The Impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Technology on Business-to-Business Customer Relationships

Recent academic and practitioner studies suggest that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provides improved business opportunity, yet has received mixed performance reviews in the extant literature. This research explored the relationship between CRM technology adoption, market orientation and relationship marketing, and the subsequent impact on business relationships and relationship performance. A conceptual model was developed based on the literature and information obtained through one-to-one in-depth interviews. The model incorporated key relationship constructs; trust, commitment and communications quality, and investigated the impact of CRM technology adoption on these constructs and relationship performance. In addition the firm's market and technology orientation was considered as critical antecedents to the adoption of CRM technology. The research incorporated a two-phased, cross-sectional design. The first research phase was exploratory, utilising one-on-one in-depth interviews with key informants. The objective was to explore the conceptualised CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model for robustness and realism. These findings were used to refine the CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model and the measurement instrument before proceeding with the explanatory phase of the study. The explanatory phase of the research consisted of an instrument development stage - creating, testing and finalising the research instrument, followed by a quantitative study of medium and large business in the manufacturing, services and wholesale industries in New Zealand. The objective of this stage of the research was to test and validate the CRM technology adoption - customer relationship model and measurement instruments. Measures of CRM technology adoption were collected from the supplier firms, while measures of relationship strength and relationship performance were collected separately from the customer perspective. The benefits for practitioners include methods to improved relationship and business performance from CRM technology implementation. The key benefit for academia is the development of a conceptual model linking CRM technology to RM, and providing insights into the synergies available from technology

Aseptic fluid transfer system

A method and means is provided, which permits the transfer of fluids between separate detached containers, in a manner which preserves the sterility of the fluids during and after their transfer

Nanomaterial structure determination using XUV diffraction

Diffraction using coherent XUV radiation is used to study the structure of nanophotonic materials, in this case an ordered array of 196nm spheres. Crystal structure and defects are visible, and the nanomaterial dielectric constant determined

ASCENT Program

The ASCENT program solves the three-dimensional motion and attendant structural loading on a flexible vehicle incorporating, optionally, an active analog thrust control system, aerodynamic effects, and staging of multiple bodies. ASCENT solves the technical problems of loads, accelerations, and displacements of a flexible vehicle; staging of the upper stage from the lower stage; effects of thrust oscillations on the vehicle; a payload's relative motion; the effect of fluid sloshing on vehicle; and the effect of winds and gusts on the vehicle (on the ground or aloft) in a continuous analysis. The ATTACH ASCENT Loads program reads output from the ASCENT flexible body loads program, and calculates the approximate load indicators for the time interval under consideration. It calculates the load indicator values from pre-launch to the end of the first stage

Resource Exchange: A Case Study

This paper describes a resource exchange program between two human service organizations: a public school board and a university. This case study illustrates the utility of the concept of resource exchange as a response to pressures for the effective management of limited human resources. With an emphasis on mutual goals, needs, and strengths, the resource exchange program expanded resources available to both organizations. For the public school board, new services in the form of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs were developed. For the university, research and training opportunities were created. Finally, the fragmentation between and within the organizations was reduced in correspondence with their increased mutual interdependence

NGTS-4b: A sub-Neptune transiting in the desert

We report the discovery of NGTS-4b, a sub-Neptune-sized planet transiting a 13th magnitude K-dwarf in a 1.34 d orbit. NGTS-4b has a mass M = 20.6 ± 3.0 M⊕ and radius R = 3.18 ± 0.26 R⊕, which places it well within the so-called ‘Neptunian Desert’. The mean density of the planet (3.45 ± 0.95 g cm−3) is consistent with a composition of 100  per cent H2O or a rocky core with a volatile envelope. NGTS-4b is likely to suffer significant mass loss due to relatively strong EUV/X-ray irradiation. Its survival in the Neptunian desert may be due to an unusually high-core mass, or it may have avoided the most intense X-ray irradiation by migrating after the initial activity of its host star had subsided. With a transit depth of 0.13 ± 0.02 per cent, NGTS-4b represents the shallowest transiting system ever discovered from the ground, and is the smallest planet discovered in a wide-field ground-based photometric survey

Trim71 cooperates with microRNAs to repress Cdkn1a expression and promote embryonic stem cell proliferation

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have a shortened cell cycle that enables their rapid proliferation. The ESC-specific miR-290 and miR-302 microRNA families promote proliferation whereas let-7 microRNAs inhibit self-renewal and promote cell differentiation. Lin28 suppresses let-7 expression in ESCs. Here, to gain further insight into mechanisms controlling ESC self-renewal we explore the molecular and cellular role of the let-7 target Trim71 (mLin41). We show that Trim71 associates with Argonaute2 (Ago2) and microRNAs and represses expression of Cdkn1a, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that negatively regulates the G1–S transition. We identify protein domains required for Trim71 association with Ago2, localization to P-bodies, and for repression of reporter mRNAs. Trim71 knockdown prolongs the G1 phase of the cell cycle and slows ESC proliferation, a phenotype that was rescued by depletion of Cdkn1a. Thus, we demonstrate Trim71 is a factor that facilitates the G1–S transition to promote rapid ESC self-renewal

The impact of attitudes beliefs and cognitive reflection on the development of critical thinking skills in online students

Learning and development of critical thinking (CT) skills in higher education is essential for academic achievement. The following experiment is the first to examine the effect of online student’s perceptions and attitudes towards CT across dimensions of confidence, valuing, misconceptions, cognitive reflection, and authors writing. Furthermore, a CT intervention was developed, and the effects of the intervention examined with an aim to help students improve their grade point average. The analyses demonstrated that student’s confidence and cognitive reflection predict academic achievement. Moreover, the online CT intervention was associated with improved students’ CT attitudes, skills, and academic performance. Significant interactions were observed between time (pre- and post-intervention) and intervention in cognitive reflection, confidence, beliefs, and attitudes related to CT, and student grade point average (GPA, as a measure of student’s performance on online modules). It was concluded that the CT can be taught and that an intervention based on “how to think” rather than a “what to think” mixed approach can help online students develop CT, strengthen their confidence in CT and help students improve their academic performance in an online setting