Missing paternal demographics: A novel indicator for identifying high risk population of adverse pregnancy outcomes

BACKGROUND: One of every 6 United Status birth certificates contains no information on fathers. There might be important differences in the pregnancy outcomes between mothers with versus those without partner information. The object of this study was to assess whether and to what extent outcomes in pregnant women who did not have partner information differ from those who had. METHODS: We carried out a population-based retrospective cohort study based on the registry data in the United States for the period of 1995–1997, which was a matched multiple birth file (only twins were included in the current analysis). We divided the study subjects into three groups according to the availability of partner information: available, partly missing, and totally missing. We compared the distribution of maternal characteristics, maternal morbidity, labor and delivery complications, obstetric interventions, preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, congenital anomalies, fetal death, neonatal death, post-neonatal death, and neonatal morbidity among three study groups. RESULTS: There were 304466 twins included in our study. Mothers whose partner's information was partly missing and (especially) totally missing tended to be younger, of black race, unmarried, with less education, smoking cigarette during pregnancy, and with inadequate prenatal care. The rates of preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, Apgar score <7, fetal mortality, neonatal mortality, and post-neonatal mortality were significantly increased in mothers whose partner's information was partly or (especially) totally missing. CONCLUSIONS: Mothers whose partner's information was partly and (especially) totally missing are at higher risk of adverse pregnant outcomes, and clinicians and public health workers should be alerted to this important social factor

Exploring a Group Service Experience - An Approach to Capture the Dynamics and Implications of the Co-Creation Process

This conceptual paper explores the dynamics and implications of group behaviour for the joint consumption of a service. It conceptualises an approach to balance, influence and manage the creation of a service experience during its different phases of group dynamics. Particular attention will be paid to the connection between the service creation and the changing relationships between the group and the service provider due to the influence of group dynamics. The paper commences with a brief literature review on group dynamics research and highlights the provider's particular challenges in a group experience, then looks into group characteristics and explains the group dynamics and the co-creation process in a joint service experience. It concludes with management implications and a brief summary

The Concept of Intergenerational Service-Learning in MBA Marketing Courses

In teaching and learning, instructors are often faced with finding ‘real world’ applications to enrich their teaching to facilitate a more practice-related learning experience. Particularly students having five or more years of experience, upon enrolling in an MBA program, appear to find it hard to connect with theories, models and abstract thinking in their coursework. This paper outlines an approach of “intergenerational teaching and learning” in an MBA Marketing course at a University in New Zealand. The instructor facilitated a service-learning scenario in which MBA Alumni were project sponsors for current MBA students. Approximately 40 MBA students executed these client-sponsored projects in groups of four to five individuals. This paper describes the teaching and learning concept, discusses potential learning experiences and suggests potential improvements for the next iteration

Empirical Evidence of Service Quality in Group Encounters

In this paper we empirically test a service quality model designed for a customer group experience. Drawing on a sample of 235 customers who have experienced a group service encounter we show how a customer’s individual effort as well as the contribution of the other group members (“other customers”), can influence perceived service quality

The Google online marketing challenge: A transnational comparison of classroom learning with real clients, real money, and real advertising campaigns

In 2008, a collaborative partnership between Google and academia launched the Google Online Marketing Challenge (hereinafter Google Challenge), perhaps the world’s largest in-class competition for higher education students. In just two years, almost 20,000 students from 58 countries participated in the Google Challenge. The Challenge gives undergraduate and graduate students hands-on experience with the world’s fastest growing advertising mechanism, search engine advertising. Funded by Google, students develop an advertising campaign for a small to medium sized enterprise and manage the campaign over three consecutive weeks using the Google AdWords platform. This article explores the Challenge as an innovative pedagogical tool for marketing educators. Based on the experiences of three instructors in Australia, Canada and the United States, this case study discusses the opportunities and challenges of integrating this dynamic problem-based learning approach into the classroom

Arterial Thrombosis in Patients with Cancer.

Cancer is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA. While the association between venous thrombosis and malignancy is well established, arterial thrombosis has more recently been recognized as a serious complication of cancer and certain chemotherapeutic agents. This review aims to summarize the most recent literature regarding the incidence and risk factors for cancer-related arterial thrombosis, understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms of thrombosis, and highlight the specific diagnostic and treatment considerations relevant to cancer patients.Based on a recent study looking at the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, the incidence of arterial thromboembolic events (ATEs) in patients with cancer at 6 months is 4.7%; the presence of an ATE is predictive of worse outcomes. Certain drugs such as platinum-based agents, vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and taxanes have been associated with high rates of ATEs. Increased platelet reactivity appears crucial to development of arterial thrombosis in cancer patients. Cancer patients have an increased risk of arterial thrombosis that is likely due to both a cancer-associated procoagulant state as well as the adverse effects of certain chemotherapeutic agents. Treatment of arterial thromboembolism in cancer patients typically requires a multidisciplinary approach in part due to high rates of thrombocytopenia and stent thrombosis in the setting of percutaneous interventions. More studies are needed to investigate optimal prophylaxis, surveillance strategies, and treatments of cancer-related arterial thromboembolic disease