Late Quaternary climatic record from ODP Site 705 in the Northern Indian Ocean

The uppermost 500cm sedimentary core from ODP site located at the Eastern flank of Najareth bank in the Northern Indian Ocean has yielded altogether twenty four species of planktonic foraminifera. Among all these species, Globorotalia menardii has been found to be consistently dominant in the faunal assemblages from most of the samples. The 18O measured on the tests of Globorotalia menardii from all levels help in precisely working out the sediment accumulation rates at different isotopic stages, and deciphering the change in climate in the Late Quaternary as well.

Multi-agents modelling of EV purchase willingness based on questionnaires

Traditional experimental economics methods often consume enormous resources of qualified human participants, and the inconsistence of a participant’s decisions among repeated trials prevents investigation from sensitivity analyses. The problem can be solved if computer agents are capable of generating similar behaviors as the given participants in experiments. An experimental economics based analysis method is presented to extract deep information from questionnaire data and emulate any number of participants. Taking the customers’ willingness to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) as an example, multi-layer correlation information is extracted from a limited number of questionnaires. Multi-agents mimicking the inquired potential customers are modelled through matching the probabilistic distributions of their willingness embedded in the questionnaires. The authenticity of both the model and the algorithm is validated by comparing the agent-based Monte Carlo simulation results with the questionnaire-based deduction results. With the aid of agent models, the effects of minority agents with specific preferences on the results are also discussed.

Epidemiology of Dysglycemia in Pregnant Oklahoma American Indian Women

CONTEXT: Minority communities are disproportionately affected by diabetes, and minority women are at an increased risk for glucose intolerance (dysglycemia) during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: In pregnant American Indian women, the objectives of the study were to use current criteria to estimate the prevalence of first-trimester (Tr1) dysglycemia and second-trimester (Tr2) incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to explore new candidate measures and identify associated clinical factors.

DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study. In Tr1 we performed a 75-g, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to determine the following: fasting insulin; homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol; noninvasive skin autofluorescence (SCOUT). We defined dysglycemia by American Diabetes Association and Endocrine Society criteria and as HbA1c of 5.7% or greater. In Tr2 in an available subset, we performed a repeat OGTT and SCOUT.

PARTICIPANTS: Pregnant American Indian women (n = 244 at Tr1; n = 114 at Tr2) participated in the study.

OUTCOMES: The prevalence of dysglycemia at Tr1 and incidence of GDM at Tr2 were measured.

RESULTS: At Tr1, one woman had overt diabetes; 36 (15%) had impaired glucose tolerance (American Diabetes Association criteria and/or abnormal HbA1c) and 59 (24%) had GDM-Tr1 (Endocrine Society criteria). Overall, 74 (30%) had some form of dysglycemia. Associated factors were body mass index, hypertension, waist/hip circumferences, SCOUT score, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. At Tr2, 114 of the Tr1 cohort underwent a repeat OGTT and SCOUT, and 26 (23%) had GDM. GDM-Tr2 was associated with increased SCOUT scores (P = .029) and Tr1 body mass index, waist/hip circumferences, diastolic blood pressure, fasting insulin, and triglyceride levels. Overall, dysglycemia at Tr1 and/or Tr2 affected 38% of the women.

CONCLUSIONS: Dysglycemia at some point during pregnancy was common among American Indian women. It was associated with features of insulin resistance and may confer long-term health risks for mother and child.

Avoiding Negligence and Profusion: The failure of the Joint-Stock form in the Anglo-Indian Tea Trade, 1840-1870

In the 19th century, firms operating in the Anglo-Indian tea trade were organised using a variety ownership forms including the partnership, joint-stock and a combination of the two known as the Managing agency. Faced with both an increasing need for fixed capital and high agency costs caused by the distance between owners and managers, the firms adapted and increasingly adopted the hybrid managing agency model to overcome these problems. Using new data from Calcutta and Bengal Commercial Registers and detailed case studies of the Assam Company and Gillanders, Arbuthnot and Co, this paper demonstrates that British entrepreneurs did not see the choice of ownership as a dichotomy or firm boundaries as fixed, but instead innovatively drew on the strengths of different forms of ownership to compete and grow successfully.

Determinants of online travel purchase intentions: a holistic approach

Online travel shopping has attracted researchers due to its significant growth and there is a growing body of literature in this field. However, research on what drives consumers to purchase travel online has typically been fragmented. In fact, existing studies have largely concentrated on examining consumers’ online travel purchases either grounded on Davis’s Technology Acceptance Model, on the Theory of Reasoned Action and its extension, the Theory of Planned Behaviour or on Roger’s model of perceived innovation attributes, the Innovation Diffusion Theory. A thorough literature review has revealed that there is a lack of studies that integrate all theories to better understand online travel shopping. Therefore, based on relevant literature in tourism and consumer behaviour, this study proposes and tests an integrated model to explore which factors affect intentions to purchase travel online. Furthermore, it proposes a new construct, termed social media involvement, defined as a person’s level of interest or emotional attachment with social media, and examines its relationship with intentions to purchase travel online. To test the 18 hypotheses, a quantitative approach was followed by first collecting data through an online survey. With a sample of 1,532 Worldwide Internet users, Partial Least Squares analysis was than conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the data and empirically test the hypothesized relationships between the constructs. The results indicate that intentions to purchase travel online is mostly determined by attitude towards online shopping, which is influenced by perceived relative advantages of online travel shopping and trust in online travel shopping. In addition, the findings indicate that the second most important predictor of intentions to purchase travel online is compatibility, an attribute from the Innovation Diffusion Theory. Furthermore, even though online shopping is nowadays a common practice, perceived risk continues to negatively affect intentions to purchase travel online. The most surprising finding of this study was that Internet users more involved with social media for travel purposes did not have higher intentions to purchase travel online. The theoretical contributions of this study and the practical implications are discussed and future research directions are detailed.

AGREED-UPON PROCEDURES REPORT ON CONTRACT FOR PURCHASE OF NURSING CARE SERVICES WITH STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

The Medicaid Audits Section of the South Carolina Office of the State Auditor performs audits and reviews of cost reports filed by institutional providers of Medicaid services. These cost reports are used by the Health and Human Services Finance Commission to establish amounts to be paid to these providers for services provided to qualified Medicaid recipients. This report deals with A. Sam Karesh Long Term Care Nursing Facility in North Augusta, S.C.

Understanding what drives the purchase decision in pension and investment products

The aims of this paper are to first seek an understanding of consumer decision-making when purchasing pension and investment products, and second to ascertain how this decision-making affects the consumer's choice of distribution route. The study employed both focus groups and postal questionnaire survey methods based on the framework of a classical decision-making model that investigated problem recognition, information search, evaluation tools used and post-purchase. The findings show that the decision-making process experience differed to a lesser or greater degree depending on the distribution route. The majority of respondents had recognised the need to make a purchase decision long before seeking information. Younger respondents on all incomes believed that they must make some pension provision for themselves as opposed to relying on the government's retirement provision. Many changed channels for information searches, but tended to settle with the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The two main evaluation tools for pension and investment were found to be the ‘charges’ and ‘historic fund performance’. The vast majority of respondents reiterated their worry that the outcomes would not be known until retirement. In terms of analysis by the level of ‘financial literacy’, respondents who scored in the upper quartile were more inclined to be on a higher income, less inclined to evaluate on charges and more proactive in discussing the investment strategy of their pension fund. Respondents who scored in the lower quartile had opposite results. One of the implications of these findings is that the younger respondents’ recognition of pension savings favours the government's intention to reverse the existing balance of pension distribution. The other main implication is that the findings will be of help to managers in appreciating the dominance of the IFA channel by providing an explanation of why consumers choose this route, and, additionally, can assist direct marketing managers in identifying customers who will be more likely to use multichannel or single-channel shoppers. It can also help the marketing manager increase the usage of different channels by addressing the factors driving the purchase decision and distribution choice.

The motives and performance of cross-border acquirers from emerging economies: Comparison between Chinese and Indian firms

During the recent decade, the world has witnessed the rapid growth of MNEs from emerging economies. Their increasing participation in cross-border mergers and acquisitions has raised great attention in the extant literature. This study evaluates the value creation from these cross-border transactions from two representative emerging countries, namely China and India, and determines factors that result in the different performance of these international acquisition activities. Cross-border acquisitions conducted by these countries’ companies indeed lead to significant shareholder wealth creation. Furthermore, Indian shareholders are more likely to benefit from deals in small cultural distance countries, while Chinese investors gain from the cross-border expansion of manufacturing companies. Location also affects the performance of cross-border acquisitions, with acquisitions into developed countries generating higher returns to shareholders. Our sample consists of 203 Indian and 63 Chinese cross-border deals over the period 2000–2010 and our results hold after controlling for various deal-level and firm-level characteristics.

Understanding the Effect of Television Advertising on Women's Attitudes and Purchase Intentions Towards Beer: A Study of Three Major Brands.

Abstract Purpose of Paper: The market for beer in the UK is now mature and sales have been stable at around £16bn for about ten years (Mintel 2014). More recently, there have been changes in the market as consumers have switched from bigger mainstream brands to a growing number of smaller craft beers. However, in order to grow further significantly, the industry needs to explore new market segments and find new consumers for beer. So far, it is estimated that only 1.3m women in the UK drink beer (O'Reilly, 2014; Mail Online, 2015). Women are therefore an underexplored segment and present the main growth opportunity for beer drinking in the UK. However, most beer television advertising has traditionally been aimed at the male audience and there have been suggestions that some of this advertising has been seen as unpopular with or even insulting to women (Jackson, 2013; Zwarun et al., 2006). The Chief Executive of major brewer SAB Miller, which owns the Foster's brand, has recently written that, 'We have to acknowledge that core lager advertising, for many years, was either dismissive of, or insulting to, women.' (Shubber, 2015). If women are to be the new consumers and the future target for beer advertising, there is therefore a significant gap in the knowledge and literature concerned with how women differ from men in responding to the television advertising produced by beer brands and it is important that this gap in knowledge is addressed. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore the effect of the television advertising of the three top selling UK beer brands on women's attitudes and purchase intentions towards those brands. More specifically, the objectives are: 1) To gain an understanding of how female consumers respond to existing beer television advertising, specifically in terms of the ‘likeability’ of the content of TV commercials produced by the three leading UK beer brands among female consumers. 2) To examine the effect of the rational and emotional content, including the use of humour, in television commercials produced by the three leading UK beer brands on the attitudes of female consumers towards those brands. 3) To explore in-depth female consumer attitudes towards the content (message cues and symbolism) of the television commercials produced by the three leading beer brands in the UK and their effect on subsequent purchase intentions for each brand.

The influence of price changes on consumers' purchase decisions

The development of an effective pricing strategy requires the acquaintance of consumers’ price perception as well as the range of elements that influence the price sensitivity. This paper analyses the relationships between product features, individual characteristics and the level of price increase/decrease that induces the consumers to change their purchase decisions. The results of a dedicated survey show, that price sensitivity, individual preferences, type of product and direction of price change and individual characteristics of consumers (gender, age, professional situation) have a significant impact on a threshold at which people are willing to choose the less attractive, but cheaper alternative to their favorite product or give up the variety in consumption. From a consumer behavior perspective, these findings play a fundamental role in pricing.

Young adult Brazilian beauty consumers perception of Lancôme and the effectiveness of social media relationhips with local celebrities on their purchase intention

The aim of this research is to evaluate if a premium beauty brand, in this case, Lancôme, can influence positively the purchase intention from Brazilian young adults, between 18 and 29 years old, consumers of beauty products, by initiating a relationship with a local celebrity or “it” girl on social media. This hypothesis has not been tested, and this research is a first attempt of evaluating it. Additionally, the consumer behavior, brand preferences and social media activeness of this age segment in Brazil are further studied as important insights for beauty brands to conquer these consumers. Results did not confirm the positive influence of local celebrities on this age segment’s purchase intention but several suggestions are made for future research to revisit this topic. Furthermore, there is a significant brand love for M.A.C., an international Lancôme competitor, amongst this target, as well as a probable price sensitivity facing premium beauty brands.

International partner selection Indian technical textile market

Due to a combination of a vast agricultural industry and a tremendously growing technical textile industry, Ludvig Svensson identified India as target market for possible expansion through domestic production and supply. However, Svensson needed additional information about the industry structure and key players. Therefore, this project focused on a detailed analysis of the technical textile market and its players by following the international partner selection process. Thereby, five key players were identified as potential partners, as well as the need for additional research to determine alternative entry modes, as the market does not currently seem to be receptive for Svensson products.