Purposeful empiricism: how stochastic modeling informs industrial marketing research

It is increasingly recognized that progress can be made in the development of integrated theory for understanding, explaining and better predicting key aspects of buyer–seller relationships and industrial networks by drawing upon non-traditional research perspectives and domains. One such non-traditional research perspective is stochastic modeling which has shown that large scale regularities emerge from the individual interactions between idiosyncratic actors. When these macroscopic patterns repeat across a wide range of firms, industries and business types this commonality suggests directions for further research which we pursue through a differentiated replication of the Dirichlet stochastic model. We demonstrate predictable behavioral patterns of purchase and loyalty in two distinct industrial markets for components used in critical surgical procedures. This differentiated replication supports the argument for the use of stochastic modeling techniques in industrial marketing management, not only as a management tool but also as a lens to inform and focus research towards integrated theories of the evolution of market structure and network relationships

Annual league tables of mortality in neonatal intensive care units: longitudinal study. International Neonatal Network and the Scottish Neonatal Consultants and Nurses Collaborative Study Group.[see comment]

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether crude league tables of mortality and league tables of risk adjusted mortality accurately reflect the performance of hospitals. DESIGN: Longitudinal study of mortality occurring in hospital. SETTING: 9 neonatal intensive care units in the United Kingdom. SUBJECTS: 2671 very low birth weight or preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units between 1988 and 1994. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Crude hospital mortality and hospital mortality adjusted using the clinical risk index for babies (CRIB) score. RESULTS: Hospitals had wide and overlapping confidence intervals when ranked by mortality in annual league tables; this made it impossible to discriminate between hospitals reliably. In most years there was no significant difference between hospitals, only random variation. The apparent performance of individual hospitals fluctuated substantially from year to year. CONCLUSIONS: Annual league tables are not reliable indicators of performance or best practice; they do not reflect consistent differences between hospitals. Any action prompted by the annual league tables would have been equally likely to have been beneficial, detrimental, or irrelevant. Mortality should be compared between groups of hospitals using specific criteria-such as differences in the volume of patients, staffing policy, training of staff, or aspects of clinical practice-after adjusting for risk. This will produce more reliable estimates with narrower confidence intervals, and more reliable and rapid conclusions

Check List and Basic Guide to the Administration of Decedents\u27 Estates under New Article 93, Revised to July 1, 1973, Together with a Summary of Pertinent 1973 Session Laws of the General Assembly of Maryland and an Appendix of Forms

In 1969, the Maryland General Assembly enacted a new testamentary Law for the state which is, in effect, a modified version qf the Uniform Probate Code and is now codified as Article 93 of the Maryland Annotated Code. Generally acclaimed as one of the most significant acts of legislation in recent Maryland history, the new Article 93 reflects an accommodation of a few radical changes within the time honored body of estate law. Certain probate procedures, in particular, have undergone significant revision. The following Check List and Basic Guide to the Administration of Decedents\u27 Estates represents one institution\u27s efforts at providing a road map for compliance with the procedural requirements for probate and administration under the new law. Recognizing the intrinsic value of this document, both for the young lawyer and for the more experienced members of the practicing bar who may not be familiar with the new procedures, the Board of Editors decided that it was deserving of general distribution. For their kind permission to reprint the Check List and Guide, the Board is grateful to Mr. James G. McCabe and the Trust Department of Maryland National Bank

Check List and Basic Guide to the Administration of Decedents\u27 Estates under New Article 93, Revised to July 1, 1973, Together with a Summary of Pertinent 1973 Session Laws of the General Assembly of Maryland and an Appendix of Forms

In 1969, the Maryland General Assembly enacted a new testamentary Law for the state which is, in effect, a modified version qf the Uniform Probate Code and is now codified as Article 93 of the Maryland Annotated Code. Generally acclaimed as one of the most significant acts of legislation in recent Maryland history, the new Article 93 reflects an accommodation of a few radical changes within the time honored body of estate law. Certain probate procedures, in particular, have undergone significant revision. The following Check List and Basic Guide to the Administration of Decedents\u27 Estates represents one institution\u27s efforts at providing a road map for compliance with the procedural requirements for probate and administration under the new law. Recognizing the intrinsic value of this document, both for the young lawyer and for the more experienced members of the practicing bar who may not be familiar with the new procedures, the Board of Editors decided that it was deserving of general distribution. For their kind permission to reprint the Check List and Guide, the Board is grateful to Mr. James G. McCabe and the Trust Department of Maryland National Bank