Evaluation of a client care delivery model, Part 2: Variability in client outcomes in community home nursing

Using similar variables, Part II explores variation in client outcomes such as OMAHA knowledge, behavior, and SF-36 scores. Medical and nursing diagnoses explained large variations in client outcomes. Clients cared for by degree-prepared nurses improved knowledge and behavior scores. Unanticipated case complexity was negatively associated with client outcome even with nursing intervention. The study revealed that "for every unit increase in assignment of baccalaureate-prepared nurses, clients will on average demonstrate an 80% greater likelihood of improvement in knowledge scores and a 120% greater likelihood of improvement in behavior scores in relation to their health condition at discharge." This two-part study has offered insight into the controllable variables influencing the cost and quality of home care services.     

The antecedents of in-store hoarding: measurement and application in the fast fashion retail environment

This study raised scholarly inquiry about the construct of in-store hoarding and investigated the antecedents of in-store hoarding in the fast fashion retail environment. As the market becomes dynamic and volatile, more retailers are moving toward fast fashion by constantly delivering new products throughout the season. As a result, a product life span is dramatically reduced, thereby accelerating perishability of fashion items. Moreover, in order to make constant room for new products and minimize markdowns, fast fashion retailers deliberately limit product availability, creating a sense of scarcity on the part of consumers. Based on the literature review and one-to-one interviews, perceived perishability, scarcity and low price were identified as primary drivers of in-store hoarding. Overall, results from a field study supported the proposed model. However, the findings indicated that perceived perishability and scarcity were central to understanding in-store hoarding, whereas low-price perception was least important with a marginally significant effect on in-store hoarding. This study made a significant contribution to the consumer and retailing literature by introducing, defining, and operationalizing new constructs and new measurements, including scales for perceived perishability, perceived scarcity, and in-store hoarding. This study also provided many implications for practitioners in developing and implementing marketing and merchandising management strategies.     

Impact of Wal-Mart on Market Share in a Rural Grocery Market: An Application of the Markov Chain Model

With Americans spending up to 13% of their income on grocery shopping, smart shopping can help a typical family save. Many scholars have studied the effects on market share and profits from changing market share using the Markov model, and also studied the competitive strategies of grocery retailers under these conditions. While the forecast of the steady state is highly useful, examining the transition periods before the steady state is reached is also useful. In these transition periods, a retailer may opt for a new competitive strategy; therefore, the transition periods may provide greater insight into the dynamics of the competitive response. More attention should be paid to the revenues for groceries in transition periods before a steady state is reached—especially in markets dominated by retail giants, such as Wal-Mart. This study attempts to model that phenomenon and to explore appropriate competitive strategies.     

Inclusive leisure experiences of older adults with intellectual disabilities at a senior centre

Inclusive leisure is described as the extent to which people with and without impairments engage in leisure ventures together. The leisure experiences of four older adults with intellectual impairments, four ‘mainstream’ older adults and three staff members from a senior citizen recreation centre were captured using the interpretive phenomenological research methods of focus group interviews and field notes. Self-determination theory provided the conceptual framework for the study and facilitated the interpretation of the findings. Thematic analysis of the conversations revealed three themes with respective subthemes (a) shared leisure motivations, (b) expecting too much and (c) wanting even more. Although the mainstream older adults and centre staff recognised a need for more inclusive activities, older adults with impairments expressed satisfaction with the inclusive nature of the centre. The challenges and successes of the inclusive nature of the community-based senior citizens centre have also been discussed.     

An examination of materialism,conspicuous consumption and gender differences

This paper examines gender differences in terms of materialism, conspicuous consumption, brand loyalty and impulse buying. We build our hypotheses based on both existing marketing and consumption literature with an additional integration of historical and gender studies literature in order to further augment the study of materialism and its related variables. Our study used survey data from 1180 Americans living in four northeastern states. Results show that significant differences between the genders were found in terms of materialism, conspicuous consumption and impulse buying. No significant difference was found in terms of brand loyalty.     

Computing systemic risk using multiple behavioral and keystone networks: The emergence of a crisis in primate societies and banks

What do the behavior of monkeys in captivity and the financial system have in common? The nodes in such social systems relate to each other through multiple and keystone networks, not just one network. Each network in the system has its own topology, and the interactions among the system’s networks change over time. In such systems, the lead into a crisis appears to be characterized by a decoupling of the networks from the keystone network. This decoupling can also be seen in the crumbling of the keystone’s power structure toward a more horizontal hierarchy. This paper develops nonparametric methods for describing the joint model of the latent architecture of interconnected networks in order to describe this process of decoupling, and hence provide an early warning system of an impending crisis.