E-exchange and the Boundary between Households and Organizations

The new information and communication technology, ICT, induces households to take over tasks from firms and government agencies, using tools and systems provided by these very same organizations. The result is often joint production activities. We argue that the importance of ICT for the exchange process between households and organizations is underestimated by only considering the consequences for the last stage of the process, i.e., the final purchase of goods and services. Our analysis of household behavior utilizes a modified version of Gary Becker’s model of the household as a combined producer-consumer.internet information, e-exchange, household production, co-production, household power, exit/voice

E-exchange and the Boundary between Households and Organizations

The new information and communication technology, ICT, induces households to take over tasks from firms and government agencies, using tools and systems provided by these very same organizations. The result is often joint production activities. We argue that the importance of ICT for the exchange process between households and organizations is underestimated by only considering the consequences for the last stage of the process, i.e., the final purchase of goods and services. Our analysis of household behavior utilizes a modified version of Gary Becker's model of the household as a combined producer-consumer

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Another Look at Consumer Dissatisfaction as a Measure of Market Performance

In this article consumer dissatisfaction (CD) is explored in some depth on thebasis of cross-national data. Two issues are focused upon. First, what is behind the figuresindicating quite a lot of dissatisfaction? To what extent is CD affected by the quality ofgoods and services bought and present marketing practice, and to what extent by othervariables such as social and cultural characteristics of the consumers? Second, what arethe basic differences in the perception of CD between consumers themselves and their"ombudsmen"

Another Look at Consumer Dissatisfaction as a Measure of Market Performance

In this article consumer dissatisfaction (CD) is explored in some depth on thebasis of cross-national data. Two issues are focused upon. First, what is behind the figuresindicating quite a lot of dissatisfaction? To what extent is CD affected by the quality ofgoods and services bought and present marketing practice, and to what extent by othervariables such as social and cultural characteristics of the consumers? Second, what arethe basic differences in the perception of CD between consumers themselves and their"ombudsmen"