Apparel Import Intermediaries' Secrets to Success: Redefining Success in a Hyper-dynamic Environment

This is the post-print version of the article found in the Journal of Fashion and Marketing Management - http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=jfmm. DOI 10.1108/13612020810857943Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain an immediate and deeper understanding of apparel import intermediaries' (AII) secrets to success in the hyper-dynamic US apparel market environment. Design/methodology/approach: Personal in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 US apparel industry experts who provided an insider's lived experience of the industry. Within a holistic hermeneutic analysis, emergent themes were classified into two broad theme categories: the meaning of success and secrets to success. Findings: The study's informants defined success as a long-term presence, a platform from which they could impact the industry through creative expression. AIIs' secrets to success emerged as (1) immersion knowledge management; (2) simultaneous dual relationship management; and (3) flexibility saturation. Research limitations/implications: Although qualitative research methods are designed for a deeper understanding of the topic of interest, the study findings of an immediate and lived experience within the apparel industry should be viewed within a narrower context than survey research. Practical implications: These findings offer timely best practices for apparel firms' success and furnish insights into some of the rarely accessible elements of firm management. The study's results may also offer guidelines for firms in other industries moving toward the apparel industry model of hyper-dynamism. Originality/value: The study offered a definition and description of a new type of industry environment—hyper-dynamism. The study also revealed for the first time the reality of AIIs, especially how these firms defined success and took action to achieve it. Finally, the findings suggested a possible extension of resource-advantage theory

Apparel Import Intermediaries: The Impact of a Hyper-Dynamic Environment on U.S. Apparel Firms

This is the post-print version of the article found in Clothing & Textiles Research Journal.This study's objectives were to clarify the standing of apparel import intermediaries (AIIs) and to obtain an immediate and deeper understanding of them in their real-life settings from the perspective of industry experts with years of immersion in apparel industry phenomena. Based on interpretive analysis of qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 corporate executives of AII firms located in New York City, the authors critically evaluated AIIs' views of their environment, development, and functions. Findings indicated ambivalent reactions to the hyper-dynamic environment that has resulted from the global reordering of the apparel industry and described two development paths of AIIs, transformation or birth. Results also showed that this hyper-dynamic environment has shaped firms' functional responses, leading AIIs to implement design, marketing, sourcing, and service activities in unique ways. The study explicates the critical role that classification systems and terminology play in firm identity, the tracking of economic data, and policy development within the U.S. apparel industry

Framing a Descriptive Profile of a Transformed Apparel Industry: Apparel Import Intermediaries in the United States

This is the post-print version of the article found in the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/journals.htm?id=jfmm). DOI 10.1108/13612020910957699Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to confirm empirically the existence of a US apparel import intermediary (AII) identity crisis, and to provide a detailed descriptive profile of AIIs, differentiating them from apparel firms not primarily engaged in importing activities. Design/methodology/approach: A survey study was conducted using a national sample of US AIIs. Based on these firms' executives' responses, a firm identity issue was analyzed and a detailed profile of these firms' business characteristics was developed, using frequency comparisons. Findings: The study confirmed that US AIIs are currently experiencing an identity crisis, as nearly half of the study respondents misclassified themselves as apparel manufacturers or other business types, suggesting a significant distortion in US Economic Census data. The study also provided a descriptive profile of US AIIs, including geographic location and other business operation characteristics. Research limitations/implications: Three fourths of the survey respondents were located in the state of New York. Whether most US AIIs truly reside in New York cannot be known with certainty. Generalization of the study findings to a greater population should be cautious. Practical implications: Confirmation of an AII identity crisis suggests both aggregate and individual firm-level impacts on import activities. The study offers a new term, "intermediary", to replace the US Census Bureau term "wholesaler" to accurately reflect the industry's transformation. Originality/value: The study provides the first empirical support for a US AII identity crisis. The detailed profile of US AIIs offers industry data not available prior to this study

Distance rock and eye trac correlations

Distance rock and eye trac correlation

PAPC and the Wnt5a/Ror2 pathway control the invagination of the otic placode in Xenopus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Paraxial protocadherin (PAPC) plays a crucial role in morphogenetic movements during gastrulation and somitogenesis in mouse, zebrafish and Xenopus. PAPC influences cell-cell adhesion mediated by C-Cadherin. A putative direct adhesion activity of PAPC is discussed. PAPC also promotes cell elongation, tissue separation and coordinates cell mass movements. In these processes the signaling function of PAPC in activating RhoA/JNK and supporting Wnt-11/PCP by binding to frizzled 7 (fz7) is important.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we demonstrate by loss of function experiments in Xenopus embryos that PAPC regulates another type of morphogenetic movement, the invagination of the ear placode. Knockdown of PAPC by antisense morpholinos results in deformation of the otic vesicle without altering otocyst marker expression. Depletion of PAPC could be rescued by full-length PAPC, constitutive active RhoA and by the closely related PCNS but not by classical cadherins. Also the cytoplasmic deletion mutant M-PAPC, which influences cell adhesion, does not rescue the PAPC knockdown. Interestingly, depletion of Wnt5a or Ror2 which are also expressed in the otocyst phenocopies the PAPC morphant phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PAPC signaling via RhoA and Wnt5a/Ror2 activity are required to keep cells aligned in apical-basal orientation during invagination of the ear placode. Since neither the cytoplasmic deletion mutant M-PAPC nor a classical cadherin is able to rescue loss of PAPC we suggest that the signaling function of the protocadherin rather than its role as modulator of cell-cell adhesion is required during invagination of the ear placode.</p

Charakterisierung des paraxialen Protocadherins während der Innenohrentwicklung

This work aims to reveal the role of paraxial protocadherin in otic development, an adhesion protein that has been shown recently to be expressed in otic epithelia. Loss of PAPC leads to morphological failures which result mainly in epithelial disorganisation. XPAPC is necessary to establish apical-basal polarity and thereby maintains epithelial integrity. The most severe alterations can be observed during early development at the invagination process

Activin and TGFβ use diverging mitogenic signaling in advanced colon cancer.

BackgroundUnderstanding cell signaling pathways that contribute to metastatic colon cancer is critical to risk stratification in the era of personalized therapeutics. Here, we dissect the unique involvement of mitogenic pathways in a TGFβ or activin-induced metastatic phenotype of colon cancer.MethodMitogenic signaling/growth factor receptor status and p21 localization were correlated in primary colon cancers and intestinal tumors from either AOM/DSS treated ACVR2A (activin receptor 2) -/- or wild type mice. Colon cancer cell lines (+/- SMAD4) were interrogated for ligand-induced PI3K and MEK/ERK pathway activation and downstream protein/phospho-isoform expression/association after knockdown and pharmacologic inhibition of pathway members. EMT was assessed using epithelial/mesenchymal markers and migration assays.ResultsIn primary colon cancers, loss of nuclear p21 correlated with upstream activation of activin/PI3K while nuclear p21 expression was associated with TGFβ/MEK/ERK pathway activation. Activin, but not TGFβ, led to PI3K activation via interaction of ACVR1B and p85 independent of SMAD4, resulting in p21 downregulation. In contrast, TGFβ increased p21 via MEK/ERK pathway through a SMAD4-dependent mechanism. While activin induced EMT via PI3K, TGFβ induced EMT via MEK/ERK activation. In vivo, loss of ACVR2A resulted in loss of pAkt, consistent with activin-dependent PI3K signaling.ConclusionAlthough activin and TGFβ share growth suppressive SMAD signaling in colon cancer, they diverge in their SMAD4-independent pro-migratory signaling utilizing distinct mitogenic signaling pathways that affect EMT. p21 localization in colon cancer may determine a dominant activin versus TGFβ ligand signaling phenotype warranting further validation as a therapeutic biomarker prior to targeting TGFβ family receptors

Kausales Wissen als Algorithmus. Eine rekursive Prozedur in David Humes "Treatise of Human Nature"

Ausgangspunkt dieser Untersuchung war die Beobachtung, dass Hume die Kausalrelation zunächst als drittes Assoziationsprinzip neben Ähnlichkeit und räumlicher / zeitlicher Nähe nennt - bei der Erklärung von Kausalität dann aber erneut auf spezifischere Formen von Ähnlichkeit und Nähe zurückgreift. Diese schleifenartige, rekursive Struktur, die sich durch Humes gesamte Epistemologie zieht, soll transparent gemacht werden. Kap. 1 befasst sich mit den Elementen von Kausalrelationen. Kap. 2 ruft allgemeine Probleme des Ursache-/Wirkungsbegriffs in Erinnerung. Kap. 3 analysiert Humes Position im "Treatise" unter Berücksichtigung der Forschungslage. Kap. 4 erläutert die Begriffe von Rekursion und Selbstreferenz. Kap. 5 übersetzt Humes Theorie mithilfe der in der Informatik gängigen Flowcharts in einen Algorithmus. Kap. 6 diskutiert die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen eines solchen Ansatzes in Bezug auf einige aktuelle Positionen in "cognitive science" und Psychologie

Effects of Activin and TGFβ on p21 in Colon Cancer

Activin and TGFβ share SMAD signaling and colon cancers can inactivate either pathway alone or simultaneously. The differential effects of activin and TGFβ signaling in colon cancer have not been previously dissected. A key downstream target of TGFβ signaling is the cdk2 inhibitor p21 (p21cip1/waf1). Here, we evaluate activin-specific effects on p21 regulation and resulting functions. We find that TGFβ is a more potent inducer of growth suppression, while activin is a more potent inducer of apoptosis. Further, growth suppression and apoptosis by both ligands are dependent on SMAD4. However, activin downregulates p21 protein in a SMAD4-independent fashion in conjunction with increased ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation to enhance migration, while TGFβ upregulates p21 in a SMAD4-dependent fashion to affect growth arrest. Activin-induced growth suppression and cell death are dependent on p21, while activin-induced migration is counteracted by p21. Further, primary colon cancers show differential p21 expression consistent with their ACVR2/TGFBR2 receptor status. In summary, we report p21 as a differentially affected activin/TGFβ target and mediator of ligand-specific functions in colon cancer, which may be exploited for future risk stratification and therapeutic intervention