Pathways of SME Internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review

Business is dynamic and rapidly changing. Global markets were previously the playing field of multinational corporations (MNCs), while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were local; however, the removal of imposed barriers, and recent technological advances in manufacturing, transportation and communications have indorsed SMEs and international entrepreneurs (IE) global access. SMEs and IEs are increasingly fueling economic growth and innovation and these trends are presenting both opportunities and challenges to both MNCs and SMEs in the global arena. This review systematically examines comparative SME and IE research, analyzing (after fine tuning) 762 articles published in leading journals from 1992 to September 2018. Our bibliometric and systematic review classifies SME and IE research findings into three echelons: (i) subjects; (ii) theories; and (iii) methods

Fatores prognósticos do trauma raquimedular por projétil de arma de fogo em pacientes submetidos a laminectomia Prognostic factors related to gunshot wounds to the spine in patients submited to laminectomy

Os traumas sobre a coluna resultantes de projetil de arma de fogo (PAF) são lesões geralmente graves e muitas vezes com baixo potencial para recuperação neurológica. A indicação cirúrgica destas lesões ainda é motivo de controvérsia. O objetivo deste artigo é identificar fatores no pré e trans-operatório que irão influenciar na recuperação neurológica destes pacientes. Realizamos estudo retrospectivo de 45 pacientes submetidos a laminectomia para trauma raquimedular por PAF, avaliando os seguintes fatores: nível da lesão, apresentação clínica, uso de glicocorticóide no pré-operatório, presença de lesão dural, momento cirúrgico e relação entre escala de Frankel pré e pós-operatória. Observamos que os fatores mais importantes para a recuperação neurológica foram o nível da lesão (53% dos pacientes com lesão lombar melhoraram após a cirurgia) e a apresentação clínica pré-operatória (pacientes com síndrome de cauda equina obtiveram melhora em 60% dos casos), sendo que as demais variáveis não apresentaram significância estatística. Em 71% dos casos, a dor pré-operatória foi aliviada com o procedimento cirúrgico.<br>The spinal trauma related to civilian gunshot missile still remains a serious neurological event that carries a dismal prognosis almost in all cases. Its surgical indication also is a mather of discution. Our goal is to identify the aspects that could influence the prognosis after surgery to this kind of lesions. We conducted a retrospective study of 45 consecutive patients submitted to laminectomy at Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal (Brasília, Brazil), testing the following aspects: initial neurological status, level of the deficit, surgical timing, use of methilprednisolone and presence of dural tearing. Among those, the initial clinical presentation and the level of the lesion (60% of the patients with cauda equina syndrome and 53% of that with lesions in the lombar region improved their neurological status after laminectomy) were the most important factors affecting the outcome. Seventy percent of the patients experienced a pain relief after the surgical procedure

The impact of adult child emigration on the mental health of older parents

We explore whether older parents of adult children who emigrate experience, in the short term, increases in depressive symptoms and loneliness feelings compared to parents whose children do not migrate. We use data from the first two waves of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, which is a nationally representative sample of 8500 people aged 50+ living in Ireland. To deal with the endogeneity of migration, we apply fixed-effects estimation models and control for a broad range of life events occurring between the two waves. These include the emigration of a child but also events such as bereavement, onset of disease, retirement and unemployment. We find that depressive symptoms and loneliness feelings increase among the parents of migrant children but that the effect is only present for mothers. As the economic burden of mental health problems is high, our findings have potentially significant impacts for migrant-sending regions and countries