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Enduring involvement with wine: Predictive model and measurement
No full textThis exploratory study identifies the dimensions of enduring involvement with wine. This article outlines the conceptualisation and measurement of enduring involvement of consumers with wine in regard to its value order in the hierarchy of needs. A convenience sample yielded 140 useable surveys after questionnaires were administered to pre-qualified consumer respondents. Data were analysed using the Predictive Analytics SoftWare statistical software package and its add-on feature, AMOS 18. It was found that wine consumers exhibit varying dimensions of enduring involvement according to the characteristics of the hierarchical order of need. The dimensions of enduring involvement identified to be associated with wine as a social and esteem value order product were: pleasure/interest, wine-related lifestyle/enjoyment and self-image/sign value. We conclude that enduring involvement is the more important of the two variants (situational and enduring) of the involvement paradigm. When harnessed by wine marketers, this may therefore boost sales and customer loyalty. Marketers need to know the drivers of wine consumers in relation to the product they buy. This will help in communicating the best strategies to adopt for consumers and how they are applied.
Applying hierarchical task analysis to improving the patient positioning for direct lateral interbody fusion in spinal surgery
No full textCountry-of-origin (COO) brand preferences and associated knowledge levels of Japanese wine consumers
No full textOriginality/value – This study is of value to academic researchers, wine educators, industry practitioners such as restaurant owners/sommeliers and wine exporters alike, as it provides insights into the direction and extent of COO preferences and hence wine (country) brand loyalty. It has a specific focus on wine knowledge and the educational aspect thereof highlighting how this can be used for the benefit of stakeholders
Managing psychosocial risks in the workplace : prevention and intervention
No full textGiven the dynamic environments in which people work and the adverse effects of work stressors on their well-being and morale (cf. Chapters 3-6), it is important for management to take steps to reduce psychosocial risk factors in the workplace. Psychosocial risk factors refer to organizational and/or work factors and interpersonal relationships in the work setting that may affect the health of workers. Steps can be taken by management to control these risk factors, including implementing stress management interventions. A stress management intervention is defined as 'any activity, program, or opportunity initiated by an organization, which focuses on reducing the presence of work-related stressors or on assisting individuals to minimize the negative outcomes of exposure to these stressors' (Ivancevich, Matteson, Freedman, & Phillips, 1990, p. 252). In the following sections, we discuss the basic concepts and approaches relevant to these issues: (i) the two ways of classifYing interventions, one focusing on the reduction or management of levels of work stress, and the other on the target of interventions (the individual, the organization or the interface between the two), (ii) the basic three-phase model for interventions (development, implementation and evaluation of its results) (iii) the critical factors in interventions, (iv) the principles of PAR, that is, how employees, line managers and directors can participate in the development and implementation of interventions, and finally (v) the psychosocial safety climate, which can be considered as the 'cause of the causes' of work stress.
Molecular size fractions of bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) exhibit differentiated regulation of colorectal cancer cell growth in vitro
No full textNumerous in vitro studies using solvent or aqueous extracts of raw dietary plant material have demonstrated modulation of colon cancer cell growth and apoptosis and effects on immune and nonimmune pathways of inflammation. We have developed a generic, 3-staged food-compatible process involving heating for conversion of dietary plants into food ingredients and report results on potential colon cancer-regulating properties of processed forms of Bay leaf (Laurus nobilis). In vitro studies demonstrated inhibition of cancer cell growth by processed Bay leaf products in HT-29, HCT-116, Caco-2, and SW-480 human cancer cell lines, which were accompanied by variable levels of elevated apoptosis. Bay leaf also exerted moderate inhibition of cycloxygenase 2 and 5 lipoxygenase enzymatic activity. In addition, these extracts significantly downregulated interferon-γ production in T helper Type 1-stimulated whole blood from healthy donors. Furthermore, size fractionation of the extracts revealed that antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities were associated with low mass (primarily polyphenolics and essential oils) and high mass (primarily proteins including polyphenol oxidase) chemical classes, respectively. Bay leaf exerted in vitro bioactivity that might be relevant to protecting against early events in sporadic colorectal cancer, with potential for further optimization of bioactivity by size-based fractionation.
Market fundamentalism, delusions and epistemic failures in policy and administration
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to overview and critique the over-reach of highly ideological assumptions of neo-classical economics into policy and governance terrains. The ontology and epistemology of neo-classical economics know no bounds in their imperial extension to non-market applications. The colonization of Public Administration in Australia, and elsewhere, is a vexing epistemological issue, demanding some reckoning. Design/methodology/approach – This deconstructive, critical essay seeks to provide a set of “check-lists” of issues for those teaching, or proselytizing, governance within highly reduced public domains. Findings – This paper moves an epistemological “audit” of “public choice theory” some steps forward, especially in the face of significant ideological and policy convergence, among putative social-democratic governance regimes, regarding out-sourcing, no-bid contracting, agency “capture”, risk and a renewed urgency for necessary re-regulation. The paper identifies policy imperatives for a new age of regulation after 35 years of prevailing “market fundamentalism”. Originality/value – There has been much hubris associated with so-called policy convergence in a globalized context. Deconstructing such hubris within a divergent world is long overdue for the next generation of scholars/policy apologists/rating agencies/and economists prone to some reflexivity in plying their “dismal” trade.
Final report: developing a national action plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325
No full textNovel titration method for surface-functionalised silica
No full textThis paper describes three inexpensive and fast analytical methods to characterise grafted particle surfaces. The reaction of silica with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane and N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid hydrate, respectively, leads to NH2-, SO3H- or COOH-functionalised silica, which were characterised by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry and titration in nonaqueous media as well as with two titration methods in a water-based environment. In the work presented, factors influencing the titrations are pointed out and solutions are presented to overcome these limiting factors are shown.
