Dimensions Of Competitive Priorities: Are They Clear, Communicated, And Consistent?

In spite of convincing theoretical arguments in the literature, very little attention is paid to empirically identifying the dimensions of competitive priorities. The present study identifies these dimensions and relates them to Porter’s cost-differentiation strategy framework. Although the majority of the manufacturing plants ranked quality as the most important competitive priority, it could not foster differentiation by itself. Subsequent analyses show that while plants pursuing differentiation strategy were proactive in two administrative activities (communication of manufacturing strategy and establishment of formal strategic planning), plants pursuing low-cost strategy were not, suggesting that the managers of these plants pay close attention to these administrative activities

Student Versus Employer Perceptions of College Graduate Skills

College of business students who soon will graduate and representatives of employers likely to recruit them rated the skills “most important for [job] candidates to possess” and the skills new college graduates most need to improve upon. Students\u27 ratings for important to possess skills closely mirrored those of employers, demonstrating that efforts to teach students about employer preferences had been successful. Students\u27 ratings of the skills most needing improvement differed dramatically from employers\u27 ratings. Most critically, students rated interviewing skills as most in need of improvement whereas employers rated this in the middle range and employers rated realistic expectations and lose sense of entitlement as most in need of improvement whereas students rated these in the middle and low range. The results suggest that students develop career-related plans using accurate information about employer skill preferences but inaccurate information about their own skill deficiencies. Carefully targeted training likely will be required to improve student performance but success ultimately may depend upon developing academic and judgment skills

New Product Development: Impact of Project Characteristics and Development Practices on Performance

Concurrent product development process and integrated product development teams have emerged as the two dominant new product development (NPD) “best practices” in the literature. Yet empirical evidence of their impact on product development succes

Reviewing traffic conflict techniques for potential application to developing countries

The economic and social costs due to road crashes are disproportionately higher in developing countries. In addition, underreporting, coupled with an incomplete and inconsistent recording of reported crashes is a major issue in such settings. A brief outline of the dimension of road safety problems in developing countries and the most common limitations of existing crash databases is given in the paper. The challenges in applying traditional approaches for traffic safety evaluation and initiatives are also discussed. Diagnosis of road safety problems using traffic conflict techniques has received considerable research interest and has gained acceptance as a proactive surrogate measure in developed countries. Significant studies have been accomplished to develop, validate and apply different surrogate indicators for the estimation of traffic conflicts, as well as an assessment of the safety problem in different road geometric and operating conditions. This has provided a substitute for the historical crash records in traffic safety research. The main objective of this paper is to assess the application potentiality of this surrogate safety measures to address safety issues in developing countries. To do that, this paper critically reviews and synthesizes the different indicators of surrogate safety measures. The main principles, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the major indicators and prospects of application, are presented here. Finally, future research directions for road traffic safety assessment are outlined in the perspective of understanding the most concerning human issue due to traffic crashes in developing countries

American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System: History, Development, Reliability, and Its Future

The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA PS) classification has long been used as a ranking system that quantifies patient health before anaesthesia and surgery. When initially developed, the ASA PS intended application was purely statistical. However, nowadays it is commonly used by surgical specialties to determine a patient’s likelihood of developing postoperative complications, despite studies reporting scoring method subjectivity and inconsistencies among anaesthesiologists in assigning these scores. Over the years, the ASA PS classifications have undergone many changes and modifications to address its limitations. There are a few points to be discussed if all shortcomings are to be treated and interobserver variability is to be limited

A REVIEW ON PHYTOPHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF ALPINIA GALANGA

Alpinia galanga plant which is associated with family Zingiberaceae is mainly scattered in tropical areas and widely known for ethno medicine. Against fungi and bacteria rhizome extract have a maximum inhibitory effect. Alpinia galanga plant is used in medicine and in food preparation. Rhizome extract of Alpinia galanga have high phenolic and flavonoid contents when compared to leaf extract. Because of elevated phenolic and flavonoid content in rhizome extract of Alpinia galanga there is noticeable antimicrobial as well as radical scavenging potential. It is a well-known official drug thought out the country as integrated contribution of nature. It is commonly used for the management of eczema, coryza, bronchitis, otitis interna, gastritis, ulcers, morbilli and cholera, pityriasis versicolor, to clear the mouth, emaciation. The different parts of the plant have various effects like antifungal, antiprotozoal, antiplatelet, antiviral, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anti-oxidant effects, hypolipidemic and many others. The essential oil of A. galanga identified 1, 8-cineol as a bioactive agent having antifeeding activity. An aqueous acetone extract of fruit of Alpinia galanga shows inhibitory effect on melanogenesis (formation of melanin). By using different methods, active constituent namely, 1'-acetochavicol acetate in hexane extract of Alpinia galanga rhizome was investigated for their corrosion inhibition properties. The current review add significant information about its, pharmacological activities, medicinal properties and phytochemical investigations as a traditional drug to cure for a number of diseases. Every fraction of the plant has valuable properties that can deliver humanity. The complete plant will be broadly investigated for further future prospective

REVIEWING TRAFFIC CONFLICT TECHNIQUES FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The economic and social costs due to road crashes are disproportionately higher in developing countries. In addition, underreporting, coupled with an incomplete and inconsistent recording of reported crashes is a major issue in such settings. A brief outline of the dimension of road safety problems in developing countries and the most common limitations of existing crash databases is given in the paper. The challenges in applying traditional approaches for traffic safety evaluation and initiatives are also discussed. Diagnosis of road safety problems using traffic conflict techniques has received considerable research interest and has gained acceptance as a proactive surrogate measure in developed countries. Significant studies have been accomplished to develop, validate and apply different surrogate indicators for the estimation of traffic conflicts, as well as an assessment of the safety problem in different road geometric and operating conditions. This has provided a substitute for the historical crash records in traffic safety research. The main objective of this paper is to assess the application potentiality of this surrogate safety measures to address safety issues in developing countries. To do that, this paper critically reviews and synthesizes the different indicators of surrogate safety measures. The main principles, as well as advantages and disadvantages of the major indicators and prospects of application, are presented here. Finally, future research directions for road traffic safety assessment are outlined in the perspective of understanding the most concerning human issue due to traffic crashes in developing countries

Radical product sustainability oriented innovation (soi) and triple-bottom-line (3bl) performance: findings from Malaysian and Singaporean B2B firms

Despite the ongoing debate, there is an absence of research in finding the relationship between radical product sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) and firm’s triple-bottom-line (3BL) performance. While radical product SOIs may lead to 3BL performance, they may also be fraught with commercialization risks and uncertainty. This study aims to examine the relationship between radical product SOI and firm’s 3BL performance in a business-to-business (B2B) context with a mediating variable – radical innovation uncertainty. Using a multi-informant approach, survey data were collected from 187 Malaysian and Singaporean privately-owned B2B firms involved in R&D and NPD activities, provided by 326 R&D and marketing managers. The radical product SOI was found to have a significant positive effect on radical innovation uncertainty, which is negatively related to 3BL performance dimensions i.e., environmental, social, and financial. Moreover, this study examines the moderated-mediation effect by industry type, service vs. manufacturing: it moderates the negative mediation effect of radical innovation uncertainty, and this effect is weaker for service firms compared to manufacturing firms. The findings offer clear guidelines to B2B managers for the marketing and development of radical product SOI and facilitate firms’ 3BL performance. The study also acknowledges its limitations and suggests potential avenues for future research

Arsenic Exposure and Age- and Sex-Specific Risk for Skin Lesions: A Population-Based Case–Referent Study in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: The objective of this population-based case–referent study in Matlab, Bangladesh, was to assess the susceptibility to arsenic-induced skin lesions by age and sex, in a population drinking water from As-contaminated tube wells. METHODS: Identification of As-related skin lesions was carried out in three steps: a) screening of the entire population > 4 years of age (n = 166,934) by trained field teams; b) diagnosis of suspected As-related cases by physicians; and c) confirmation by experts based on physicians’ records and photographs. A total of 504 cases with skin lesions were confirmed. We randomly selected 2,201 referents from the Matlab health and demographic surveillance system; 1,955 were eligible, and 1,830 (94%) were available for participation in the study. Individual history of As exposure was based on information obtained during interviews and included all drinking-water sources used since 1970 and concentrations of As (assessed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry) in all the tube wells used. RESULTS: Cases had been exposed to As more than referents (average exposure since 1970: male cases, 200 μg/L; female cases, 211 μg/L; male referents, 143 μg/L; female referents, 155 μg/L). We found a dose–response relationship for both sexes (p < 0.001) and increased risk with increasing socioeconomic status. Males had a higher risk of obtaining skin lesions than females (odds ratio 10.9 vs. 5.78) in the highest average exposure quintile (p = 0.005). Start of As exposure (cumulative exposure) before 1 year of age was not associated with higher risk of obtaining skin lesions compared to start of As exposure later in life. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that males are more susceptible than females to develop skin lesions when exposed to As in water from tube wells

Anaesthetic Considerations in Gastrointestinal Endoscopies

Gastrointestinal endoscopy has become fundamental procedure for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases. Generally, the gastrointestinal endoscopy is minimally invasive procedure. However, it can cause considerable amount of discomfort and pain which make the procedure unsafe, complicated and refusal of follow up procedures if done without safe sedation. The sedation is required to alleviate anxiety, provide analgesia, amnesia and to improve endoscopic performance specifically in therapeutic procedures. The safe administration of sedative and analgesic medications, irrespective of the regimen used, requires knowledge of the individual needs of patients. The combination of benzodiazepines and opioids is now the most widely used sedation regimen for sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures. Generally, sedation for gastrointestinal endoscopy is considered safe, however, it has the potential for serious complications. Therefore, endoscopist should assess the patients properly before the endoscopy as well as should be aware of all possible complications and the risk factors. Furthermore, skilled staff and emergency equipment should be available in endoscopy suit. This chapter discuss in details all the aspects of safe procedural sedation during GI endoscopies