Institutional distance and foreign subsidiary performance in emerging markets: moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience

Institutional distance has been known to be an important driver of Multinational Enterprises’ strategies and performance in host countries. Based on a large panel dataset of 10562 firms operating in 17 emerging markets and spanning 80 home countries, we re-examine the relationship described by Gaur and Lu (2007) between regulatory institutional distance and subsidiary performance. We extend this research by (1) examining this relationship in the context of emerging markets, (2) examining the moderating effects of ownership strategy and host-country experience within the context of emerging markets and (3) accounting for a greater variety of institutions by including a large number of home and host countries. We find that institutional distance negatively affects subsidiary performance in emerging markets. Our findings also show that the negative effects of institutional distance on subsidiary performance are lesser for subsidiaries with partial ownership (than for subsidiaries with full ownership) and for subsidiaries with greater host-country experience. We discuss our findings with respect to Gaur and Lu’s model, which explores the relationships between these variables in a general context

Reconciling Deep Calibration and Demographic History: Bayesian Inference of Post Glacial Colonization Patterns in Carcinus aestuarii (Nardo, 1847) and C. maenas (Linnaeus, 1758)

A precise inference of past demographic histories including dating of demographic events using Bayesian methods can only be achieved with the use of appropriate molecular rates and evolutionary models. Using a set of 596 mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences of two sister species of European green crabs of the genus Carcinus (C. maenas and C. aestuarii), our study shows how chronologies of past evolutionary events change significantly with the application of revised molecular rates that incorporate biogeographic events for calibration and appropriate demographic priors. A clear signal of demographic expansion was found for both species, dated between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, which places the expansions events in a time frame following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In the case of C. aestuarii, a population expansion was only inferred for the Adriatic-Ionian, suggestive of a colonization event following the flooding of the Adriatic Sea (18,000 years ago). For C. maenas, the demographic expansion inferred for the continental populations of West and North Europe might result from a northward recolonization from a southern refugium when the ice sheet retreated after the LGM. Collectively, our results highlight the importance of using adequate calibrations and demographic priors in order to avoid considerable overestimates of evolutionary time scales

Understanding the social context of fatal road traffic collisions among young people: A qualitative analysis of narrative text in coroners' records

Background: Deaths and injuries on the road remain a major cause of premature death among young people across the world. Routinely collected data usually focuses on the mechanism of road traffic collisions and basic demographic data of those involved. This study aimed to supplement these routine sources with a thematic analysis of narrative text contained in coroners' records, to explore the wider social context in which collisions occur. Methods. Thematic analysis of narrative text from Coroners' records, retrieved from thirty-four fatalities among young people (16-24 year olds) occurring as a result of thirty road traffic collisions in a rural county in the south of England over the period 2005-2010. Results: Six key themes emerged: social driving, driving experience, interest in motor vehicles, driving behaviour, perception of driving ability, and emotional distress. Social driving (defined as a group of related behaviours including: driving as a social event in itself (i.e. without a pre-specified destination); driving to or from a social event; driving with accompanying passengers; driving late at night; driving where alcohol or drugs were a feature of the journey) was identified as a common feature across cases. Conclusions: Analysis of the wider social context in which road traffic collisions occur in young people can provide important information for understanding why collisions happen and developing targeted interventions to prevent them. It can complement routinely collected data, which often focuses on events immediately preceding a collision. Qualitative analysis of narrative text in coroner's records may provide a way of providing this type of information. These findings provide additional support for the case for Graduated Driver Licensing programmes to reduce collisions involving young people, and also suggest that road safety interventions need to take a more community development approach, recognising the importance of social context and focusing on social networks of young people. © 2014 Pilkington et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Improving the outcomes of anticoagulation in rural Australia: an evaluation of pharmacist-assisted monitoring of warfarin therapy

© 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.ObjectiveThe aim of this project was to assess whether rural pharmacist involvement in the management of patients receiving warfarin has the potential to lead to safer and more effective anticoagulation, and is valued and welcomed by patients and their general practitioners (GPs).MethodsA convenience sample of rural pharmacists was trained in the use of the CoaguChek S International Normalized Ratio (INR) monitor and then conducted pharmacy-based testing for approximately 3 months. Two types of testing were performed in the pharmacy: (i) comparison testing was defined as pharmacy-based tests taken within 4 h of conventional laboratory testing or (ii) additional testing, which was a pharmacy-based test with no direct comparison laboratory test taken. Pharmacists, GPs and patients completed anonymous satisfaction surveys after the completion of the pharmacy-based testing.ResultsPharmacists from 16 rural pharmacies were trained to use the CoaguChek S monitor. During the trial period, 518 INR tests were performed in the pharmacies on 137 different patients. A total of 120 tests were evaluated against results from laboratory testing. The pharmacy-based INR values were significantly correlated with the laboratory INR values (mean of 2.32+/-0.77 and 2.32+/-0.59 respectively; r=0.88, PConclusionsThe results of the trial were very positive. The CoaguChek S monitor in pharmacy-based testing performed accurately compared with conventional laboratory testing. Further research needs to be conducted on the impact of community pharmacy-conducted INR monitoring on patient care and outcomes.S. L. Jackson, G. M. Peterson, L. R. Bereznicki, G. M. Misan, D. M. L. Jupe, and J. H. Via