Abdominal MR imaging following antegrade air introduction into the intestinal loops

Air was used to distend the gastrointestinal tract and act as a contrast medium to effectively delineate the other abdominal organs/masses and to outline intraluminal or mural lesions. We used a nasogastric tube to introduce air into the stomach. Metoclopramide was administered to propel air throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Bowel peristalsis was then controlled by scopolamine butylbromide. Most of the alimentary tract could be distended by air. The normal bowel walls were barely visible between intraluminal signal-void air and extraluminal high-signal fat. Intraluminal tumor, wall thickening, and adjacent structures could be clearly delineated.     

Performance measurement considering the interdependence of evaluators and criteria

This research constructs a performance evaluation mechanism in regard to the interdependence of evaluators and criteria. The interest in performance evaluation has spawned a number of studies that investigated criteria or evaluators for organizations’ performance evaluation. However, very little attention has been paid to address the relationship between the evaluators and criteria. It is quite clear that there are different standpoints exist in different evaluators, consequently particular evaluators usually emphasize certain groups of criteria more than others. On the other hand, considering different criteria the strength of relation of evaluator changes accordingly. We address the existence of interaction between evaluator and criteria, because the two factors play major roles in the performance evaluation. This consideration gives top managers the chance to explore and realize the relationship between evaluators and criteria. It also reveals the evaluators’ synthetic standpoints about criteria, which are meaningful for managerial purposes.     

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities

The present study proposed and tested Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to explain the formation of hotel customers' intentions to visit a green hotel. The findings showed the TPB model has a good fit to the data and better predictive power for intention than the Theory of a Reasoned Action model. Based on theoretical support and suggested modification indices, a refined TPB model was developed. Consistent with the theory, the results of a structural equation analysis revealed that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control positively affected intention to stay at a green hotel. Further investigation indicated the paths between these predictors and intention did not statistically differ between customers who actively practice ecofriendly activities and those who are not often engaged in environmentally conscious behaviors in their everyday lives. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Are supply chain management theories culturally constrained? An empirical assessment

Culture plays an increasingly important role in supply chain management as many manufacturing firms have linkages to suppliers and customers from various countries. In this paper we propose treating culture as an explanatory variable to test the assumption that existing theories are universally applicable. The primary research question was: Do purchasing theories built on samples from mainly North American companies with Anglo-Saxon cultures apply in other cultural contexts? We developed and tested a model where top management??s view of the purchasing function affects purchasing practices and manufacturing performance. The statistical results provide evidence that the engagement and efficacy of purchasing practices is highly dependent on culture. This finding has significant implications from the perspective of decision making in international supply chain management. Specifically, top managers across multiple cultures could decide to structure and evaluate the purchasing function similarly, but these decisions could lead to different practices and different outcomes depending on the culture.     

Are lodging customers ready to go green? An examination of attitudes,demographics, and eco-friendly intentions

This study attempted to answer the following research questions: (1) Do eco-friendly attitudes affect hotel customers’ environmentally friendly intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for a green hotel?; (2) If so, which facet of attitudes has the greatest impact?; (3) How do their expressed intentions differ across gender, age, education, and household income?; (4) How do such expressed intentions differ based on the existence of previous experience staying at a green hotel? A total of 422 cases were used to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that customers’ green attitudes are, in general, significantly associated with their expressed intentions to visit a green hotel, to spread word-of-mouth about a green hotel, and to pay more for it. Gender differences in such intentions were found, and the intentions were affected by their previous experiences with a green hotel. However, the eco-friendly intentions did not significantly differ across age, education, and household income.     

Inter-organizational relationships and strategy quality in green supply chains — Moderated by opportunistic behavior and dysfunctional conflict

This paper presents a new research model to examine the factors influencing the quality of strategies developed and implementation in inter-organizational relationships in a green supply chain. In this study, we examine how attitude toward relationship orientation affects inter-organizational strategy quality, and how this association is affected by the opportunistic behavior and dysfunctional conflict. Relationship orientation, measured by relational benefits, relational proclivity, and connectedness, refers to the desire to develop and maintain relationships with green supply chain partners. Data are collected from 451 manufacturing firms that are among the top 1000 Taiwanese manufacturing firms of 2010 listed by Business Weekly. Relationship orientation, or the desire to develop and maintain relationships with collaborative partners, was found to be positively associated with the strategy quality. Our results show that opportunistic behavior and dysfunctional conflict decrease the willingness and damage efforts to establish relationships to enhance the strategy quality for the green supply chain.