110 research outputs found
Asia in the ageing century: part III - healthcare
No full textWith total health spending in the region worth over a trillion dollars in 2010 and demand for healthcare continuing to grow, Asian governments will have a tremendous challenge meeting and funding this demand.Summary• This is the third research brief in a three-part series that looks at Asia in the ageing century, with a particular focus on the countries of East and South-East Asia.• The context is outlined in the first brief, which describes population, urbanisation and social trends in the region. Specifically, it notes that population ageing in East and South-East Asia is happening faster and at a lower level of economic development than in the West. Many Asian countries now have a decade or so to prepare for the final stages of demographic transition. Parts II and III of the series focus on two areas of economic activity which are both pertinent to population ageing and have enormous scale: provision of retirement income (covered in Part II) and of healthcare (outlined in the present brief).• As Asian societies become wealthier and older they will demand more of their health systems. This translates to extending health insurance coverage to a broader cross- section of the population, and offering reimbursement for a greater proportion of costs on a larger package of benefits. China has enrolled 1.2 billion people into the health insurance system within the last decade but in some provinces benefit packages are lacking. Malaysia achieved universal health coverage in the 1980s, but in 2004 key medicines were only available in a quarter of public health facilities.• East and South-East Asian governments currently have the fiscal capacity to keep expanding health systems, but to avoid the excessive cost growth seen in the West they will need to employ various micro, macro and demand-side measures – heeding the successes and failures of reforms within the region and elsewhere.• An important area for healthcare is the epidemiological transition that comes with ageing societies, where the relative prevalence of non-communicable diseases increases. Health packages in Asia are yet to take a full account of this change.• Health spending in the region was worth over US50 billion of spending, but recent growth has been high (e.g. 100% p.a. in China). On the provider side, the size and growth of the market will result in opportunities for pharmaceutical, medical device manufacturing and consumer health companies, as well as for operators of hospitals and specialised facilities. Some of that demand will spill over into the growing medical tourism market.• At the level of the macro-economy, stronger welfare provision offers an opportunity to rebalance growth in the region by reducing excessive precautionary savings. So far, East and South-East Asian countries have been taking this opportunity but much remains to be done for healthcare systems to be fully ready for an ageing population. 
Factors affecting consumers green purchase intention towards ecological products: ICA supermarket in Sweden
No full textTitle: “Factors affecting consumers green purchase intention towards ecological products: ICA supermarket in Sweden”. Level: Master degree thesis in Business AdministrationAuthor: Khalida Akter Supervisor: Zahra AhmadiExaminer: Maria Fregidou-Malama Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate how consumer trust, eco-branding and green marketing strategy influence consumer purchase intention towards ecological products. Method: The qualitative method and inductive approach have been used for this research. The primary data have been collected through face to face interview and the secondary data have been used through scientific journals and the internet. Findings: The results show the important factors that can promote green marketing towards ecological products are; consumer trust, green trust, eco-label trust, eco-branding, green pricing, green advertising, green design and green promotion have a strong relation with each other. The study also shows that consumer purchase intention can be increased by giving sufficient information regarding ecological products, by increasing awareness, credibility, by reducing the perceived risk of the products, brand uniqueness, by advertising the products through the company magazines, billboards and posters outside of the supermarket, by raising awareness of customer health. Brand loyalty is also an important factor to create a long-term relationship with customers and it can be created by the fair price perception among the customers. The main promotional issues have been found for this study is customer health and climate change. The study also shows that price doesn’t affect on consumer purchase behaviour. Suggestions for future research: This study helps to understand how to promote green marketing for ecological products. For further study, the author suggests to investigate if there is a relationship between green marketing, consumer trust, eco-branding as well as a green marketing strategy. The future study will help to research on green marketing for ecological products. Contribution: This study has identified elements to promote green marketing and factors that can help to increase consumers purchase intention. The author hopes that the findings of this study will help companies to create their consumer purchase intention. The study has contributed to the theory and to the managers by investigating the factors affecting on green marketing. Keywords: Green marketing, Consumer trust, green trust, Eco-branding, Green marketing strategy, consumer purchase intention
Reprezentacije neevropskega sveta v izobraževalnem sistemu: Učbeniki kot akter etnocentrične in rasistične socializacije
No full textThe intention of this paper is to determine how the educational system as a significant actor in the socialization process generates ethno-/Eurocentric standpoints respectively, and racist representations of “the other”. The article is methodologically based on the social-historical and comparative method of selected theories from the research field of ethno-/Eurocentrism and racism and their reproduction in educational discourse. The author states that geography and history textbooks frequently enable the defining of potentially possible and above all exceedingly plausible situations, which leads to negative, Eurocentric and racist conclusions about Non-Europeans and migrants. This can be achieved by means of particular linguistic strategies, selection of illustrative material, and especially at the level of content and broader textual context.Namen članka je ugotoviti, kako izobraževalni diskurz kot pomemben socializacijski akter generira etno-/evropocentrična stališča in rasistične reprezentacije »drugega«. Avtorica izhaja iz socialnozgodovinske in primerjalne metode posameznih teorij etno-/evropocentrizma in rasizma ter njihove reprodukcije v izobraževalnem diskurzu. Ugotavlja, da učbeniki za zgodovino in geografijo omogočajo definiranje potencialno možnih in zelo verjetnih situacij, ki vodijo v negativne, evropocentrične, tudi rasistične sklepe o Neevropejcih in migrantih. To dosegajo s posebnimi jezikovnimi strategijami, s selekcijo slikovnega gradiva in zlasti na ravni vsebine ter širšega tekstualnega konteksta
Modelling Centuries of Geo-morphological Development of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta
No full textThe Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta is a good example of a large estuarine system with sparse data. This study describes the development and validation of a morphodynamic process-based model (Delft3D) as a tool to predict the dynamic system as a response to climate change, sea-level rise, subsidence and other influences. The modelled sediment transport of the Ganges and Jamuna systems is between 200 and 1100 million ton/year, which is in line with observations. On annual basis sand accounts for less than 20% of the sediment load in the system with the remaining sediment being much finer. Analysis of modelled bed level changes over time reveals that only a few river systems are in an aggrading phase. The 2D model exhibits that about 22% of the supplied sediment deposits in the delta system on floodplains and tidal plains, whereas the remaining 78% of the sediment causes subaquatic delta progradation or is lost in the deep ocean bed. Although the model does not reproduce all-natural phenomena at all spatial scales, it will be a valuable tool to describe and explore the morphodynamic development of the GBM Delta over decadal to centennial timescales for macro-scale understanding, planning, and management.Coastal Engineerin
Process Modelling of the cruise passenger travel experience
No full textDecision making in the service industry, particularly in the experience business such as cruise services, is a multi-criteria and -stakeholder problem. It emphasizes the significance of decision-making models for navigating the unpredictable cruise industry, in which time spans and stakeholders associated with ship design, building and operations vary substantially. It also highlights the necessity for long- and short-term, as well as stable and adaptable, decisions. This thesis proposes viewing decision making as a multi-stage and multi-stakeholder process that involves learning from customer data, understanding data interrelationships and biases, and engaging users strategically. It integrates views from both passenger experiences (lower level, short time spans) and organizational perspectives (upper level, longer time spans).
This thesis presents a framework to improve onboard environmental decision making on cruise ships in relation to the passenger experience. A comprehensive model is developed, integrating onboard environmental factors such as ambience, ship layout and design, social interactions, product and service quality, and overall enjoyment in the resulting customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is considered from the perspective of internal responses, including cognitive, affective, physiological and behavioural, and their influence on decision making is discussed. The cruise experience process spans from initial experiences during the purchasing phase of the journey and resulting expectations to the final, post-cruise satisfaction and resulting customer behaviour (e.g., loyalty, including word-of-mouth, recommendation, intention to repurchase, repeat purchase and regret regulation). A holistic understanding and interpretation of behavioural models is vital for making informed decisions in both the design and operation phases of the cruise ship within the experience-based tourism industry. The results derived from the developed model with actual customer data highlight the importance of fully understanding onboard environmental factors and their relation to customer reactions in enhancing the customer experience and satisfaction within the cruise tourism industry.
This thesis offers a robust framework for future research and practical applications by synthesizing existing research and developing a comprehensive model for multi-criteria and -stakeholder decision making. The developed theoretical model offers insights for both scholarly research and practical applications in the cruise industry. It aims to assist cruise ship designers, builders and operators in designing and managing their ships, optimizing customer satisfaction and enhancing loyalty
A Low-Power Class-AB Residue Amplifier for a 12bit 500MS/sec Pipeline ADC with Digital Calibration
No full textThis work mainly focuses on designing a low-power class-AB residue amplifier for a 12bit 500MS/sec pipeline ADC with digital calibration. A foreground ideal calibration test bench has been implemented in MATLAB to correct non-linearities of the amplifier up to the 5th order. A detailed comparison has been made between a class-A amplifier and a class-AB amplifier. Simulation results show that the class-AB amplifier outperforms the class-A amplifier in all performance aspects such as gain, bandwidth, linearity, noise and power consumption, except for the CMRR. A new class-AB amplifier topology has been proposed, which alleviates problems associated with the level shifting capacitors. Due to an insufficient accuracy of the proposed class-AB amplifier in order to save power, the residue output signal from the flip-around MDAC topology becomes distorted. To resolve this problem, the flip-around MDAC has been replaced by a simple charge amplifier MDAC topology. Timing scheme of the pipeline ADC has been modified due to remove the timing related problems and ISI. In addition, layout of the first stage MDAC has been done in TSMC 40nm CMOS technology. Post-layout simulations have shown an excellent Figure-of-Merit (FOM) of 8.08fJ/conv, at an ENOB of 10.8bit and signal bandwidth of 250MHz, which prove that the design is not only energy efficient, but also have a superior speed-resolution product.MicroelectronicsMicroelectronics & Computer EngineeringElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Power-Efficient Amplifiers for Data Converters
No full textThis thesis describes the design and implementation of power-efficient discrete-time amplifiers for data converter systems.Electronic Instrumentatio
How does Emotional Intelligence Relate to Transformational Leadership, Creativity, and Job Performance?
No full textThis study aims to investigate the relationships between emotional intelligence (EI), and transformational leadership (TL), creativity (CR), and job performance (JP) of the managers as perceived by the subordinates. Cross-sectional survey research is the primary research design for the study. A printed survey instrument is used to collect data from 189 working MBA students in Chattogram city using a purposive sampling technique. The respondents provide information about EI, TL, CR, and JP of their managers. We employed descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and regression analysis to analyze the obtained data. The findings of the study show that there is a positive correlation between EI and TL (r = 0.68). Again, a firm affinity is observed between EI and CR (r = 0.62). Furthermore, a strong relationship is found between EI and JP (r = 0.73). This study imparts the message to the organizations that they should focus on upgrading the EI competencies of the managers who intend to be transformational leaders and willing to show their credibility in creativity and superiority in job performance. The purposive sampling technique was adopted which is one of the major limitations of this study
Socially Responsible Human Resource Management and Voluntary Environmental Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Ecocentric Leadership
No full textPurpose: The study examines the influence of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) on employees’ voluntary environmental behavior (VEB), and it tests the moderating effect of ecocentric leadership (EL).
Design/Method: We adopted deductive reasoning in a positivist paradigm by applying quantitative analytical techniques and structural equation modeling. We selected 187 respondents from clothing industry through a self-administered questionnaire survey in Chattogram, the commercial capital of Bangladesh.
Findings: The outcomes revealed that both SRHRM and EL influence VEB. However, the moderation analysis indicated that EL negatively intervenes in the effect of SRHRM on VEB.
Implications: One of the essential contributions of our study is its development of the knowledge related to valuing, developing, and measuring SRHRM’s contribution to improving VEB in a moderated model with the help of EL to ensure long-term sustainability.
Originality: Very little is known about the importance of SRHRM in fostering employees’ voluntary environmental behavior, so this study will be one of the first to examine the topic. Moreover, the moderating effect of EL posits that its interaction effect is not substantial in stimulating voluntary environmental behavior if organizations can institutionalize SRHRM
Towards a comprehensive legal aid system in Bangladesh : the need for early access to legal aid in criminal proceedings
No full textThe government-funded legal aid system in Bangladesh has been undergoing development. Bangladesh has guaranteed the right to legal assistance in different laws and particularly in the Legal Aid Services Act (LASA) with specific and greater detail. Moreover, it acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2000. In this context, the purpose of this article is to examine the current practice of the country with respect to the granting of early access to legal aid in criminal proceedings in light of international human rights standards. The article indicates that the prevailing problem of arbitrary arrest and pre-trial detention of those who are living in poverty is a matter of grave concern in Bangladesh. The author, therefore, recommends a mechanism to ensure early access to legal aid in the government-operated legal aid framework, as a fundamental aspect of a comprehensive system, for the protection of the interests of those who have been arrested or detained prior to being interviewed and formally charged of a criminal offence
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