Innovation clusters and determinants of innovativeness in manufacturing industries

Innovation is an important source of competitiveness and is studied extensively by both the academicians and the practitioners particularly in the last decades. This study is based on the results of an exploratory study conducted in the Northern Marmara region of Turkey covering 184 manufacturing firms. A model is developed to determine the determinants of innovativeness and data is gathered through a questionnaire to validate this model.The resulting determinants of innovativeness are intellectual capital, organizational structure, organizational culture, manufacturing strategy, barriers to innovation, and collaborations. As a result of cluster analysis employing the same data set, four innovation clusters are obtained using five innovation types: Radical product innovation, incremental product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation, and organizational innovation. These clusters are labeled as the Leading innovators, Followers, Inventors, and Laggers. In this study, we test the hypothesis that different innovation clusters put different emphasis on different determinants of innovativeness as well as on different components of these determinants. The hypotheses are all supported except for organizational culture and collaborations. These results together with those associated with the components of the determinants are commented upon

What do repetitive thinking styles tell about hyperemesis gravidarum?

OBJECTIVES: Although there are studies investigating the relationship between anxiety disorders, depression, and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), none have sufficiently clarified the link between underlying psychological processes and HG. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between rumination, worry, and HG and their possible triggering effects on HG. METHODS: The study was designed as a prospective, self-reported, cohort research and the study sample consists of 350 pregnant women. Socio-demographic Form, Ruminative Thinking Style Questionnaire (RTSQ), Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-2), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to the participants at the first 6 weeks of their pregnancies (time 1). Second consultation was made to detect women with HG diagnosis between the 6 and 18 weeks’ gestation (time 2). Forty participants diagnosed with HG and 40 randomly chosen participants who had healthy pregnancy process at the end of the 18th gestational week were compared by using independent-samples T-test. RESULTS: While there was no significant difference between the time 1 RTSQ scores and the time 1 BDI scores of the HG and control groups, time 1 STAI-2 scores of the HG group were found to be significantly higher than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that worry process plays an active role in the development of HG rather than rumination. As a well-known mechanism of trait anxiety, worry could be a vulnerability factor for HG

The Role of Metacognitive Processes and Emotional Schemas in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Objective: This research aims to investigate the relationship between disorder severity and ruminative thinking style, emotional schemas, thought-action fusion and reciprocal interaction of these variables at individuals with obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD). Method: The sample of the study consists of 18 male and 47 female individuals who diagnosed as OCD according to DSM-IV-TR that applied the outpatient clinic of Bakirkoy Research Hospital for Psychiatry and Neurology between September 2014 and April 2014. Sociodemographic form, Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), Ruminative Thinking Style Questionnaire (RTSQ), Thought Action Fusion Scale (TAFS) and Leahy Emotional Schema Questionnaire (LESQ) were applied to participants. Data analyzed by using SPSS 20 version. Results: The mean age of participants is 31,80±7,41. According to results determined by using Pearson Correlation Analysis, a significant positive correlation between RTSQ total scores and LESQ weakness against emotions, acceptance of feelings, duration sub-scales, TAFS likelihood sub-scale, YBOCS obsession, YBOCS compulsion and YBOCS total scores was found. Also according to multiple linear regression analysis; its determined that RTSQ total scores predict YBOCS obsession, YBOCS compulsion and YBOCS total scores, TAFS Moral sub-scale total scores predict only YBOCS obsession total scores. Conclusion: It can be suggested that treatment objectives at psychotherapy approaches for OCD should involve ruminative response style and TAF Moral dimension when all the results evaluated together. While emotional schemas dont predict OCD severity directly, emotional schemas can have indirect effects on severity of disorder when the correlation between other scales considered. [JCBPR 2015; 4(3.000): 173-183

Meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid: from heavy metal chelation to CdS quantum dots

DMSA (meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid) a prescription drug and a heavy-metal chelating agent, is shown to act both as a sulfur source and a capping agent in the aqueous synthesis of CdS quantum dots under mild conditions. Release of sulfur from DMSA depends on the solution pH and the reaction temperature. Combination of 70 degrees C and pH 7.5 was determined as the best reaction conditions for a well-controlled reaction. Changing the SH/Cd ratio from 2.5 to 7 provides QDs emitting from blue to orange with 6-9% quantum yield with respect to Rhodamine 2B. Viability tests performed with HeLa and MCF-7 cell lines indicate a very low cytotoxicity. Mild reaction conditions and biocompatibility makes these particles valuable candidates for bio applications

Cognitive Group Therapy for Test Anxiety

Test anxiety is a major problem that affects students academic, vocational and emotional state and several treatment strategies have been developed and applied. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the efficacious treatments for test anxiety, but we know little about whether cognitive or behavioral techniques (or both) are effective. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of cognitive techniques without behavioral interventions. The study was carried out with 38 individual who complained of test anxiety and were divided into four groups. Six 90 min sessions of cognitive group therapy is applied weekly. Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire (RTSQ) and Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) were given to attendants. There was statistically significant difference between first and last evaluation of mean rank of BAI total and its cognitive and somatic subscales, ATQ and STAI-II. There was no significant difference for mean rank of STAI-I and RTSQ total scores. Statistically significant difference was found between first and last evaluation of total TAI and 3 subscales of TAI which were Others opinions, Worry about future, Worry about preparation and unspecified test anxiety. Cognitive techniques are effective for treatment of test anxiety even without behavioral interventions. However, its effect on self-related perception componenet of test anxiety and ruminative response styles is uncertain. Adding behavioral interventions to cognitive techniques may increase the efficacy of treatment for test anxiety. [JCBPR 2016; 5(1.000): 28-37