Entry Strategy Performance: An Empirical Examination Of The Microcomputer Software Industry

Statement of problem. Not only is it expensive to bring products to market, but the rate of failure for new entries is high. Managers and researchers recognize that many factors affect the performance of a new entry, but most prior research has examined each construct one at a time using different measures for the constructs involved. These activities have contributed to the inconsistent findings.;Procedure or methods. A model of entry strategy performance is developed from prior research*. An entry strategy affects both the short and long term performance of the product as it establishes the product\u27s initial competitive posture. Entry strategies are comprised of three fundamental components or decision areas: timing of entry (when to enter the market), magnitude of investment (in terms of R&D, promotional activities, distribution, etc.) and area of competitive emphasis. Other factors, outside the immediate control of management, affect a product\u27s success or failure. They affect not only the performance of the new entrant but also the selection of the entry strategy itself. These are included in the general model*. This model is then operationalized and empirically examined to two product markets in the microcomputer software industry: word processing and business graphics. Analysis of the model is done via partial least squares analysis.;Results. All of the paths in the operationalized model were significant in one or both of the product markets. The most important predictors/explainers of performance were magazine coverage of the products (an industry specific construct added to the general model), competitive positioning dimensions: quality and value, and timing of entry. The weakest effects on performance came from the product market constructs: concentration and number of competitors.;Conclusion. The major contribution of this research is the development and testing of a comprehensive model of entry performance. It can be used as a decision-making aid for managers and as a general guide to researchers into entry strategies. ftn*Please refer to dissertation for diagram

The Food Retailing Structure of the Northwest Territories

Food retailers in the Northwest Territories face dramatically different conditions from those of southern food retailers. There are three main differences: (1) small market size, (2) limited geographical access to suppliers and (3) different types of competitors. These differences have resulted in higher food prices and smaller, more general, stores with a wider variety of merchandise than southern supermarkets. Resupply is much less frequent than in southern supermarkets because resupply must be made via either air or barge shipment rather than truck delivery. The N.W.T. food retailing structure comprises three types of food retailers: the independently operated stores, the cooperatives and chain stores. This first examination of the similarities and differences between the store types is drawn from a mail survey of all the food retailers in the N.W.T. The food retailers have adapted to the small, isolated northern markets by expanding their merchandise line well beyond food products. The Hudson's Bay Company stores carry the widest variety of merchandise, while the others carry a more limited product line. Inventory management varies among the store types. The cooperatives generally fail to use the cheaper alternative transportation modes (road or water) where possible. This is not due to location but may reflect poor managerial skills or simply a lack of profit motivation.Key words: food retailing, Northwest Temtories, mode, retail structure, management, Hudson’s Bay Company, cooperatives, independentsLes détaillants en alimentation des Territoires du Nord-Ouest font face à des conditions radicalement différentes de celles des détaillants en alimentation du Sud. Il y a trois différences principales: (1) le marché est plus petit, (2) l’accès géographique aux fournisseurs est limité et (3) les concurrents sont d’un genre différent. Ces différences font que le prix de la nourriture est plus élevé, que les magasins sont plus petits et qu’ils ressemblent plus à un magasin général, offrant une plus grande variété de marchandises que les supermarchés du Sud. La fréquence du réapprovisionnement est moindre que pour ces derniers, car l’approvisionnement doit se faire par avion ou par péniche plutôt que par camion. La structure de l’alimentation de détail dans les T.N.-O. comprend trois types de détaillants les magasins indépendants, les coopératives et les magasins appartenant à des chaînes. Ce premier examen des ressemblances et des différences entre les types de magasins a été obtenu à partir d’une enquête postée à tous les détaillants en alimentation des T. N.-O. Les détaillants en alimentation se sont adaptés aux petits marchés isolés du Nord en élargissant la gamme de leurs produits bien au-delà des produits alimentaires. Les magasins de la Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson ont la plus grande variété de marchandises, tandis que les autres ont une gamme de produits plus limitée. La gestion des inventaires varie entre les différents types de magasins. En général, les coopératives ne profitent pas des autres moyens de transport (routiers et par voie d’eau) là où elles le pourraient. Cela n’est pas dû à leur situation géographique, mais c’est plutôt le reflet d’un manque d’expérience en gestion ou simplement d’un manque de motivation à réaliser des profits.Mots clés: vente d’alimentation au détail, Territoires du Nord-Ouest, moyen, structure de vente de détail, gestion, Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson, coopératives, magasins indépendant

Transforming growth factor-beta promotes rhinovirus replication in bronchial epithelial cells by suppressing the innate immune response

Rhinovirus (RV) infection is a major cause of asthma exacerbations which may be due to a deficient innate immune response in the bronchial epithelium. We hypothesized that the pleiotropic cytokine, TGF-?, influences interferon (IFN) production by primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs) following RV infection. Exogenous TGF-?(2) increased RV replication and decreased IFN protein secretion in response to RV or double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Conversely, neutralizing TGF-? antibodies decreased RV replication and increased IFN expression in response to RV or dsRNA. Endogenous TGF-?(2) levels were higher in conditioned media of PBECs from asthmatic donors and the suppressive effect of anti-TGF-? on RV replication was significantly greater in these cells. Basal SMAD-2 activation was reduced when asthmatic PBECs were treated with anti-TGF-? and this was accompanied by suppression of SOCS-1 and SOCS-3 expression. Our results suggest that endogenous TGF-? contributes to a suppressed IFN response to RV infection possibly via SOCS-1 and SOCS-3

The Relationship Between Black Hole Mass and Velocity Dispersion in Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Black hole masses in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are difficult to measure using conventional dynamical methods, but can be determined using the technique of reverberation mapping. However, it is important to verify that the results of these different methods are equivalent. This can be done indirectly, using scaling relations between the black hole and the host galaxy spheroid. For this purpose, we have obtained new measurements of the bulge stellar velocity dispersion, sigma, in Seyfert 1 galaxies. These are used in conjunction with the M_bh -- sigma relation to validate nuclear black hole masses, M_bh, in active galaxies determined through reverberation mapping. We find that Seyfert galaxies follow the same M_bh -- sigma relation as non-active galaxies, indicating that reverberation mapping measurements of M_bh are consistent with those obtained using other methods. We also reconsider the relationship between bulge absolute magnitude, M_bulge, and black hole mass. We find that Seyfert galaxies are offset from non-active galaxies, but that the deviation can be entirely understood as a difference in bulge luminosity, not black hole mass; Seyfert hosts are brighter than normal galaxies for a given value of their velocity dispersion, perhaps as a result of younger stellar populations.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Screening for breast cancer : medicalization, visualization and the embodied experience

Women’s perspectives on breast screening (mammography and breast awareness) were explored in interviews with midlife women sampled for diversity of background and health experience. Attending mammography screening was considered a social obligation despite women’s fears and experiences of discomfort. Women gave considerable legitimacy to mammography visualizations of the breast, and the expert interpretation of these. In comparison, women lacked confidence in breast awareness practices, directly comparing their sensory capabilities with those of the mammogram, although mammography screening did not substitute breast awareness in a straightforward way. The authors argue that reliance on visualizing technology may create a fragmented sense of the body, separating the at risk breast from embodied experience

HST STIS spectroscopy of the triple nucleus of M31: two nested disks in Keplerian rotation around a Supermassive Black Hole

We present HST spectroscopy of the nucleus of M31 obtained with STIS. Spectra taken around the CaT lines at 8500 see only the red giants in the double bright- ness peaks P1 and P2. In contrast, spectra taken at 3600-5100 A are sensitive to the tiny blue nucleus embedded in P2, the lower surface brightness red nucleus. P2 has a K-type spectrum, but the embedded blue nucleus has an A-type spectrum with strong Balmer absorption lines. Given the small likelihood for stellar collisions, a 200 Myr old starburst appears to be the most plausible origin of the blue nucleus. In stellar population, size, and velocity dispersion, the blue nucleus is so different from P1 and P2 that we call it P3. The line-of-sight velocity distributions of the red stars in P1+P2 strengthen the support for Tremaine s eccentric disk model. The kinematics of P3 is consistent with a circular stellar disk in Keplerian rotation around a super-massive black hole with M_bh = 1.4 x 10^8 M_sun. The P3 and the P1+P2 disks rotate in the same sense and are almost coplanar. The observed velocity dispersion of P3 is due to blurred rotation and has a maximum value of sigma = 1183+-201 km/s. The observed peak rotation velocity of P3 is V = 618+-81 km/s at radius 0.05" = 0.19 pc corresponding to a circular rotation velocity at this radius of ~1700 km/s. Any dark star cluster alternative to a black hole must have a half-mass radius <= 0.03" = 0.11 pc. We show that this excludes clusters of brown dwarfs or dead stars on astrophysical grounds.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, Sep 20, 2005, 21 pages including 20 figure

M33: A Galaxy with No Supermassive Black Hole

Galaxies that contain bulges appear to contain central black holes whose masses correlate with the velocity dispersion of the bulge. We show that no corresponding relationship applies in the pure disk galaxy M33. Three-integral dynamical models fit Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 photometry and STIS spectroscopy best if the central black hole mass is zero. The upper limit is 1500 M_sun. This is significantly below the mass expected from the velocity dispersion of the nucleus and far below any mass predicted from the disk kinematics. Our results suggest that supermassive black holes are associated only with galaxy bulges and not with their disks.Comment: 8 pages, AJ accepted, November issu

A high-resolution map of human evolutionary constraint using 29 mammals.

The comparison of related genomes has emerged as a powerful lens for genome interpretation. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of 29 eutherian genomes. We confirm that at least 5.5% of the human genome has undergone purifying selection, and locate constrained elements covering ∼4.2% of the genome. We use evolutionary signatures and comparisons with experimental data sets to suggest candidate functions for ∼60% of constrained bases. These elements reveal a small number of new coding exons, candidate stop codon readthrough events and over 10,000 regions of overlapping synonymous constraint within protein-coding exons. We find 220 candidate RNA structural families, and nearly a million elements overlapping potential promoter, enhancer and insulator regions. We report specific amino acid residues that have undergone positive selection, 280,000 non-coding elements exapted from mobile elements and more than 1,000 primate- and human-accelerated elements. Overlap with disease-associated variants indicates that our findings will be relevant for studies of human biology, health and disease

Efficiency and safety of varying the frequency of whole blood donation (INTERVAL): a randomised trial of 45 000 donors

Background: Limits on the frequency of whole blood donation exist primarily to safeguard donor health. However, there is substantial variation across blood services in the maximum frequency of donations allowed. We compared standard practice in the UK with shorter inter-donation intervals used in other countries. Methods: In this parallel group, pragmatic, randomised trial, we recruited whole blood donors aged 18 years or older from 25 centres across England, UK. By use of a computer-based algorithm, men were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 12-week (standard) versus 10-week versus 8-week inter-donation intervals, and women were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 16-week (standard) versus 14-week versus 12-week intervals. Participants were not masked to their allocated intervention group. The primary outcome was the number of donations over 2 years. Secondary outcomes related to safety were quality of life, symptoms potentially related to donation, physical activity, cognitive function, haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and deferrals because of low haemoglobin. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN24760606, and is ongoing but no longer recruiting participants. Findings: 45 263 whole blood donors (22 466 men, 22 797 women) were recruited between June 11, 2012, and June 15, 2014. Data were analysed for 45 042 (99·5%) participants. Men were randomly assigned to the 12-week (n=7452) versus 10-week (n=7449) versus 8-week (n=7456) groups; and women to the 16-week (n=7550) versus 14-week (n=7567) versus 12-week (n=7568) groups. In men, compared with the 12-week group, the mean amount of blood collected per donor over 2 years increased by 1·69 units (95% CI 1·59–1·80; approximately 795 mL) in the 8-week group and by 0·79 units (0·69–0·88; approximately 370 mL) in the 10-week group (p&lt;0·0001 for both). In women, compared with the 16-week group, it increased by 0·84 units (95% CI 0·76–0·91; approximately 395 mL) in the 12-week group and by 0·46 units (0·39–0·53; approximately 215 mL) in the 14-week group (p&lt;0·0001 for both). No significant differences were observed in quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function across randomised groups. However, more frequent donation resulted in more donation-related symptoms (eg, tiredness, breathlessness, feeling faint, dizziness, and restless legs, especially among men [for all listed symptoms]), lower mean haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and more deferrals for low haemoglobin (p&lt;0·0001 for each) than those observed in the standard frequency groups. Interpretation: Over 2 years, more frequent donation than is standard practice in the UK collected substantially more blood without having a major effect on donors' quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function, but resulted in more donation-related symptoms, deferrals, and iron deficiency. Funding: NHS Blood and Transplant, National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, and British Heart Foundation