Utah digital newspapers project

ManuscriptThe J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah has digitized 30,000 pages from three weekly Utah newspapers from the period of 1889 - 1922 and made the collections freely available on the Internet. This article describes a new method for digitizing historic newspapers, developed in a partnership between the University and two commercial organizations. Utilizing OCR and newspaper processing technology from iArchives Inc. and the CONTENTdm digital collections software suite, the new method recently prototyped by the University of Utah presents a viable and affordable digitization method to cultural heritage institutions nationwide. In particular, the process can be implemented incrementally, making it affordable for both small and large collections, and the technology supports many different digital formats, not just newspapers. The digitized newspapers are publicly accessible and may be searched full text or browsed by issue. With the recent award of a new grant another 100,000 pages from an expanded selection of newspapers are slated for digitization in 2003

Consequences of delayed maintenance of pavement networks

Pavement networks must preserve an acceptable level of service to sustain the economic, social, and environmental development of society. The preservation of pavements is only possible when timely maintenance actions are conducted on a regular basis. Delayed maintenance can cause significant impacts on the pavement network but a systematic procedure to quantify this impact is required. This paper describes the application of a framework to quantify the consequences of delayed maintenance of pavement networks. In this framework, a pavement preservation policy is defined, and performance objectives are established. Maintenance treatments and budget needs are identified based on the pavement condition. A case study is used to demonstrate the impact of delayed maintenance of three pavement networks at different conditions (Good, Fair, Poor) at the beginning of the analysis. A number of maintenance scenarios are analyzed for these pavement networks: all needs, do nothing, delayed maintenance treatments by 2 years, and budget-driven with limited funds for maintenance. The trends observed in the pavement network condition, total agency costs, backlog costs, and remaining life as a result of the analysis were similar for the three pavement networks, although the impact is higher for pavement networks in fair and poor condition. In a broader perspective, delayed maintenance may affect not only pavement condition, but also mobility, safety, transportation agency and user’s costs over time.Papers Presented at the 2018 37th Southern African Transport Conference 9-12 July 2018 Pretoria, South Africa. Theme "Towards a desired transport future: safe, sufficient and affordable"

Influence of perceived value on satisfaction and continuance usage intention: e-hailing services

Customer loyalty is always an agenda that organisations would like to achieve. However, it is not an easy agenda to be achieved. This is not an exceptional agenda for collaborative consumption services particularly in e-hailing services. Therefore, to ensure customer loyalty particularly in continuance usage intention, e-hailing organisations need to focus on users’ perceived value because literature states that perceived value influences users’ satisfaction, and this will lead to customer loyalty. The Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS version 3.2.8) analysis revealed that the customer perceived value which consists of economic value, convenience value, sustainability value and hedonic value positively influence users’ satisfaction and subsequently, users’ satisfaction positively influence users’ continuance usage intention. As a result, e-hailing organisations need to improve and concentrate on their services especially those related to providing economic value, convenience value, sustainability value and hedonic value. Managerial implications as well as the future research directions are duly discussed

An application of the service brand verdict model in the evaluation of Japanese household and lifestyle product retail brands

As new entrants to the Malaysian market, Japanese household and lifestyle product retail brands have successfully gained a strong following among consumers of all ages and ethnicities within a short period of time. This study was conducted to uncover the branding elements which are meaningful to consumers during their experience with such retail brands and to ascertain how consumers’ brand evaluations affect their response, feelings and behaviour towards these brands. Using the Service Brand Verdict Model (SBVM) as a basis, data was collected from 662 customers of a large Japanese brand of household and lifestyle product stores using a self-administered survey. Results from the PLS-SEM analysis revealed that customers’ feelings towards the brand and value-for-money are key components affecting their satisfaction towards the brand. Satisfaction positively affects customers’ attitude as well as attachment to the retailer’s brand. Consequently, customers’ satisfaction, attitude and attachment lead to their loyalty towards the brand. In sum, the SBVM has been shown to remain valid and applicable in evaluating more recent retailing concept stores. Furthermore, in building brand loyalty among consumers, aspiring retailers must ensure that their brands appeal to both the consumers’ head (mind; utilitarian needs) and the heart (feelings; emotional needs

Tibial plateau fractures in older adults are associated with a clinically significant deterioration in health-related quality of life

Aims To investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) after tibial plateau fracture (TPF) compared to preinjury and population matched values, and what aspects of treatment were most important to patients. Methods We undertook a retrospective, case-control study of 67 patients at mean 3.5 years (SD 1.3; 1.3 to 6.1) after TPF (47 patients underwent fixation, and 20 nonoperative management). Patients completed EuroQol five-dimension three-level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire, Lower Limb Function Scale (LEFS), and Oxford Knee Scores (OKS) for current and recalled prefracture status. Propensity score matching for age, sex, and deprivation in a 1:5 ratio was performed using patient level data from the Health Survey for England to obtain a control group for HRQoL comparison. The primary outcome was the difference in actual (TPF cohort) and expected (matched control) EQ-5D-3L score after TPF. Results TPF patients had a significantly worse EQ-5D-3L utility (mean difference (MD) 0.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00 to 0.16; p &lt; 0.001) following their injury compared to matched controls, and had a significant deterioration (MD 0.140, 95% CI 0 to 0.309; p &lt; 0.001) relative to their preoperative status. TPF patients had significantly greater pre-fracture EQ-5D-3L scores compared to controls (p = 0.003), specifically in mobility and pain/discomfort domains. A decline in EQ-5D-3L greater than the minimal important change of 0.105 was present in 36/67 TPF patients (53.7%). Following TPF, OKS (MD -7; interquartile range (IQR)-1 to-15) and LEFS (MD -10; IQR -2 to -26) declined significantly (p &lt; 0.001) from pre-fracture levels. Of the 12 elements of fracture care assessed, the most important to patients were getting back to their own home, having a stable knee, and returning to normal function. Conclusion TPFs in older adults were associated with a clinically significant deterioration in HRQoL compared to preinjury level and age, sex, and deprivation matched controls for both undisplaced fractures managed nonoperatively and displaced or unstable fractures managed with internal fixation.</p

Fifteen-year prospective longitudinal cohort study of outcomes following single radius total knee arthroplasty

Aims This prospective study reports longitudinal, within-patient, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) over a 15-year period following cemented single radius total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Secondary aims included reporting PROMs trajectory, 15-year implant survival, and patient attrition from follow-up. Methods From 2006 to 2007, 462 consecutive cemented cruciate-retaining Triathlon TKAs were implanted in 426 patients (mean age 69 years (21 to 89); 290 (62.7%) female). PROMs (12-item Short Form Survey (SF-12), Oxford Knee Score (OKS), and satisfaction) were assessed preoperatively and at one, five, ten, and 15 years. Kaplan-Meier survival and univariate analysis were performed. Results At 15 years, 28 patients were lost to follow-up (6.1%) and 221 patients (51.9%) had died, with the mean age of the remaining cohort reducing by four years. PROMs response rates among surviving patients were: one-year 63%; five-year 72%; ten-year 94%; and 15-year 59%. OKS and SF-12 scores changed significantly over 15 years (p &lt; 0.001). The mean improvement in OKS was 18.8 (95% confidence (CI) 16.7 to 19.0) at one year. OKS peaked at five years (median 43 years) declining thereafter (p &lt; 0.001), though at 15 years it remained 17.5 better than preoperatively. Age and sex did not alter this trajectory. A quarter of patients experienced a clinically significant decline (≥ 7) in OKS from five to ten years and from ten to 15 years. The SF-12 physical component score displayed a similar trajectory, peaking at one year (p &lt; 0.001). Patient satisfaction was 88% at one, five, and ten years, and 94% at 15 years. In all, 15-year Kaplan-Meier survival was 97.6% (95% CI 96.0% to 99.2%) for any revision, and 98.9% (95% CI 97.9% to 99.9%) for aseptic revision. Conclusion Improvements in PROMs were significant and maintained following single radius TKA, with OKS peaking at five years, and generic physical health peaking at one year. Patient satisfaction remained high at 15 years, at which point 2.4% had been revised.</p

Tibial plateau fractures in older adults are associated with a clinically significant deterioration in health-related quality of life: a propensity score matched study

Aims To investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) after tibial plateau fracture (TPF) compared to preinjury and population matched values, and what aspects of treatment were most important to patients. Methods We undertook a retrospective, case-control study of 67 patients at mean 3.5 years (SD 1.3; 1.3 to 6.1) after TPF (47 patients underwent fixation, and 20 nonoperative management). Patients completed EuroQol five-dimension three-level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire, Lower Limb Function Scale (LEFS), and Oxford Knee Scores (OKS) for current and recalled prefracture status. Propensity score matching for age, sex, and deprivation in a 1:5 ratio was performed using patient level data from the Health Survey for England to obtain a control group for HRQoL comparison. The primary outcome was the difference in actual (TPF cohort) and expected (matched control) EQ-5D-3L score after TPF. Results TPF patients had a significantly worse EQ-5D-3L utility (mean difference (MD) 0.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00 to 0.16; p &lt; 0.001) following their injury compared to matched controls, and had a significant deterioration (MD 0.140, 95% CI 0 to 0.309; p &lt; 0.001) relative to their preoperative status. TPF patients had significantly greater pre-fracture EQ-5D-3L scores compared to controls (p = 0.003), specifically in mobility and pain/discomfort domains. A decline in EQ-5D-3L greater than the minimal important change of 0.105 was present in 36/67 TPF patients (53.7%). Following TPF, OKS (MD -7; interquartile range (IQR) -1 to -15) and LEFS (MD -10; IQR -2 to -26) declined significantly (p &lt; 0.001) from pre-fracture levels. Of the 12 elements of fracture care assessed, the most important to patients were getting back to their own home, having a stable knee, and returning to normal function. Conclusion TPFs in older adults were associated with a clinically significant deterioration in HRQoL compared to preinjury level and age, sex, and deprivation matched controls for both undisplaced fractures managed nonoperatively and displaced or unstable fractures managed with internal fixation. <br/

The relationship between hotel image, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: a case study in Labuan, Malaysia

The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationships between hotel image, customer satisfaction and loyalty of the selected hotels in Labuan. The study also examines the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the relationship between hotel image and customer loyalty. Data from 210 hotel’s customers were used for the statistical analysis. The multiple regression analysis results show that all of the dimensions of hotel image attributes have a significant effect on customer satisfaction. However, only one dimension of hotel image i.e. contact personal was found to have no significant influence on customer loyalty. The results also indicate that customer satisfaction does influence customer loyalty. The results from hierarchical regression show that customer satisfaction does mediate the relationship between hotel image attributes and customer loyalty. Managerial implication, limitations of the study and recommendations for future researchers are also included in the study