The Drivers of Customer Loyalty to Retail Banks: An Empirical Study in Bangladesh

The main aim of this study is to identify the most important drivers of customer loyalty in the retail banking settings in Bangladesh. The study also sought to identify the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, corporate image, customer value and customer loyalty in the retail banking sector in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, no study has yet investigated the above mentioned interrelationship. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap. A review of literature was conducted to find out the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, corporate image, and customer value and customer loyalty. The literature review confirms the positive relationship between each of the study constructs. A survey was conducted to collect data. The sample size of 100 retail banking customers was drawn from two public and four private banks in Bangladesh. A set of developed questionnaire distributed to retail bank customers in Bangladesh. Five post graduate students (interviewers) administered the survey. They administered the survey in Dhaka and Comilla during four weeks period in November and December, 2010, between 5th November to 3th December, 2010. The result shows that all the study constructs are positively correlated with each other in the retail banking settings in Bangladesh. The researcher has removed the customer satisfaction item from the scale due to its cronbach alpha value. The result confirms that customer value is the most important drivers of customer loyalty in the retail banking sector in Bangladesh. Key Words: Retail banking, service quality, customer satisfaction, customer value, corporate image, customer loyalty

Aplicación móvil para alertas de emergencia CAP

Este proyecto plantea un problema en el ámbito de la difusión de alertas de emergencia, concretamente la falta de soluciones completas de entrega final de dichas alertas. Se plantean cuatro desventajas en la forma actual de recibir alertas de emergencia: • Fragmentación de fuentes: un usuario interesado en información de varias fuentes debe acceder a cada una de manera independiente. No existen soluciones completamente integradas de agregación. • Presentación heterogénea: cada organización presenta la información de una alerta de una manera diferente y la experiencia no es homogénea para el usuario. • Falta de personalización: las alertas presentadas por cada organización son estáticas y fijas de tal manera que un usuario no puede filtrar, organizar o visualizar las alertas de la manera más conveniente para él. • Comunicación unidireccional: con el sistema actual el flujo de información es unidireccional, de las organizaciones al usuario. La solución propuesta no elimina esta desventaja aunque provee una base para extender la funcionalidad en este sentido en el futuro. Se analiza el estado del arte de la difusión de alertas de emergencia desde tres dimensiones diferentes: el estándar CAP para el intercambio de alertas de emergencia, aplicaciones existentes para la recepción de alertas y las tecnologías móviles avanzadas. En base al estudio se propone una solución que se basa en la creación de una aplicación móvil sobre una plataforma de última generación: iOS. Se documenta el proceso de creación de un prototipo como prueba de concepto de la solución, incluyendo un estudio previo de la metodología a seguir durante el desarrollo. Se incluyen los tres apartados fundamentales de un proyecto de ingeniería del software: Análisis y Diseño, Implementación y Evaluación. Se presenta además un presupuesto orientativo que puede servir como guía para plantear la viabilidad económica de un producto similar. Al final del proyecto se presenta la solución desarrollada, contrastándola con los objetivos planteados y se detallan posibles extensiones futuras. La contribución final del proyecto está formada tanto por el estudio y análisis realizados como por una aplicación funcional que se incluye en el mercado público a disposición de cualquier usuario. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This project presents an existing problem in the realm of emergency alert dissemination, specifically the lack of complete solutions for delivery of said alerts. There are four disadvantages with the current method for receiving emergency alerts: • Fragmented sources: a user who is interested in information from various sources must access each one individually. There are no completely integrated aggregation solutions. • Differing presentation: each organization or source delivers the information contained in an alert in a different manner and the experience is not consistent for the user. • Lack of personalization: the alerts that are delivered are generally static and fixed in such a way that a user cannot filter, order or visualize them in the most convenient manner. • One-way communication: with the current method the flow of information is one-way, from organizations to users. The proposed solution does not eliminate this disadvantage although it provides the framework to extend functionality in this direction in the future. A state of the art analysis was performed on emergency alerts dissemination based on three key dimensions: the CAP standard for alert exchange, existing applications and advanced mobile technologies. Based on this study we propose a solution centred on creating a mobile application for a current mobile platform: iOS. The process of creating the prototype as a proof of concept solution is completely documented, including a study of the chosen development methodology. The tree fundamental aspects of any software engineering project are included: Analysis & Design, Implementation and Evaluation. Furthermore, there is a budget proposal, which serves as a guide to the economic viability of the project. At the end of the document the developed solution is presented and measured against the presented objectives, along with possible future upgrades. The contribution of the project is made up of both the analysis and the functional application that is included in the public domain available to any user.Ingeniería en Informátic

Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction of the Workers: An Empirical Study on Readymade Garment (RMG) Sector in Bangladesh.

This study aims to indentify the factors of workers job satisfaction of readymade garment sectors in Bangladesh. To explore this objective, sixty five (65) male and female workers of different garments, located in Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur at Dhaka, Bangladesh, were selected by random sampling technique. Data has been collected through structured questionnaire. Actually, in this study, data has tested with 8 distinct variables collected from intensive literature review. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS software (Version-20) by adopting the statistical techniques, regression analysis. Based on the basic findings, this study showed that out of the 8 factors, three factors i.e. attractive salary, good job security and better working environment have strong influence on workers job satisfaction of readymade garments sector in Bangladesh and rest of the factors i.e. recognition & reward, supervisor behavior, decision making opportunity, communication system and training facilities have moderate influence on workers job satisfaction in RMG sector in Bangladesh. Keywords: Bangladesh, Job Satisfaction, Readymade Garment

Effect of Workforce Diversity on Employee Work Performance of Selected Firms in Bangladesh

To analyze the moderating effect of management between workforce diversity and performance of the employees and to determine the relationship between workforce diversity and employee’s performance. Quantitative study was conducted in private sector firms. Sample of 90 employees of different private firms was selected in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The data was collected through structured questionnaires. Pearson Correlation and Regression was run to analyze the data. Findings show that there is positive and significant relationship between the workforce diversity and the performance of the employees. Sample size was too short it can be replicated in future by large sample in same sector. Relation of management between workforce diversity and employee’s performance can be checked in future. Keywords: Workforce, Diversity, Employee Performance, Bangladesh

Overhead Based Cluster Scheduling of Mixed Criticality Systems on Multicore Platform

The cluster-based technique is gaining focus for scheduling tasks of mixed-criticality (MC) real-time multicore systems. In this technique, the cores of the MC system are distributed in groups known as clusters. When all cores are distributed in clusters, the tasks are partitioned into clusters, which are scheduled on the cores within each cluster using a global approach. In this study, a cluster-based technique is adopted for scheduling tasks of real-time mixed-criticality systems (MCS). The Decreasing Criticality Decreasing Utilization with the worst-fit (DCDU-WF) technique is used for partitioning of tasks to clusters, whereas a novel mixed-criticality cluster-based boundary fair (MC-Bfair) scheduling approach is used for scheduling tasks on cores within clusters. The MC-Bfair scheduling algorithm reduces the number context switches and migration of tasks, which minimizes the overhead of mixed-criticality tasks. The migration and context switch overhead time is added at the time of each migration and context switch respectively for a task. In low critical mode, the low mode context switch and migration overhead time is added to task execution time, while the high mode overhead time of migration and context switch is added to the execution time of a task in high critical mode. The results obtained from experiments show the better schedulablity performance of proposed cluster-based technique as compared to cluster-based fixed priority (CB-FP), MC-EKG-VD-1, global and partitioned scheduling techniques e.g., for target utilization U=0.6, the proposed technique schedule 66.7% task sets while MC-EKG-VD-1, CB-FP, partitioned and global techniques schedule 50%, 33.3%, 16.7% and 0% task sets respectively

Lead (Pb) exposure and its effect on APP proteolysis and Abeta aggregation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with clinical manifestations appearing in old age, however, the initial stages of this disease may begin early in life. AD is characterized by the presence of excessive deposits of aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptides, which are derived from the beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) following processing by beta-secretase and gamma-secretase. Recently, we have reported that developmental exposure of rats to Pb resulted in latent elevation of APP mRNA, APP, and Abeta in old age. Here we examined whether latent up-regulation in APP expression and Abeta levels is exacerbated by concurrent disturbances in APP processing or Abeta aggregation. Among the environmental metals tested, only Abeta solutions containing Pb promoted the formation of Abeta aggregates at nanomolar concentrations. The lifetime profiles of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-secretases remained constant in adult and aging animals, and developmental exposure to Pb did not alter them. Furthermore, the addition of various concentrations of Pb (0.1 to 50 microM) to cerebral cortical extracts derived from control animals also did not affect the proteolytic activities of these enzymes. Therefore, we propose that amyloidogenesis is promoted by a latent response to developmental reprogramming of the expression of the APP gene by early exposure to Pb, as well as enhancement of Abeta aggregation in old age. In rodents, these events occur without Pb-induced disturbances to the enzymatic processing of APP. The aforementioned results provide further evidence for the developmental basis of amyloidogenesis and late-life disturbances in AD-associated proteins by environmental agents

Human Second Window Pre-Conditioning and Post-Conditioning by Nitrite Is Influenced by a Common Polymorphism in Mitochondrial Aldehyde Dehydrogenase

Pre-conditioning is an exciting physiological phenomenon that, despite great efforts, has so far resisted translation to mainstream clinical medicine. Many potential triggers (e.g., ischemia of the organ in question or a remote organ, many different drugs) have been investigated, but recent work has implicated activation of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) as central to the process. A genetic polymorphism, known as ALDH2*2, is common worldwide (present in up to 40% of Han Chinese people) and produces a functionally different enzyme. The authors used a variety of protocols in the human ischemic forearm model, in participants with both enzyme types, to assess cytoprotection with low-dose sodium nitrite and attempt to further elucidate the role of ALDH2

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and abnormal glucose metabolism in the inpatient psychiatric setting : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To systematically determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in psychiatric inpatients and explore the impact of patient and study variables on prevalence estimates. Method We searched EMBASE, PsychINFO, Medline and CENTRAL from database inception until 1st December 2015. We included studies of any design reporting prevalence of abnormal glucose metabolism in any adult psychiatric inpatients. We conducted a random effects meta-analysis to generate pooled prevalence estimates. Chi-square tests compared differences within categorical variables (inpatient setting, continent of study and patient diagnostic category) and Spearman's correlation analyses assessed the impact of linear variables (age, year of data collection and study quality). Study quality was assessed using an adapted Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results 36 study reports representing 42 unique cohorts were included. Across all studies prevalence of unspecified type DM was 10% (95%CI: 9–12), of T1DM was 1% (0–1), of T2DM was 9% (6–13), of IFG 18% (8–28), and of IGT was 22% (16–28). These estimates were not affected by study quality. Conclusions All estimates are higher compared to the general population. Mental health professionals should be aware of this elevated prevalence to improve screening and management of abnormal glucose metabolism

Prospective Cohort Study on Performance of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Xpert MTB/RIF, CSF Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) Lateral Flow Assay (LFA), and Urine LAM LFA for Diagnosis of Tuberculous Meningitis in Zambia.

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a devastating infection of the central nervous system lacking an adequate point-of-care diagnostic test. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 550 Zambian adults with suspected TBM to determine the diagnostic accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Xpert MTB/RIF, CSF lipoarabinomannan (LAM), urine LAM, CSF total protein, and CSF glucose compared with the gold standard of CSF culture. We categorized patients with a positive CSF tuberculosis (TB) culture as definite TBM. We also assessed inpatient and 1-year mortality on definite TBM patients when CSF Xpert MTB/RIF results were available in real time to treating physicians relative to a historical comparison cohort in whom Xpert results were not available in real time. Of the 550 patients, 474 (86.2%) were HIV-infected and 105/550 (19.1%) had definite TBM based on a positive CSF culture. The sensitivity/specificity of the diagnostic tests were CSF Xpert MTB/RIF, 52.9%/94.2%; CSF LAM, 21.9%/94.2%; urine LAM, 24.1%/76.1%; and CSF glucose 100 mg/dl, 66.3%/90%. A model including CSF Xpert MTB/RIF, CSF LAM, CSF glucose, and CSF total protein demonstrated an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.90. The inpatient and 1-year mortality for definite TBM was 43% and 57%, respectively. There was low sensitivity for the diagnosis of TBM across all diagnostics tests. CSF Xpert MTB/RIF and CSF LAM are highly specific for the diagnosis of TBM. Despite the use of Xpert MTB/RIF for diagnostic purpose in real time, TBM was still associated with a high mortality in Zambian patients

Management of intracranial tuberculous mass lesions : how long should we treat for? [version 3; peer review: 3 approved]

CITATION: Marais, S., et al. 2019. Management of intracranial tuberculous mass lesions : how long should we treat for? [version 3; peer review: 3 approved]. Wellcome Open Research, 4:158, doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15501.3.The original publication is available at https://wellcomeopenresearch.orgTuberculous intracranial mass lesions are common in settings with high tuberculosis (TB) incidence and HIV prevalence. The diagnosis such lesions, which include tuberculoma and tuberculous abscesses, is often presumptive and based on radiological features, supportive evidence of TB elsewhere and response to TB treatment. However, the treatment response is unpredictable, with lesions frequently enlarging paradoxically or persisting for many years despite appropriate TB treatment and corticosteroid therapy. Most international guidelines recommend a 9-12 month course of TB treatment for central nervous system TB when the infecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) strain is sensitive to first-line drugs. However, there is variation in opinion and practice with respect to the duration of TB treatment in patients with tuberculomas or tuberculous abscesses. A major reason for this is the lack of prospective clinical trial evidence. Some experts suggest continuing treatment until radiological resolution of enhancing lesions has been achieved, but this may unnecessarily expose patients to prolonged periods of potentially toxic drugs. It is currently unknown whether persistent radiological enhancement of intracranial tuberculomas after 9-12 months of treatment represents active disease, inflammatory response in a sterilized lesion or merely revascularization. The consequences of stopping TB treatment prior to resolution of lesional enhancement have rarely been explored. These important issues were discussed at the 3rd International Tuberculous Meningitis Consortium meeting. Most clinicians were of the opinion that continued enhancement does not necessarily represent treatment failure and that prolonged TB therapy was not warranted in patients presumably infected with M.tb strains susceptible to first-line drugs. In this manuscript we highlight current medical treatment practices, benefits and disadvantages of different TB treatment durations and the need for evidence-based guidelines regarding the treatment duration of patients with intracranial tuberculous mass lesions.https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/4-158Publisher's versio