Hospital Marketing and Communications Via Social Media

Social media usage by health care organizations has increased dramatically. Findings from this research show that 95% of the top ranked hospitals use social media. The purpose of this study is to examine whether social media usage varies according to size of hospital and types of services provided. Since social media platforms appeal to different groups of people, this prompts the question of whether certain platforms are more appealing to people who partake in different health services. Findings reveal differences in social media usage depending on the services provided by a hospital.     

Women Trailblazers in the Statistical Profession

A brief historical introduction to nine women who were trailblazers in the statistical sciences is presented. During their times, men dominated the profession. Yet we see how these women in their various ways blazed trails and as such became mentors and inspirations for generations of women practitioners who worked with them and followed in their footsteps.     

Sustainability at Walmart: Success over the Long Haul

At the core of Walmart's corporate purpose is the principle of “shared value.” The company views its mission as increasing the value of its business by helping to address important social needs. And in this article, Walmart's Senior Director of ESG discusses how the company applies the lens of shared value to three of its most significant ESG priorities: (1) economic opportunity for Walmart associates; (2) the sustainability of its supply chains, with an emphasis on the safety and livelihoods of workers; and (3) climate change, including the reduction of plastic waste. What's more, the company sees itself playing a role in transforming society through its own business practices. In reflecting on her decades of work in sustainability, the author emphasizes the value of and potential for greater stakeholder engagement and alliances of corporations with NGOs (like the World Wildlife and Environmental Defense Funds) that aim to help both lower‐income people and the environment at the same time. But the author's vision is even more ambitious: “In upholding and seeking to maximize its principle of shared value, Walmart aims not only to run a highly efficient all‐channel retail business, but to help bring about large‐scale and lasting improvements to all the social ecosystems whose functioning is part of and critical to that business.”     

Market Discipline and Deposit Guarantee: Evidence from Australian Banks

This study examines depositor market discipline of Australian banks and its interaction with the 2008 deposit and wholesale funding guarantee. Prior to 2008 market discipline is found for Australian‐incorporated banks. Depositors did not distinguish between major and small banks, but some differences in the degree of market discipline were found for foreign bank subsidiaries. Following the introduction of the 2008 guarantees, market discipline was reduced except for nonhousehold depositors at banks that did not access the wholesale guarantee. Market discipline is also evidenced at foreign bank branches, but weaker for those accessing the wholesale guarantee.     

An Exploration of Older Men's Social Lives and Well-Being in the Context of a Coffee Group

Recreation professionals continually strive to serve a host of diverse program constituents, while leisure researchers attempt to uncover barriers to leisure participation. Much of the barriers or constraints research has come from the perspective of program participants. This study identified, from the perspectives and experiences of 18 recreation professionals, the issues and barriers that they perceive inhibit recreation program access and availability to diverse constituents, particularly ethnic minority populations. Co-cultural theory, which integrates the concepts of muted group theory and standpoint theory, was utilized as the study's theoretical framework. In-depth interviews were utilized. Five primary barriers were identified that related to the changing faces of the community, the changing faces of management and staff, deferred program responsibility, language barriers, and negative attitudes and stereotypes held by some management and staff. This article demonstrates how these barriers impact leisure participation for disenfranchised groups. The findings suggest that recreation agencies, often unwittingly or unknowingly, foster organizational barriers that inhibit the perceived program accessibility or attractiveness to ethnic minorities. Implications for research and professional practice are explored.     

A theoretical framework for the studio as a learning environment

In this article we describe a holistic, ecological framework that takes into account the surface structures and pedagogical approaches in the studio and how these elements are connected to the construction of design knowledge: epistemology. In our development of this framework, we came to understand how disciplinary underpinnings and academic culture shape the ways that studio is enacted. Using practice theory, we illustrate our framework with two examples—one in Industrial Design and another in Human Computer Interaction—that demonstrate the ways in which the studio can act as a bridge between academic and professional communities. We came to see the studio as a unique practice community that connects academic and professional contexts. We argue that successful implementation of studio-based learning involves an awareness of disciplinary canons, ontological approaches to knowledge, and the academic constraints on studio-based approaches to learning.     

WORK DESIGN：风尚办公,右脑制胜

导刊书香三月品读：别墅洋楼、霓裳丽影、锅碗瓢盘……设计的体味已经渗透到生活的周遭。然而我们生活中的大部分时间都交给了工作,下一站设计天堂：WORK DESIGN,无疑将成为这个时代的重大课题。你是在上班,还是在坐牢？对于一家企业来说,谁能充分开发员工的创造力,谁就抢占了发展先机。而一个以右脑制胜、激发智慧的办公空间将改写既有规则,重新丰富员工对工作的想象,作为企业CEO,你收获的,不仅仅是企业环境的风尚形象,更有领先一步的运营效率。     

Integrated Market-Immersion Approach To Teaching New Product Development In Technologically-Oriented Teams

This article presents a market immersion methodology for teaching NPD in technologically-oriented teams. This methodology was developed during the early 1990s at the Lally School of Management and Technology of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Since then, it has been successfully utilized to train in excess of one hundred MBA-level student teams. The NPD course is taught by a 5-member cross-functional team of faculty with backgrounds in marketing, manufacturing operations, and accounting. The course is modeled on Cooper's stage gate process, and the course is designed to provide a combination of classroom and apprenticeship experiences. The 6-credit, year-long course requires students to work in self-directed teams of approximately 5 to 6 members. Each student team chooses its own industry or technology domain in which to concentrate its efforts, and students undertake intensive market and field research in order to assess any existing market opportunities. Once a specific target market and market need have been identified, students are then required to design a product and an organization to meet that need. In specific, students must produce a detailed marketing, manufacturing, operations, advertising, distribution, and financial plan that can bring their product to market. During the process, students create multiple potential product designs, build mock-ups of their products, and field test the mock-ups. At every phase of the course, the teams are continuously immersed in real customer markets. As a result, teams must struggle to incorporate new market information and learning into their project in a consistent and holistic manner. The following article presents the curriculum content and tools, lessons learned, and student reactions to this original pedagogical approach to teaching NPD. Due to the length of the course, particular attention is paid to the teaming issues that naturally arise when teams work together on long-run projects. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.     

Give Them Something to Smile About: A Marketing Strategy for Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers

Using a marketing perspective, this study investigates whether the issue of “fun at work” would appeal to volunteers as a part of an effort to enhance recruitment and retention. Specifically, we examined volunteers' attitudes toward fun, their perceptions of what kinds of activities are fun and what are not, and the relative importance of workplace fun in what they perceive as an ideal volunteer position. In general, we found that volunteers had positive attitudes towards fun and experiencing fun at work was associated with higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions. Although “a fun workplace” was ranked relatively low in importance relative to other reasons why they volunteer, creating such an environment could enhance retention. Some age and gender differences were found in the perceptions of whether certain activities are fun or not. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.