570 research outputs found
The formulation of a strategy for a Japanese company to export used vehicles to the Sub-Saharan African markets.
Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.The wave of democratisation and economic liberalisation, which has shaped Africa over
the past decade and a half has changed the continent and its business environment
significantly. The costs of doing business are declining and returns increasing- in any
language this is an environment worth investigating.
Luis , et al 2006
This research investigates the formulation of a strategy, of a Japanese e-commerce
company, trading in used vehicles, exported around the world from Japan. The research
revolves around the strategy that Trust Company Ltd will embark on, in which they enter
into the Sub Saharan Africa market, in terms of investment of people, infrastructure, and
capital within the proposed markets, as opposed to their usual way of doing business,
and that is the selling of vehicles on the internet, as had been done in the past. The
proposed strategy is to install internet dealerships and make stock available in the decided
markets in sub-Saharan Africa, where customers can purchase from these outlets instead
of ordering from the internet, as had been done before in the past.
The aim is to identify the strategy, and analyse its effectiveness, as well as the impact on
the customer, and to research if this strategy is effective in creating brand awareness, as
well as increase in sales turnover, and competitive advantage. This will determine if the
change in strategy is viable.
As there is no available academic literature on this topic, sampling is in the form of
secondary data from questionnaires, as well as questionnaires to stakeholders, and the
analysis of the data produced from these sources, through applied research.
Due to the nature of this business and the proposed strategy it would not be feasible to
draw parallels to other industries, as the dynamics are not similar.
This data is also analysed in terms of academic modem business analysis methods.
The intent here is to establish the direction of strategy and is effectiveness thereof
Hormonal replacement therapy, prothrombotic mutations and the risk of venous thrombosis
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases the risk of venous thrombosis. We investigated whether this risk is affected by carriership of hereditary prothrombotic abnormalities. Therefore, we determined the two most common prothrombotic mutations, factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210A in women who participated in a case-control study on venous thrombosis. Relative risks were expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI95). Among 7 7 women aged 45-64 years with a first venous thrombosis, 51% were receiving HRT at the time of thrombosis, compared with 24% of control women (OR = 3.3, CI95 1.8-5.8). Among the patients, 23% had a prothrombotic defect, versus 7% among the control women (OR = 3.8, CI95 1.7- 8.5). Women who had factor V Leiden and used HRT had a 15-fold increased risk (OR = 15.5, CI95 3.1-77), which exceeded the expected joint odds ratio of 6.1 (under an additive model). We conclude that the thrombotic risk of HRT may particularly affect women with prothrombotic mutations. Efforts to avoid HRT in women with increased risk of thrombosis are advisable
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The surface temperatures of Earth: steps towards integrated understanding of variability and change
Surface temperature is a key aspect of weather and climate, but the term may refer to different quantities that play interconnected roles and are observed by different means. In a community-based activity in June 2012, the EarthTemp Network brought together 55 researchers from five continents to improve the interaction between scientific communities who focus on surface temperature in particular domains, to exploit the strengths of different observing systems and to better meet the needs of different communities. The workshop identified key needs for progress towards meeting scientific and societal requirements for surface temperature understanding and information, which are presented in this community paper. A "whole-Earth" perspective is required with more integrated, collaborative approaches to observing and understanding Earth's various surface temperatures. It is necessary to build understanding of the relationships between different surface temperatures, where presently inadequate, and undertake large-scale systematic intercomparisons. Datasets need to be easier to obtain and exploit for a wide constituency of users, with the differences and complementarities communicated in readily understood terms, and realistic and consistent uncertainty information provided. Steps were also recommended to curate and make available data that are presently inaccessible, develop new observing systems and build capacities to accelerate progress in the accuracy and usability of surface temperature datasets
Morphological Characters of the Thickbody Skate Amblyraja frerichsi (Krefft 1968) (Rajiformes: Rajidae), with Notes on Its Biology
Detailed descriptions of morphological features, morphometrics, neurocranium anatomy, clasper structure and egg case descriptions are provided for the thickbody skate Amblyraja frerichsi; a rare, deep-water species from Chile, Argentina and Falkland Islands. The species diagnosis is complemented from new observations and aspects such as colour, size and distribution are described. Geographic and bathymetric distributional ranges are discussed as relevant features of this taxońs biology. Additionally, the conservation status is assessed including bycatch records from Chilean fisheries
Teaching clinical informatics to third-year medical students: negative results from two controlled trials
BACKGROUND: Prior educational interventions to increase seeking evidence by medical students have been unsuccessful. METHODS: We report two quasirandomized controlled trials to increase seeking of medical evidence by third-year medical students. In the first trial (1997–1998), we placed computers in clinical locations and taught their use in a 6-hour course. Based on negative results, we created SUMSearch(TM), an Internet site that automates searching for medical evidence by simultaneous meta-searching of MEDLINE and other sites. In the second trial (1999–2000), we taught SUMSearch's use in a 5½-hour course. Both courses were taught during the medicine clerkship. For each trial, we surveyed the entire third-year class at 6 months, after half of the students had taken the course (intervention group). The students who had not received the intervention were the control group. We measured self-report of search frequency and satisfaction with search quality and speed. RESULTS: The proportion of all students who reported searching at least weekly for medical evidence significantly increased from 19% (1997–1998) to 42% (1999–2000). The proportion of all students who were satisfied with their search results increased significantly between study years. However, in neither study year did the interventions increase searching or satisfaction with results. Satisfaction with the speed of searching was 27% in 1999–2000. This did not increase between studies years and was not changed by the interventions. CONCLUSION: None of our interventions affected searching habits. Even with automated searching, students report low satisfaction with search speed. We are concerned that students using current strategies for seeking medical evidence will be less likely to seek and appraise original studies when they enter medical practice and have less time
High spatial resolution imaging of methane and other trace gases with the airborne Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES)
Currently large uncertainties exist associated with the
attribution and quantification of fugitive emissions of criteria pollutants
and greenhouse gases such as methane across large regions and key economic
sectors. In this study, data from the airborne Hyperspectral Thermal
Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) have been used to develop robust and reliable
techniques for the detection and wide-area mapping of emission plumes of
methane and other atmospheric trace gas species over challenging and diverse
environmental conditions with high spatial resolution that permits direct
attribution to sources. HyTES is a pushbroom imaging spectrometer with high
spectral resolution (256 bands from 7.5 to 12 µm), wide swath (1–2 km),
and high spatial resolution (∼ 2 m at 1 km altitude) that
incorporates new thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing technologies. In this
study we introduce a hybrid clutter matched filter (CMF) and plume dilation
algorithm applied to HyTES observations to efficiently detect and
characterize the spatial structures of individual plumes of CH4,
H2S, NH3, NO2, and SO2 emitters. The sensitivity and
field of regard of HyTES allows rapid and frequent airborne surveys of large
areas including facilities not readily accessible from the surface. The
HyTES CMF algorithm produces plume intensity images of methane and other
gases from strong emission sources. The combination of high spatial
resolution and multi-species imaging capability provides source attribution
in complex environments. The CMF-based detection of strong emission sources
over large areas is a fast and powerful tool needed to focus on more
computationally intensive retrieval algorithms to quantify emissions with
error estimates, and is useful for expediting mitigation efforts and
addressing critical science questions
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder Version 6 Cloud Products
The version 6 cloud products of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) instrument suite are described. The cloud top temperature, pressure, and height and effective cloud fraction are now reported at the AIRS field-of-view (FOV) resolution. Significant improvements in cloud height assignment over version 5 are shown with FOV-scale comparisons to cloud vertical structure observed by the CloudSat 94 GHz radar and the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). Cloud thermodynamic phase (ice, liquid, and unknown phase), ice cloud effective diameter D(sub e), and ice cloud optical thickness () are derived using an optimal estimation methodology for AIRS FOVs, and global distributions for 2007 are presented. The largest values of tau are found in the storm tracks and near convection in the tropics, while D(sub e) is largest on the equatorial side of the midlatitude storm tracks in both hemispheres, and lowest in tropical thin cirrus and the winter polar atmosphere. Over the Maritime Continent the diurnal variability of tau is significantly larger than for the total cloud fraction, ice cloud frequency, and D(sub e), and is anchored to the island archipelago morphology. Important differences are described between northern and southern hemispheric midlatitude cyclones using storm center composites. The infrared-based cloud retrievals of AIRS provide unique, decadal-scale and global observations of clouds over portions of the diurnal and annual cycles, and capture variability within the mesoscale and synoptic scales at all latitudes
Validation of World Health Organisation HIV/AIDS Clinical Staging in Predicting Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy and Clinical Predictors of Low CD4 Cell Count in Uganda
IntroductionThe WHO clinical guidelines for HIV/AIDS are widely used in resource limited settings to represent the gold standard of CD4 counts for antiviral therapy initiation. The utility of the WHO-defined stage 1 and 2 clinical factors used in WHO HIV/AIDS clinical staging in predicting low CD4 cell count has not been established in Uganda. Although the WHO staging has shown low sensitivity for predicting CD4<200 cells/mm(3), it has not been evaluated at for CD4 cut-offs of <250 cells/mm(3) or <350 cells/mm(3).ObjectiveTo validate the World Health Organisation HIV/AIDS clinical staging in predicting initiation of antiretroviral therapy in a low-resource setting and to determine the clinical predictors of low CD4 cell count in Uganda.ResultsData was collected on 395 participants from the Joint Clinical Research Centre, of whom 242 (61.3%) were classified as in stages 1 and 2 and 262 (68%) were females. Participants had a mean age of 36.8 years (SD 8.5). We found a significant inverse correlation between the CD4 lymphocyte count and WHO clinical stages. The sensitivity the WHO clinical staging at CD4 cell count of 250 cells/mm(3) and 350 cells/mm(3) was 53.5% and 49.1% respectively. Angular cheilitis, papular pruritic eruptions and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections were found to be significant predictors of low CD4 cell count among participants in WHO stage 1 and 2.ConclusionThe WHO HIV/AIDS clinical staging guidelines have a low sensitivity and about half of the participants in stages 1 and 2 would be eligible for ART initiation if they had been tested for CD4 count. Angular cheilitis and papular pruritic eruptions and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections may be used, in addition to the WHO staging, to improve sensitivity in the interim, as access to CD4 machines increases in Uganda
Motor Vehicle Crashes in Diabetic Patients with Tight Glycemic Control: A Population-based Case Control Analysis
Using a population-based case control analysis, Donald Redelmeier and colleagues found that tighter glycemic control, as measured by the HbA1c, is associated with an increased risk of a motor vehicle crash
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