THE EFFECT OF ENTRY BY WAL-MART SUPERCENTERS ON RETAIL GROCERY CONCENTRATION

The U.S. retail grocery industry shifted from an industry dominated by small grocers serving local markets to one characterized by large retailers present in international markets. Average retail grocery concentration as measured by CR4 increased from 17.8 in 1982 to 43.0 in 1999 (U.S. Census Bureau, 1982; Trade Dimensions Marketing Guidebook, 2000). Wal-Mart's tremendous growth is the catalyst to this change. Although Wal-Mart has been studied from multiple perspectives, little is known about Wal-Mart's effect on market concentration. Understanding Wal-Mart's influence on market concentration is important because an extensive literature shows a pattern linking retail grocery market concentration to increases in retail grocery prices. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate the effects of de novo entry by Wal-Mart Supercenters on retail grocery concentration (CR4). Using a panel dataset complied from Trade Dimensions Marketing Guidebook and Market Scope publications, the effect of Wal-Mart Supercenters on changes in retail grocery concentration was estimated. The results show that existing Wal-Mart Supercenter operations and entry by Wal-Mart Supercenters significantly increase the rate of change in retail grocery concentration as measured by CR4.Marketing,

Do asymptomatic adults need screening EKGs?

Although certain electrocardiogram (EKG) findings in asymptomatic adults are associated with increased mortality (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, high-quality cohort studies), no randomized trials demonstrate that any intervention based on abnormal screening EKGs improves outcomes in this group of patients. Comparison to a baseline EKG has a minimal effect on emergency department (ED) management. (SOR: B, 2 prospective studies and one retrospective study)

A Phenomenological Pre- and Post-Reflective Comparison of Graduate Student Intercultural Competence from Agricultural Service-Learning Experiences

The purpose of this study was to determine growth in intercultural competence after graduate students participated in an international service learning (ISL) experience. One method for developing intercultural competence is service learning, where students apply learning in real-world settings through a cycle of action and reflection. This study used an interpretative phenomenological analysis related to the lived experience of eight graduate students who participated in two intensive ISL projects in Timor-Leste or Guatemala. Results included the student point of view (emic) narrative as an ethnographic crafted profile for each participant to demonstrate the process of intercultural competence development across individual and interaction processes. Students demonstrated knowledge gains after the experience, and several internal and external outcomes in their post-reflective narratives. Despite visiting different countries, the two groups of students demonstrated similar intercultural outcomes along the theoretical framework, indicating that despite contextual differences in experience, this framework maintains a robust perspective for analysing student experiences during ISL. The Process Model of Intercultural Competence served as a framework to assess intercultural competence. The process began with personal attitudes, openness to intercultural learning, and curiosity. Interpersonal outcomes developed with knowledge/comprehension through skills such as listening, observing, and interpretation. Developing flexibility, empathy, and adaptability promoted an informed frame of reference for a desired internal outcome. The external outcome resulted in behaving and communicating effectively from experience. Measuring intercultural diversity as a learning outcome from ISL can ensure adequate preparation for international development professionals

Globalizing Leadership Curriculum: A Priority For The Development of International Leaders

Gaining perspective on how to deliver leadership education can be a daunting task. This paper provides a specific, yet powerful perspective to consider when attempting to engage students and develop leaders within formal leadership education. Moreover, this paper reports the findings of one objective within a multi-objective study to describe perspectives of global leadership priorities and accompanying competencies based on respondent perceptions. Insight on the development of global curricula form a qualitative perspective is provided in an effort to maximize the development of students within formal leadership degree programs. Based on respondents’ perceptions and the summary of the literature, it was determined that is essential for leadership educators to develop global perspectives and skills to empower student success in postgraduate leadership positions. The importance of a global perspective in leadership situations was noted by respondents as providing an indelible link between preparation of successful leadership professionals and a globalized curriculum

Three Mini-ethnographic Case Studies on COVID: Impacts on Greek Agricultural Sectors

COVID was politically polarizing, had global and public health impacts, and created havoc in supply chains. Social dilemmas caused by the pandemic were difficult, but also created opportunities to be resilient and innovative in agricultural extension education. This mini-ethnographic case study examined three Greek agricultural sectors from the perspectives of experts in extension and higher education. Data included semi-structured interviews, review of technical reports, and photographs in developing each case study. From the cross-case analysis, there were four emerging themes: environmental, economic, and social impacts and the innovative solutions used to address these concerns. What we have learned, and where we go from here requires reimagining training and education to broaden our reach and approaches. There is a need to educate stakeholders to access reliable data, become citizen scientists, engage in learning communities in virtual settings across sectors, and become more entrepreneurial to sustain the environment, food security, and financial stability within communities worldwide

Leadership Life Skills Demonstrated by State 4-H Council Members

The study discussed here examined the demonstration of leadership life skills by former State 4-H Council members. A purposive and snowball sampling technique was used to identify former council members. Traditional qualitative research methodologies were used to collect and triangulate data. The major finding was that State 4-H Council members demonstrated a command of the seven leadership life skill categories. Recommendations include developing a training method to expand the council members\u27 decision-making abilities and the opportunities for them to develop as a group, implement training in personality types and working with different types, and employ new ways of improving communication

An interference-aware virtual clustering paradigm for resource management in cognitive femtocell networks

Femtocells represent a promising alternative solution for high quality wireless access in indoor scenarios where conventional cellular system coverage can be poor. They are randomly deployed by the end user, so only post deployment network planning is possible. Furthermore, this uncoordinated deployment creates severe interference to co-located femtocells, especially in dense deployments. This paper presents a new architecture using a generalised virtual cluster femtocell (GVCF) paradigm, which groups together FAP into logical clusters. It guarantees severely interfering and overlapping femtocells are assigned to different clusters. Since each cluster operates on different band of frequencies, the corresponding virtual cluster controller only has to manage its own FAPs, so the overall system complexity is low. The performance of the GVCF algorithm is analysed from both a resource availability and cluster number perspective. Simulation results conclusively corroborate the superior performance of the GVCF model in interference mitigation, particularly in high density FAP scenarios

Developing Web Archiving Metadata Best Practices to Meet User Needs

The OCLC Research Library Partnership Web Archiving Metadata Working Group was established to meet a widely recognized need for best practices for descriptive metadata for archived websites. The Working Group recognizes that development of successful best practices intended to ensure discoverability requires an understanding of user needs and behavior. We have therefore conducted an extensive literature review to build our knowledge and will issue a white paper summarizing what we have learned. We are also studying existing and emerging approaches to descriptive metadata in this realm and will publish a second report recommending best practices. We will seek broad community input prior to publication

Lived Experiences during International Service Learning: A Semiotic Analysis of Photo Journals

International service learning (ISL) is a pedagogical approach used to prepare students to be global citizens and has emerged as a popular short-term program model for international experiences. Few studies of ISL have integrated semiotic photo analysis into their evaluations. Combining students’ photographs with text encourages reflection on knowledge and experiences as well as how they are related. The current study used semiotic analysis to understand the lived experiences of students on an ISL to Guatemala. The participatory nature of the research process was critical to the semiotic analysis, as the researchers had an understanding of the cultural perspectives and traditions that emerged in the images which could have been overlooked by a researcher without knowledge of the specific cultural context. Participants kept a photo journal of 10 images and associated narratives to depict their experiences on the ISL. Both semiotic and content analysis were conducted on each journal entry. Coding yielded nine themes: new perspectives, personal connections, impact of coffee, intercultural comparisons, reality of life in Guatemala, cultural values, impact of ISL, connection to photograph, and sense of place. Combining the semiotic and content analysis yielded concurrent meanings through narrative and visual reflections, which, when combined with the researchers’ participatory knowledge of the experience, informed future ISL projects for the research and teaching team. The combination of visual and narrative methods required students to think about what story they will tell about their experience, and brings new layers of meaning to the reflection process

Resolution of Pregabalin and Mirtazapine Associated Restless Legs Syndrome by Bupropion in a Patient with Major Depressive Disorder

Bupropion is a selective norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor with no serotonergic activity, and is therefore an antidepressant with unique pharmacological properties. There are some reports that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or mirtazapine can induce adverse effects including restless legs syndrome (RLS) and that bupropion can reverse these adverse effects. Here, we report about a patient with a major depressive disorder who exhibited RLS after being treated with pregabalin and mirtazapine. This adverse effect disappeared after having switched from mirtazapine to bupropion. Bupropion inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and increases dopamine neurotransmission in both the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex. This pharmacological profile can be effective in patients with RLS related to dopamine hypoactivity. However, the limitations of this single case report mean that further investigations with larger samples are needed