Cross-cultural comparisons of consumer satisfaction ratings : a perspective from Albert Hirschman’s theory.

Purpose This paper seeks to propose Albert Hirschman’s theory of “exit, voice and loyalty” as a complementary conceptual framework to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and use them in conjunction to compare consumer satisfaction with services across cultures. Design/methodology/approach A model of satisfaction with complex services (higher education) is developed and then tested in two different cultures, Colombia and Spain, with a sample of 879 students. Structural equation modeling based on the partial least squares algorithm is used to test the proposed model. Findings Colombian students are more satisfied with the educational system than Spanish ones. This is explained by cultural and contextual differences that pose greater restrictions on accessibility to higher education, provide fewer choice alternatives and present more switching costs for the Colombian student. Originality/value This study applies the conditions of Hirschman’s theory in an international setting, offering a rich basis for understanding differences in consumer satisfaction that accounts for intra national diversityCustomer satisfaction; National cultures; Higher education; Students; Colombia; Spain;

Current marketing practices and market orientation in the context of an emerging economy: the case of Uruguay

This research explores the link between contemporary marketing practices, market orientation and business performance in Uruguay, an emergent country that has recovered from an economic crisis. These approaches seem to be related, but there is no existing evidence to confirm this impression. Lessons can be learned from understanding how effective is the adoption of marketing practices under a crisis scenario. Using data from interviews with 143 micro and small enterprises’ managers, we identify three clusters dependant on the combination of marketing practices: a multi-marketing cluster, a medium-level relationship marketing cluster and a transactional cluster. A model relating market orientation components and various performance measures is tested for the three clusters, showing that the multi-marketing and transactional clusters are more effective in translating efforts and resources into business outcomes.Contemporary marketing practices, Market orientation, Performance, Clusters, Structural equation modeling, Uruguay

Marketing practices and performance in a post-crisis scenario

This research explores the link between contemporary marketing practices, market orientation and business performance in Uruguay, an emergent country that has recovered from an economic crisis. These approaches seem to be related, but there is no existing evidence to confirm this impression. Lessons can be learned from understanding how effective is the adoption of marketing practices under a crisis scenario. Using data from interviews with 143 micro and small enterprises’ managers, we identify three clusters dependant on the combination of marketing practices: a multi-marketing cluster, a medium-level relationship marketing cluster and a transactional cluster. A model relating market orientation components and various performance measures is tested for the three clusters, showing that the multi-marketing and transactional clusters are more effective in translating efforts and resources into business outcomes

Analisis Wacana Kritis Program Mata Najwa “Balada Perda” Di Metrotv

Pada 16 Januari 2013, Mata Najwa mengangkat tema Balada Perda di tengah pemberitaan mengenai perda yang kontroversial. Mata Najwa membahas empat aturan daerah yang mengundang pro dan kontra dalam masyarakat yaitu aturan larangan mengangkang bagi kaum perempuan di Lhokseumawe; aturan nama bayi dengan ciri kedaerahan di Surabaya; inisiatif bupati mengajak pejabat daerah ke penjara di Bualemo; dan aturan wajib mengaji dan mematikan televisi di Kampar. Dalam paradigma kritis, pengunaan bahasa dalam media bersifat sengaja dan memiliki tujuan tertentu. Melihat hal ini, peneliti tertarik melihat wacana yang dibangun dalam episode tersebut.Peneliti menggunakan teknik analisis wacana kritis model Teun van Dijk dan menemukan bahwa Mata Najwa membangun wacana bahwa perda melayani kepentingan pemerintah; perda mengintervensi privasi masyarakat; dan perda mendiskriminasi kelompok tertentu. Pembentukan wacana ini sekaligus menunjukkan pendefinisian dan penempatan posisi yang dilakukan Mata Najwa terhadap partisipan produksi wacana. Mata Najwa menempatkan Najwa Shihab sebagai pihak yang dominan sehingga realitasnya bisa diterima publik sebagai kebenaran.Dengan perpaduan analisis teks, kognisi sosial dan konteks, peneliti menemukan wacana yang dibangun Mata Najwa meneguhkan pandangan bahwa perda pasca otonomi daerah mengundang pro dan kontra dalam masyarakat. Peneliti juga menemukan bahwa tayangan Mata Najwa Balada Perda dipengaruhi oleh kepentingan ekonomi media Metro TV

Chemical weathering of the volcanic soils of Isla Santa Cruz (Galápagos Islands, Ecuador)

We present a study on weathering of volcanic soils using 43 profiles (131 horizons) sampled in Santa Cruz Island (Galapagos Islands). Several weathering indices, based on chemical composition, are used. Since the geological material is highly homogeneous the intensity of weathering is mostly related to climatic conditions controlled by topography. There is a gradient of increasing weathering from the arid conditions predominant in the coast to elevations of 400-500 m a.s.l. where much more humid conditions prevail

The development of the passé composé in lower-intermediate learners of French as a second language

In this study we tracked the development of the passe compose in second-language learners of French whose first language is English. Although the passe compose is a highly used tense among native speakers of French and it appears to present particular difficulty for first-language English speakers, its second-language development has been surprisingly under-researched. In order to trace developmental patterns of the passe compose we obtained a corpus of obligatory context use of this tense by 30 Year-12 (lower-intermediate) students at two time points six months apart and analysed the data both quantitatively and qualitatively. Our findings suggest that these students used remarkably few memorized formulas, that they passed through five distinct stages in their acquisition of the passe compose, that those early stages were characterized by transfer errors, and that the presence of the auxiliary, whether correct or incorrect, formed a crucial stage in the development of the tense. Theoretical explanations for the findings are presented together with some tentative pedagogical implications

Phase diagram and structural properties of a simple model for one-patch particles

We study the thermodynamic and structural properties of a simple, one-patch fluid model using the reference hypernetted-chain (RHNC) integral equation and specialized Monte Carlo simulations. In this model, the interacting particles are hard spheres, each of which carries a single identical, arbitrarily-oriented, attractive circular patch on its surface; two spheres attract via a simple square-well potential only if the two patches on the spheres face each other within a specific angular range dictated by the size of the patch. For a ratio of attractive to repulsive surface of 0.8, we construct the RHNC fluid-fluid separation curve and compare with that obtained by Gibbs ensemble and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations. We find that RHNC provides a quick and highly reliable estimate for the position of the fluid-fluid critical line. In addition, it gives a detailed (though approximate) description of all structural properties and their dependence on patch size.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures, J. Chem. Phys. in pres

Self-assembly mechanism in colloids: perspectives from Statistical Physics

Motivated by recent experimental findings in chemical synthesis of colloidal particles, we draw an analogy between self-assembly processes occurring in biological systems (e.g. protein folding) and a new exciting possibility in the field of material science. We consider a self-assembly process whose elementary building blocks are decorated patchy colloids of various types, that spontaneously drive the system toward a unique and predetermined targeted macroscopic structure. To this aim, we discuss a simple theoretical model -- the Kern-Frenkel model -- describing a fluid of colloidal spherical particles with a pre-defined number and distribution of solvophobic and solvophilic regions on their surface. The solvophobic and solvophilic regions are described via a short-range square-well and a hard-sphere potentials, respectively. Integral equation and perturbation theories are presented to discuss structural and thermodynamical properties, with particular emphasis on the computation of the fluid-fluid (or gas-liquid) transition in the temperature-density plane. The model allows the description of both one and two attractive caps, as a function of the fraction of covered attractive surface, thus interpolating between a square-well and a hard-sphere fluid, upon changing the coverage. By comparison with Monte Carlo simulations, we assess the pros and the cons of both integral equation and perturbation theories in the present context of patchy colloids, where the computational effort for numerical simulations is rather demanding.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Special issue for the SigmaPhi2011 conferenc

The Insula and Its Epilepsies

Insular seizures are great mimickers of seizures originating elsewhere in the brain. The insula is a highly connected brain structure. Seizures may only become clinically evident after ictal activity propagates out of the insula with semiology that reflects the propagation pattern. Insular seizures with perisylvian spread, for example, manifest first as throat constriction, followed next by perioral and hemisensory symptoms, and then by unilateral motor symptoms. On the other hand, insular seizures may spread instead to the temporal and frontal lobes and present like seizures originating from these regions. Due to the location of the insula deep in the brain, interictal and ictal scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) changes can be variable and misleading. Magnetic reso- nance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and single-photon computed tomography imaging may assist in establishing a diagnosis of insular epilepsy. Intracranial EEG recordings from within the insula, using stereo-EEG or depth electrode techniques, can prove insular seizure origin. Seizure onset, most commonly seen as low-voltage, fast gamma activity, however, can be highly localized and easily missed if the insula is only sparsely sampled. Moreover, seizure spread to the contralateral insula and other brain regions may occur rapidly. Extensive sampling of the insula with multiple electrode trajectories is necessary to avoid these pitfalls. Understanding the functional organization of the insula is helpful when interpreting the semiology produced by insular seizures. Electrical stimulation mapping around the central sulcus of the insula results in paresthesias, while stimulation of the posterior insula typically produces painful sensations. Visceral sensations are the next most common result of insular stimulation. Treatment of insular epilepsy is evolving, but poses challenges. Surgical resections of the insula are effective but risk significant morbidity if not carefully planned. Neurostimulation is an emerging option for treatment, especially for seizures with onset in the posterior insula. The close association of the insula with marked autonomic changes has led to interest in the role of the insula in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and warrants additional study with larger patient cohorts

The clustering of the SDSS main galaxy sample - II. Mock galaxy catalogues and a measurement of the growth of structure from redshift space distortions at z=0.15

Citation: Howlett, C., Ross, A. J., Samushia, L., Percival, W. J., & Manera, M. (2015). The clustering of the SDSS main galaxy sample - II. Mock galaxy catalogues and a measurement of the growth of structure from redshift space distortions at z=0.15. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 449(1), 848-866. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu2693We measure redshift space distortions in the two-point correlation function of a sample of 63 163 spectroscopically identified galaxies with z < 0.2, an epoch where there are currently only limited measurements, from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 main galaxy sample (MGS). Our sample, which we denote MGS, covers 6813 deg(2) with an effective redshift z(eff) = 0.15 and is described in our companion paper (Paper I), which concentrates on baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements. In order to validate the fitting methods used in both papers, and derive errors, we create and analyse 1000 mock catalogues using a new algorithm called PICOLA to generate accurate dark matter fields. Haloes are then selected using a friends-of-friends algorithm, and populated with galaxies using a halo-occupation distribution fitted to the data. Using errors derived from these mocks, we fit a model to the monopole and quadrupole moments of the MGS correlation function. If we assume no Alcock-Paczynski (AP) effect (valid at z = 0.15 for any smooth model of the expansion history), we measure the amplitude of the velocity field, f sigma(8), at z = 0.15 to be 0.49(-0.14)(+0.15) . We also measure f sigma(8) including the AP effect. This latter measurement can be freely combined with recent cosmic microwave background results to constrain the growth index of fluctuations, gamma Assuming a background Lambda cold dark matter cosmology and combining with current BAO data, we find gamma = 0.64 +/- 0.09, which is consistent with the prediction of general relativity (gamma approximate to 0.55), though with a slight preference for higher gamma and hence models with weaker gravitational interactions