rate of the 50/50 NR/NBR nanocomposites. It was found that the rearrangements of the polymer chains are dependent on the blend composition, temperature, filler/polymer interactions etc. To explain and predict observed phenomena, the stretched-exponential Kohlrausch equation and Maxwell-Weichert model were used. For both models, the experimental curve fitted well with the theoretical models. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All tights reserved

Artrepreneurship and learning in ethnic markets

Many scholarly studies point to the growing cultural diversity in the marketplace and subsequent cultural learning mechanisms adapted by marketers and consumers. This research advances the theoretical and instrumental understanding of cultural learning mechanisms adopted by a specific form of entrepreneurs called ethnic artrepreneurs. Using interview data with 16 ethnic artrepreneurs, the study finds that ethnic artrepreneurs' learning is cyclical in nature consisting of interconnecting stages. Following, Kolb's (1984) experiential learning theory, the study labels and discusses emerging themes as per four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The study represents an attempt to identify artrepreneurship as a strategic resource for marketing in ethnic markets

Transport of organic solvents through natural rubber/nitrile rubber/organically modified montmorillonite nanocomposites

International audienceThe article describes the transport phenomenon of some commonly used laboratory organic solvents which differ in their solubility parameter value through polymer blend nanocomposites membrane prepared by melt mixing. The three solvents that were used are hexane, toluene and xylene which differed widely in their solubility parameter values. The motivation for the study was to know the effect of solubility parameter on the diffusion transport properties of NR/NBR (natural rubber/nitrile rubber) blends. The solvent uptake, diffusion, sorption and permeation constants were investigated and were found to decrease with organically modified montmorillonite (OMt) content at lower loading. The mode of transport through NR/NBR nano-composites was found to be anomalous. The difference in solubility parameter value greatly influenced the transport properties. The dependence of various properties on OMt content was supported by morphological analysis data. The effect of blend ratio, solvent size and OMt loading on the diffusion of aromatic and aliphatic solvents through NR/ NBR blend systems were investigated. The swelling coefficient values also decreased upon the addition of fillers indicating the presence of hindered path for solvents to diffuse into the polymer matrix. The better reinforcement at lower filler loading was confirmed from the cross-link density values and mechanical properties. The transport data obtained were applied to mathematical models for predicting the diffusion behaviour through nanocomposite membranes and to elucidate the physical mechanism of transport

A resource planning analysis of district hospital surgical services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

BACKGROUND: The impact of surgical conditions on global health, particularly on vulnerable populations, is gaining recognition. However, only 3.5% of the 234.2 million cases per year of major surgery are performed in countries where the world\u27s poorest third reside, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). METHODS: Data on the availability of anesthesia and surgical services were gathered from 12 DRC district hospitals using the World Health Organization\u27s (WHO\u27s) Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Situation Analysis Tool. We complemented these data with an analysis of the costs of surgical services in a Congolese norms-based district hospital as well as in 2 of the 12 hospitals in which we conducted the situational analysis (Demba and Kabare District Hospitals). For the cost analysis, we used WHO\u27s integrated Healthcare Technology Package tool. RESULTS: Of the 32 surgical interventions surveyed, only 2 of the 12 hospitals provided all essential services. The deficits in procedures varied from no deficits to 17 services that could not be provided, with an average of 7 essential procedures unavailable. Many of the hospitals did not have basic infrastructure such as running water and electricity; 9 of 12 had no or interrupted water and 7 of 12 had no or interrupted electricity. On average, 21% of lifesaving surgical interventions were absent from the facilities, compared with the model normative hospital. According to the normative hospital, all surgical services would cost US$2.17 per inhabitant per year, representing 33.3$0.08 per inhabitant per year, and at Kabare Hospital, US$0.69 per inhabitant per year. CONCLUSION: A significant portion of the health problems addressed at Congolese district hospitals is surgical in nature, but there is a current inability to meet this surgical need. The deficient services and substandard capacity in the surveyed district hospitals are systemic in nature, representing infrastructure, supply, equipment, and human resource constraints. Yet surgical services are affordable and represent a minor portion of the total operating budget. Greater emphasis should be made to appropriately fund district hospitals to meet the need for lifesaving surgical services