Postnatal Corticosteroids for Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Lung Disease in the Preterm Newborn

Despite significant progress in the treatment of preterm neonates, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be a major cause of neonatal morbidity. Affected infants suffered from long-term pulmonary and nonpulmonary sequel. The pulmonary sequels include reactive airway disease and asthma during childhood and adolescence. Nonpulmonary sequels include poor coordination and muscle tone, difficulty in walking, vision and hearing problems, delayed cognitive development, and poor academic achievement. As inflammation seems to be a primary mediator of injury in pathogenesis of BPD, role of steroids as antiinflammatory agent has been extensively studied and proven to be efficacious in management. However, evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation regarding other glucocorticoid doses and preparations. Numerous studies have been performed to investigate the effects of steroid. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate these studies in order to elucidate the beneficial and harmful effects of steroid on the prevention and treatment of BPD

Meeting the cultural and service needs of Arabic international students by using QFD

Quality has become an important factor in global competition for many reasons. Intensive global competition and the demand for better quality by customers has led organizations to realize the benefits of providing quality products and services in order to successfully compete and survive. Higher education institutions are one example of these organisations. Higher education institutions work in an intensive competitive environment worldwide driven by increasing demands for learning by local and international students. As a result, the managers of these sectors have realized that improving the quality of services is important for achieving customer satisfaction which can help survival in an internationally competitive market. To do this, it is necessary for organizations to know their customers and identify their requirements. To this end, many higher education institutions have adopted principles of total quality management (TQM) to improve their education quality which leads to better performance through involvement of every department to achieve excellence in business. This chapter considers the importance of measuring quality in order to assist universities to proactively manage the design and improvement of the social and academic experiences of postgraduate international students, and plan management decision-making processes to deliver high-quality services in a globalized business of provision of higher education. Higher education institutions must operate effectively and efficiently and be able to deliver quality programs, by seeking to better understand the needs of their customers to be competitive in this market space

The Effects of Interdependence and Cooperative Behaviors on Buyer’s Satisfaction in the Semiconductor Component Supply Chain

The semiconductor industry is characterized by extreme competition in price and product features. Firms need to acquire or exchange resources with their supplier or buyer partners to stay at the leading edge of technology. Cooperation between buyers and suppliers is important and power is the mechanism that can explain the cooperative behaviors. This study aims to investigate how the power structure between the buyer and supplier influences the extent of suppliers’ cooperative behaviors, and the effects of these on buyer satisfaction with the buyer-supplier relationship. Opinions from firms in semiconductor manufacturing supply chain were used to investigate the proposed model. It is found that mutual interdependence between a supplier and its buyer can enhance cooperative behaviors and power asymmetry hurt firms’ investment in cooperative behaviors. Suggestions are then provided to semiconductor supply chain members based on the findings of this work

Integration PEM and AHP Methods to Determine Service Quality Improvement Strategy for the Medical Industry

Despite abundant research on service quality within the medical industry, few studies have applied performance evaluation matrix (PEM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in this medical industry. Therefore, this study aims to discuss integrating the PEM and AHP methods in order to determine and prioritize areas of improvement in service quality. Data were analyzed through PEM in order to identify eight items that needed improvement. The improvement priority of these items was determined by the AHP method. Therefore, the results provide suggestions to improve service quality and to enhance the hospital standard processes to meet the customers’ needs. This study serves as a guideline for hospitals to improve their service quality

[[alternative]]The Effects of Teachers' Job Stress, and Job Involvement on Teaching Quality--The Personality Trait as a Moderating Variable

[[abstract]]教師是學校最重要的資源，也是影響教學品質的最大關鍵。隨著教育環境的變遷，社會賦予教師的期待和要求愈趨多元，使教師負擔更加沉重。本研究欲透過研究探討教師的工作壓力、人格特質以及對教學工作投入和認同的程度是否會影響到其教學品質。研究以彰化縣國小教師為研究對象，總計發出535份問卷，回收有效問卷共509份。問卷內容包含了個人基本資料、工作壓力、人格特質、工作投入與教學品質量表。問卷分析以SPSS12.0套裝軟體為研究工具，並以描述統計、t檢定、單因子變異數分析與皮爾遜積差相關及迴歸分析進行統計分析。研究發現國小教師會因個人背景變項的不同，在工作壓力、人格特質、工作投入及教學品質四個變項上，有部分的顯著差異影響；教師在工作壓力與教學品質達顯著負相關，人格特質與教學品質達顯著正相關，工作投入與教學品質達顯著正相關，其中以人格特質與工作投入相關程度最高，而國小教師在工作壓力、工作投入對教學品質具有顯著預測力。且人格特質中的「親和性」特質對工作壓力與教學品質具干擾作用；人格特質中的「親和性」和「外向性」特質對工作投入與教學品質具干擾作用。[[abstract]]Teachers are regarded as the primary resources in schools as well as the key factors in teaching quality. With the change of educational environment, the society gives teachers more diverse expectations and requirements so that the burden of teachers has become heavier. Under such work stress for a long period of time, would the teaching quality be affected? Teachers with different personality traits present various management methods and attitudes that the job involvement and identification are distinct. Will these factors affect the teaching quality? This study aims to discuss the effects of work stress, personality traits, and job involvement on teaching quality. Having the elementary school teachers in Changhua County be the research subjects, total 535 questionnaires are distributed and 509 valid copies are retrieved. The questionnaire contains personal data and the scales of work stress, personality traits, job involvement, and teaching quality. With SPSS 12.0 as the research tool, descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation, and regression analysis are utilized for the statistical analyses.The research findings show that elementary school teachers present significant differences on work stress, personality traits, job involvement, and teaching quality because of distinct personal background. Both work stress and teaching quality achieve remarkably negative correlations; job involvement and teaching quality reach notably positive correlations; and personality traits and teaching quality achieve significantly positive correlations. The correlations between personality traits and job involvement appear the highest; and the teachers show remarkable predictions of teaching quality on work stress, personality traits, and job involvement. Moreover, Agreeableness in personality traits reveals moderating effect on work stress and teaching quality, while Agreeableness and Extroversion appear moderating effects on job involvement and teaching quality

A Performance Evaluation Matrix for Measuring the Life Satisfaction of Older Adults Using eHealth Wearables

eHealth wearables can track users’ state of health, record their physiological data, and facilitate self-care. In this study, we examined whether they enhance older adults’ casual exercise willingness and life satisfaction. After reviewing the related literature, the performance and satisfaction of elements for older adults to use eHealth Wearables were determined. The elements were derived from the means–end chain analysis. Three dimensions, product attributes, beneficial consequences, personal values, and responding elements, were identified first. The Performance Evaluation Matrix (PEM) was then established to determine the elements to be improved. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 206 valid questionnaires were completed and returned. In the proposed PEM, the product attributes that were in the priority improvement zone were accessibility, learnability, usability, affordability, positioning, pedometer, heart rate monitor, and data feedback. These elements are the most essential properties in need of improvement

A Performance Evaluation Matrix for Measuring the Life Satisfaction of Older Adults Using eHealth Wearables

eHealth wearables can track users’ state of health, record their physiological data, and facilitate self-care. In this study, we examined whether they enhance older adults’ casual exercise willingness and life satisfaction. After reviewing the related literature, the performance and satisfaction of elements for older adults to use eHealth Wearables were determined. The elements were derived from the means–end chain analysis. Three dimensions, product attributes, beneficial consequences, personal values, and responding elements, were identified first. The Performance Evaluation Matrix (PEM) was then established to determine the elements to be improved. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 206 valid questionnaires were completed and returned. In the proposed PEM, the product attributes that were in the priority improvement zone were accessibility, learnability, usability, affordability, positioning, pedometer, heart rate monitor, and data feedback. These elements are the most essential properties in need of improvement

The Factors Affecting Older Adults’ Intention toward Ongoing Participation in Virtual Reality Leisure Activities

Due to the aging of organs, older adults may have limited physical strength for participating in outdoor activities. Therefore, indoor activities offer an alternative for maintaining the health of older adults. Following advances in technology, individuals can use virtual reality to exercise in their homes and are no longer subject to the constraints of the outdoor environment or weather conditions. In addition, these activities are easier to participate in when compared to real-world leisure activities. The present research included 294 older adults as its research subjects. They were given firsthand experience of Wii games for 10 weeks, in order to examine the ongoing participation intention of older adults following an experience with virtual reality leisure activities. The study found that experience attributes, experience consequences, and experience values were important factors in determining ongoing participation intention and can effectively predict ongoing participation intention. Four experience attributes—ease of use, usefulness, safety and flexibility, and fun—significantly influenced the experience value and experience consequences of older adults’ participants. Experience values also influenced ongoing participation intention