E-Health: Brücke zwischen IT und Gesundheitswesen

E-Health/IT im Gesundheitswesen (M.A./M.Sc.) — Die neuen Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien haben das Gesundheitswesen l?ngst erobert. IT-Unterstützung ist Standard – bei der Verwaltung von Patientendaten, in Diagnose und Therapie oder beim interdisziplin?ren Austausch. Ein Aufbaustudium schafft die Voraussetzungen für zukunftsf?hige L?sungen.     

Private savings and transition

After the collapse in the early transition years, saving rates in Eastern European EU‐accession countries have recovered strongly. But is private saving in these countries now driven by the same forces as in the EU? A GMM estimator is applied to analyze the determinants of private saving in both country groups. The main results are: saving rates are rather persistent; income growth increases saving, whereas public saving crowds out private saving. There is evidence that in both country groups domestic saving and foreign capital operate at least partly as substitutes, which is an indicator for international financial integration. The long‐run effects of income growth and public saving are larger in the EU‐15 than in the EU‐accession countries.     

Gesundheitsfaktor Ernährung

Public Health Nutrition M. Sc./Clinical Nutrition B. Sc — Welchen Einfluss hat die Ern?hrung auf unsere Gesundheit? Gelten für gesunde Menschen andere Kriterien als für Kranke? Wie kann die Versorgung der Bev?lkerung mit geeigneten Nahrungsmitteln sicher gestellt werden? An der Schnittstelle zwischen Gesundheits- und Ern?hrungswissenschaften entwickelt sich eine neue wissenschaftliche Disziplin.     

Do Not-For-Profits Make a Difference in Social Services? A Survey Study

Summary This paper provides a survey of the empirical literature on the relative performance of not-for-profit (NFP) organisations for three specific sectors. In particular, we compare the quality and accessibility of services that are provided by hospitals, child care organisations and welfare-to-work (WTW) organisations. Various mechanisms may explain the comparative advantages and disadvantages of not-for-profit organisations, as well as the origins of NFPs. We link these explanations to the actual relative performance of NFPs and discuss the implications for the government in mixed markets, where both for-profit (FP) and NFP organisations are. Our general finding is that NFPs do not make a difference on performance outcomes vis-à-vis FP organisations. It seems that the degree of competition, as well as regulatory policies are more important determinants of market performance.      

From Publishers to Self-Publishing: Disruptive Effects in the Book Industry

Abstract

This paper explores the structure of the book publishing industry post digitalisation, analysing the choices of the publishers and authors. The introduction of successful e-book readers has belatedly given digitalisation the characteristics of a disruptive technology by making self-publishing a serious option for authors. This has been supported by the entry of new types of intermediaries and the strengthening of others. These changes have reduced the general requirements for an author to get a book self-published. As a result, a larger share of the surplus from the book industry is likely to go to authors, explaining the significant increase in the supply of books. The potential oversupply of books has created a new problem by increasing competition and making consumer searches more difficult. We argue that digitalisation has shifted the potential for market failure from an inadequate supply of books to asymmetric information about quality. It remains to be seen whether the market will provide appropriate intermediaries to solve the asymmetric information problem.     

Making a first impression as a start-up: Strategies to overcome low initial trust perceptions in digital innovation adoption

High failure rates of digital innovations by start-ups indicate that consumers' initial trust perceptions are make-or-break for their survival. Hence, start-ups have to design adequate business models to manage consumers' initial trust perceptions of digital innovations. Five experiments explore how start-ups can signal trustworthiness in order to overcome low initial trust perceptions and boost adoption. We find three specific design strategies of start-ups' digital business models – customer ratings, benefit communication, and revenue model – to be effective to overcome low initial trust perceptions and to increase adoption of digital innovations. The findings demonstrate that initial trust serves as a critical mediator in the relationship between these design strategies and consumers' adoption intentions. Additionally, the chosen revenue model has differential effects on privacy concerns, which mediate the relationship between revenue model and initial trust. The present empirical insights help start-ups to craft business model design strategies for successful digital innovation launch.     

‘Personal memory tourism’ and a wider exploration of the tourism−memory nexus

This paper investigates the varied intersections between tourism and memory. It begins with a brief consideration of the parallel developments between the emergence of the ‘memory boom’ and that of the ‘tourism boom’, as well as the academic fields of memory studies and tourism studies, respectively. Memory is a crucial factor in choosing a destination; it impacts on the tourist experience at the destination and on the sharing of the experience with others after the trip, notably through narration, photography, and memory objects, such as souvenirs. Both memory and tourism rely on media and representation and on audience and consumption; both are allied with processes of identity formation. It is argued that tourism drives the memory boom as much as memory drives tourism. Bartoletti's [(2010). “Memory tourism” and the commodification of Nostalgia. In P. Burns, C. Palmer, & J.-A. Lester (Eds.), Tourism and visual culture (pp. 23–42), Vol. 1. Wallingford: CABI] conceptualization of ‘memory tourism’ as overlapping but distinct from ‘heritage tourism’ and Timothy's [(1997). Tourism and the personal heritage experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 24(3), 751–754] concept of ‘personal heritage tourism’ are discussed as foundations for what is then defined as ‘personal memory tourism’. The latter revolves around travel associated with personal memories – not only the revisiting of places associated with happy memories, but also the return to sites of personal trauma and suffering in a quest for healing.     

Mundpflege,Soor- und Parotitisprophylaxe

Prophylaxen in der Pflege — Wer einmal eine schmerzhafte Entzündung im Mund hatte oder unter Mundtrockenheit litt, wei?, „kleine Ursache, gro?e Wirkung“: Der Mund brennt, Prothesen drücken und das Sprechen mit trockenem Mund f?llt schwer. Deshalb gilt es auch bei der Mundpflege, Sorgfalt walten zu lassen, um Sch?den vorzubeugen.     

Learning good judgement: young Europeans’ perceptions of key consumer skills

A convenience sample of 27 European Union (EU) citizens and two Romanians residing in the Scottish Central Belt took part in in‐depth interviews to explore a wide range of consumer decision‐making scenarios which ranged from borrowing and saving to impulse buying and ‘value for money’ choices. The aim of the research was to identify and assess how well educated young EU consumers perceive the consumer education process and the precise nature of consumption specific skills. Given the focus of the present paper on consumer judgement, the role of values received particular attention. The Schwartz Value Inventory served as a conceptual framework for analysing the responses. The results show that the family in its role as primary creator of values was considered the most important agent in the consumer education process because it establishes a routine pattern of decision making. Further support from social networks in the wider community and real‐life experience through trial and error were cited as equally significant for acquiring useful consumer skills. There was consensus that the influence of schools was limited to providing generic citizenship education rather than specific consumer studies classes. The findings of this study point to the need for changing the current focus of consumer education and consumer policy from an emphasis on training the vulnerable consumer to a more inclusive agenda which concentrates on value education for all market players including producers and marketers.     

Hot Versus Cool Behavioural Styles in Electronic Negotiations: The Impact of Communication Mode

In this paper, we study the effects of synchronous and asynchronous communication mode on electronic negotiations. By applying content analysis, we compare the negotiation processes of two e-negotiation simulations conducted in a synchronous and an asynchronous setting. Our results show significant differences in communication behaviour of subjects. Synchronous negotiation mode leads to less friendly, more affective, and more competitive negotiation behaviour. In the asynchronous communication mode, negotiators exchange more private and task-oriented information and are friendlier. These results suggest that negotiators in the asynchronous mode, who have more time to reflect, cool down and control emotions better while negotiators, who communicate synchronously engage more in emotional and competitive “hot” debates. In addition, negotiators in the asynchronous mode are more satisfied with the process and outcome of the negotiation. We conclude that de-individuation and escalating effects might be caused by communication mode rather than by the ability of the media to transmit social cues.