General Demand Research Articles

Innovation and inclusive model of additional education

Introduction. Additional education is a sphere of numerous innovations, a sphere of searching for new, individualized forms of work with students and students, including in the context of the development, implementation and reflection of educational trajectories of students and students with disabilities, in inclusive education. People with disabilities, as follows from the basic orientations of special and inclusive education, have special educational needs and, therefore, require additional support for educational, medical, psychological and social plans. Innovation, development, testing and reflection of new methods and directions of educational work with such learners and students is an urgent need, but not always innovations, even those especially focused on the formation and implementation of personal educational trajectories, help to fulfill the basic goal of (inclusive) education – the goal the formation and development of man as a subject of culture.Purpose setting. The purpose of the study is to comprehend the problems of educational innovations in the context of an inclusive model of additional education.Methodology and methods of the study. The research method is a theoretical analysis of the problems of educational innovations in the context of the idea of educational trajectories of students in inclusive education.Results. Innovations in inclusive and general education place special demands on the preservation and improvement of their quality. However, the opposite is often observed: innovations are declared as a way to facilitate teaching and learning, but not by optimizing them and new ways, but by emasculating, primitivizing and reducing the level of requirements for the final result. The essence of the inclusive model of additional education lies in the fact that additional education is considered as a highly individualized (personalized) sphere of transferring and mastering general cultural and educational and professional competencies, within which the teacher is able and obliged to encourage students to comprehend and realize themselves as a subject of culture, a person among other people. Realizing and accepting their own characteristics and needs, as well as the needs and differences of other people, realizing their values and meanings, it is important for the teacher and students to strive for themselves and help others to achieve a state of self-fulfillment, a harmonious combination of personal and social interests, self-actualization and self-realization, to teach others and/or learn from others to live, fulfilling their functions as a subject of culture.Conclusion. The inclusive doctrine is being improved, it learns and teaches to distinguish between the tasks of including a person in the community, supporting his becoming a subject of culture, and the tasks of subordinating a person and his life to the interests of society, absorption of a person by society, even and especially for the sake of imaginary "sustainable development". A modern person can and should be aware of and study the meanings and meanings of what surrounds him, what is offered to him as an "innovation" or "model of a future need", this ability is transmitted and formed in dialogue with significant others, including teachers.

An Investigation into the Farm Households Consumption Patterns in Punjab, Pakistan

In the present study, the consumption data of paddy and wheat growing farm households were analysed using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model, incorporating the household composition in addition to the usual price/income variables. Although the general restrictions of demand theory were rejected, the overall results were not seriously out of line of a priori expectations. All the own-price elasticities were negative and most of them were significant. Paddy and wheat were found to be gross complements in consumption whereas meat and pulses emerged as gross substitutes. Dairy products and meat were regarded as luxuries by the sample farm households and expenditure on these items was curtailed in response to any addition to household size. Significant quantitative dietary impacts were found associated with change in the age composition of farm households. A more detailed analysis of consumption behaviour of rural families may be merited; this may explore alternative groupings of consumption goods, additional socio-economic factors or use of panel data.

Shipping before order making: Optimal shipping quantity and pricing decisions under uncertain demand

The innovative logistics mode of shipping before order making has been used by several leading online retailers, due to its advantage on enhancing consumer delivered value and promoting customer demand. This paper investigates the optimal shipping quantity and product pricing strategy of the online retailer that uses this logistics mode under a stochastic demand, which is shipping-dependent and price-dependent. First, we build an extended newsvendor model and explore the closed-form solutions of the optimal shipping quantity and optimal product pricing strategies under certain assumptions on the demand function. Then, we compare the differences of the optimal strategies under different risk attitudes and analyze the impact of key parameters on the optimal strategies. At last, we extend the basic model by considering a general demand function. We conduct numerical experiments to verify the theoretical conclusions and analyze the effect of parameters on online retailers’ optimal strategies and profits. The results show that the optimal shipping quantity first increases and then decreases with the increase of the price. This suggests that the online retailers should avoid blind price war under this logistics mode. The risk aversion degree slightly affects the optimal price, but significantly affects the optimal shipping quantity. Moreover, we find that parameters such as disposal cost and sensitivity of demand to shipping in advance significantly affect the optimal strategies of online retailers.

Severe malaria-related disability in African children: a scoping review

Purpose Disability is a consequence of severe malaria for a significant proportion of African children. This scoping review aims to describe the impact of severe malaria on African children according to current literature using an international biopsychical classification and framework of disability and functioning. Materials and methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, and CINHAL databases were searched for original research conducted on African children aged 0–18 using terms related to severe malaria and components of disability. Independent and dependent variables were extracted and classified using the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health-Children and Youth version (ICF-CY) using standardized coding methods. Results Seventy-two percent of the measured variables in the 34 included studies were coded as “body functions,” (i.e., impairments), such as mental, neuromusculoskeletal, movement, and sensory functions, and 23.3% of variables were coded as “activities and participation” (i.e., activity limitations/participation restrictions), such as difficulties with general tasks and demands, communication, mobility, interpersonal interactions, and relationships. “Environment” variables such as family support, health access, education, or societal attitudes were not found in the included studies. Conclusions Existing peer-reviewed quantitative research of severe malaria-related disability is focused on neurological sequelae, with less research about activity limitations and participation restrictions.

A Systematic Review of the Effects of Nutrient Intake in Handball Players on Exercise Performance

Introduction: Modern handball was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1972 and is played by more than 19 million people worldwide. Beach handball was born as an adaptation of court handball in the 1990s. Both modalities are complex and multifactorial ball games characterised by a fast pace and variable game intensities, as well as the strong influence of tactical concepts, social factors and cognitive aspects. Objective: To analyse the nutritional status of both male and female players to assess whether it is in line with specific and general dietary intake demands. Methodology: A systematic search of databases was carried out using keywords with relevant Boolean operators. Results: A total of 468 studies was identified, of which 44 studies were included: 7 on hydration; 22 studies related to energy, macronutrient and fibre intake; 23 that assessed micronutrients; 4 studies on nutritional knowledge and information sources; and 2 articles on eating disorders. A further 85 articles were included in order to cross-check results. Discussion: The need for a state of euhydration and normal plasma electrolyte levels is clear. Adequate energy intake is the cornerstone of the handball athlete’s diet to support optimal body function. The ACSM sets daily recommendations of 6–10 g CHO/kg body weight for handball, and daily protein recommendations range from 1.2 to 2.0 g PRO/kg/day and 14 g dietary fibre per 1000 kcal. Conclusion: The nutritional habits of handball players do not seem to be adequate to the demands of the sport, although these demands are not clarified. The inclusion of nutrition professionals could be a key element in the performance of these athletes.

Factors Beyond Compensation Associated with Uptake of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zambia.

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) provides partial protection against female-to-male transmission of HIV. The Maximizing the Impact of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zambia (MAXZAM) project was a phased implementation of a demand generation strategy for VMMC through economic compensation. Previously published findings showed increased uptake of VMMC when compensation was provided. This paper is a follow-up evaluation of the MAXZAM project exploring additional factors associated with uptake of VMMC. Factors found associated include the outreach setting in which men were approached, number of information sources seen, heard, or read about VMMC, their self-reported HIV risk behaviors, their self-reported intention to go through the procedure, and their behavioral-psychographic profile. The findings highlight the importance of considering general (e.g., intensifying mass communications and targeting specific settings) and person-centered demand generation approaches (e.g., considering the client's psychographic profile and HIV risk level) to maximize effect on VMMC uptake.

Is the Shortest Path Always the Best? Analysis of General Demands of Indoor Navigation System for Shopping Malls

Indoor navigation systems are basic services for shopping malls. However, the design and implementation of such systems are seldom studied, with most current indoor navigation systems showing the static route for the shortest distance, which causes confusion or even danger for users. Therefore, this paper analyzes the general demand for indoor navigation systems for shopping malls based on 498 questionnaires and the Kano model. The results of the study unveil three important functions, as outlined by “Congestion/emergency section avoidance”, “Vertical elevator first”, and “Passing by a particular type of store”. The relationship between users’ characteristics and shopping behavior is also discovered. Comparing this with the existing literature in terms of user demands research for indoor navigation, the general demand analysis method based on the Kano model of this paper is able to reveal the user accreditation degree towards different functions of indoor navigation systems in shopping malls. The findings of this paper provide insight into users’ behaviors and preferences, which will benefit further studies on indoor navigation systems for shopping malls.

International Industrial Selling: Demands, Resources, and Burnout

ABSTRACT Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of job demands and resources on international salesperson burnout. While general salesperson job demands are known, the current study seeks to identify role demands which are predominantly faced by international sales executives. Methodology/approach Job Demands-Resource Theory provides a foundation to expand the study of burnout to the international sales executive context. In addition, given the lack of established literature on international salesperson burnout, a grounded theory approach is ideal. Thirteen informants with experience selling internationally in all regions of the world were interviewed. The interviews averaged about 30 minutes and equated to 124 transcribed pages.A four-step process was applied to conduct this study. Step 1: Reviewing existing literature to guide the study. Step 2: Determine the analytical approach – including creating the interview guide, establishing sales profile criteria, and determining the data collection process. Step 3: Conducting the interviews, listening to the recorded interviews, and reading the transcripts. Step 4: Identifying themes and reporting the findings. Findings Four job demands are identified that are exacerbated within an international sales context (demands of understanding different cultures, the complexity of international business, understanding business, and demand of international travel). Job resources, at the firm and individual level, are examined as a buffer used to reduce the impact of job demands on burnout. Internal support and resource alignment were impactful at the firm level. Personal investments, personal time, and grit were impactful at the individual level. Additionally, this study identified sales closure rates, work-family conflict, and fight as self-undermining aspects that international sales executives experience. Research implications International sales research has remained limited. In 2011, only 97 articles were found over a 30-year period in the top 15 leading journal. To help address this limitation, this study identifies how job demands can lead to burnout, if not actively managed, within an international sales context. Practical implications The findings from this research indicate that managers need to be cognizant of the complexities of international travel. Duration to win can be much longer, win rates are significantly lower than domestic markets, and expenses can be significantly higher. Maximizing long-term results while balancing short-term costs need considerable attention. At a personal level, sales executives are more impactful when proper company policies and channels for communication with senior executives are aligned.International sales executives work in a function that requires travel away from home for two-to-three weeks at a time. Creating special policies for international sales executives to balance work and family can optimize company profitability while minimizing employee self-undermining. Originality/value/contribution This research provides a foundation for the examination of Job-Demand Resource Theory within an international selling context. Based on the results, seven propositions are developed to advance this stream of research. In addition, a series ofguidelines are offered for international firms to use in managing their salesforce

Stochastic dynamic production planning in hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing system with random usage durations

ABSTRACT This paper studies a multi-period dynamic production planning problem in a hybrid manufacturing and remanufacturing system (HMRS), where new and remanufactured products are perfect substitutes. The HMRS encounters uncertain return amounts due to products' random usage durations. As returns are from previous sales, production planning in each period impacts both current sales and future returns. The random return amount and the correlation among different periods make it a complex system. To solve the problem, we first utilise the hazard rate function and in-use products' information to derive an estimator of the return amount. Then, we formulate a dynamic programming model and prove a threshold policy is optimal under uniformly distributed demand. We employ marginal analysis to derive an approximation of the optimal threshold value. Through simulating all alternatives, the derived threshold is verified to be a good approximation as it achieves more than 99% of the optimal revenue in most scenarios. In addition, the calculated return amount based on the hazard rate function is almost identical to the return amount obtained via simulation. Compared to other return measurements, our method achieves the highest revenue in all considered scenarios, including heterogeneous usage durations and general demand distributions.

Regional Public Relations after COVID-19: A new frontier of growth in India’s Public Relations landscape

India - a land of vast cultural & linguistic diversity, where ‘word of mouth’ plays a crucial role in building brands. Public Relations have strongly emerged as an indispensable function for protecting and enhancing reputation. With 70% population of the nation living within the rural or semi-urban geographies, and nearly 34% of the same, annually migrating to urban cities in search of a better livelihood and employment, the role of regional Public Relations becomes more intrinsic to “Integrated Communications and Marketing strategies” for brands. The research paper attempts to understand the following: a) Evolution of consumer consumption and engagement through the lens of regional Public Relations in India b) Introduction of the concept of G-LO-RI: Global – Local-Regional c) Challenges faced by professionals/ agencies The research aims to emphasize the need and importance of regional Public Relations. With the help of in-depth interviews and secondary data, the research will deduce the opportunities and scope to grow in this unorganized and untapped regional territories pan India. The research paper has considered variables - demographic factors, purchasing power, access and dissemination of information and news, effects of social channels and influencers, regional content consumption patterns, and urbanization. The qualitative study of these factors aims to share an outlook and future of regional Public Relations in India. As per existing information available at the time of drafting this research paper, there was no such material or reporting evidence in the context of the role and relevance of regional Public Relations in India. This research paper aims to highlight the current ecosystem, gaps, and key findings and showcase the importance, growth, and challenges of regional Public Relations in India. Interpretations/Implications: This study found that the Regional Public Relations industry has grown multi-folds in the past two decades. There have been many contributing factors instrumental towards this growth size, scale, and reach. This study included a mix of national public relations agency professionals and regional Public Relations agency owners/ founders. They shared their journey and explained the concept, growth and evolution, agency revenue model, team size, opportunities, and challenges on the whole. The level of growth is varied region-wise, while Western, Northern, and Southern regions are hot spots of growth of regional Public Relations business, Eastern and North-East region remain a potential growth market. It was also observed that the affiliate model or the associate model of business is prevalent in the industry. The upcoming trends and practices were also discussed with the participants. The agencies have relied heavily on traditional media for a long time, but there is a gradual shift towards creating more digital content, which is data-driven. In due course of the study, it was evident that industry spending differed from one region to another. FMCG, followed by Automobile and Telecom, were the front runners in spends on regional Public Relations, Government and Education sectors have also caught up. The variation is observed due to the general demand and supply rule and socio-cultural factors, including language, customs, lifestyles & values, playing a crucial role.

Daily Living Subjective Cognitive Decline Indicators in Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms: A Scoping Review and Categorization Using Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF).

(1) Background: This scoping review identifies subjective cognitive decline (SCD) indicators in ADLs and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in older adults with depressive symptoms using the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). (2) Methods: We searched Medline via Ebscohost, Pubmed, and PsycINFO for articles published on activities of daily living (ADL) indicators of SCD in older adults with depressive symptoms, published in English language journals from January 2011 to November 2021. Following the flow diagram, 2032 titles and abstracts were screened for relevance based on the Population, Concept, and Context inclusion and exclusion criteria. (3) Results: Eight articles provided evidence about the ADL indicators of SCD in older adults with depressive symptoms. The analysis yielded indicators based on low and high cognitively demanding tasks assessed on five different scales. Framed on the ICF categorization and coding system, the SCD-ADL indicators are personal care, mobility, and general tasks and demands; SCD-IADL indicators are mobility, general tasks and demands, learning and applying knowledge, domestic life, communication, major life areas, and community, social, and civic life. (4) Conclusion: Highly cognitively demanding activities present more difficulties for individuals with SCD, making IADLs a stronger predictor of SCD than ADLs.

Engage in Family Engage at Work: The Spillover Effect of Parental Involvement Among Burnout Parents

For employees with school-age child(ren), managing demands at work and demands at home, and their children’s education becomes unavoidable, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While most existing research of the work-family interface literature has focused on the negative effect of general or perceptual home demand on employees, less attention is paid to concrete family events including parental involvement in children’s education. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate how working employees’ parental involvement in children’s education at home influences their work-family interface. Drawing on conservation of resource theory (COR), we propose that parents could obtain flourishing experiences from their involvement in children’s education at home, which in turn translates into better engagement at work. Results of a two-wave survey of 206 full-time employees with at least one school-aged child lent support for our hypotheses that parental involvement enhanced flourishing experience at home, and subsequently improved work engagement and creative process engagement at work. However, the positive effect of parental involvement on flourishing, and its indirect effect on engagement at work as well, was significant only for those with high rather than a low level of parental burnout. Finally, we discuss theoretical contributions of present research.

Omni-functional crystal: Advanced methods to characterize the composition and homogeneity of lithium niobate melts and crystals.

Lithium niobate (LN) is a type of multifunctional dielectric and ferroelectric crystal that is widely used in acoustic, optical, and optoelectronic devices. The performance of pure and doped LN strongly depends on various factors, including its composition, microstructure, defects, domain, and homogeneity. The structure and composition homogeneity can affect both the chemical and physical properties of LN crystals, including their density, Curie temperature, refractive index, and piezoelectric and mechanical properties. In terms of practical demands, both the composition and microstructure characterizations these crystals must range from the nanometer scale up to the millimeter and wafer scales. Therefore, LN crystals require different characterization technologies when verifying their quality for various device applications. Optical, electrical, and acoustic technologies have been developed, including x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and interferometry. To obtain detailed structural information, advanced sub-nanometer technologies are required. For general industrial demands, fast and non-destructive technologies are preferable. This review outlines the advanced methods used to characterize both the composition and homogeneity of LN melts and crystals from the micro- to wafer scale.

Endogenous Inverse Demand Functions

Endogenous Inverse Demand Functions Buying or selling assets in a financial market impacts the prices upward or downward. Quantifying these price impacts is fundamental to many problems within finance (e.g., optimal liquidation and systemic risk). In “Endogenous Inverse Demand Functions,” Bichuch and Feinstein construct an equilibrium risk sharing problem that results in an endogenous inverse demand function. This is taken in contrast to the often assumed exogenous linear or exponential forms for the inverse demand functions. The authors determine sufficient joint properties for the financial market and assets to replicate these common exogenous forms. The properties of the general endogenous inverse demand functions, found via the equilibrium risk sharing problem, are investigated; the authors deduce that price cross-impacts, which are often assumed to be zero, naturally arise in this equilibrium setting.

Foresighted medical resources allocation during an epidemic outbreak

While some reports show that the existing real-life medical resources allocations during epidemic outbreaks are myopic, some experts claim that medical resources allocations based on foresighted future allocations might enable a better balance of supply and demand. To investigate this claim, we develop a foresighted medical resources allocation model to help governments manage large-scale epidemic outbreaks. We formulate a demand forecasting model with a general demand forecasting function based on the last-period demands, extra demand caused by the last-period unfulfilled demand, and uncertain demand. In the foresighted allocation model, the government decides the current-period allocation based on the foresighted demand, which considers the last-period area demand and uncertain demand from the current period to the end of a planning horizon, using a stochastic dynamic program. We find that the optimal allocation is a function of the allocation capacity in each period. The optimal foresighted allocation is always higher than the optimal static (one-period) allocation and decreases with allocation capacity. When the allocation capacity is sufficiently large, the foresighted demand is close to the static demand. Besides, if the cost of oversupply is close to zero, the optimal allocations for both the foresighted allocation and one-period models are the allocation capacity. Our results provide useful managerial implications for a government contemplating medical resources allocation in response to an epidemic outbreak.

Quantum Cournot duopoly game with general isoelastic demand and asymmetric production costs

This letter explores the quantum version of a Cournot duopoly game with general isoelastic demand and asymmetric production costs by applying Li-Du-Massar's minimal quantization rules, and it especially analyzes the existence region of quantum equilibrium, and the influences of quantum entanglement , difference in marginal costs (k) and elasticity of demand on the optimal profits of both firms. The results show that the existence region decreases with γ and k increasing. A larger elasticity of demand can destroy the profits of both firms. If positive γ and k are more favourable to the profits of two firms. If the first firm's profit increases with γ increasing for fixed k, but decreases with k increasing for fixed γ. The second firm's profit increases with k increasing for any fixed γ. As to the influences of γ on the second firm's profit, when k is less than a critical value, it increases with γ increasing, otherwise it decreases with γ increasing for fixed k.

P-245 Value of liquid biopsy in faster medical decisions in colorectal cancer patients: Its clinical application in an Argentinean cancer institution

Time to take medical decision is very important for cancer patients. In general patients demand and require answers to understand their oncology disease. In the last years genomics has gained an important role to determinate what treatments would receive, that could change the natural history of the patient disease. The introduction of liquid biopsy (LB) to the general practice, help oncologist to take decision faster, helping patients to get their treatment even faster. The objective of this work is to show its utility of LB to shorten time to medical decision in the daily practice of an Argentinean cancer institution.

Passive forward ownership and upstream collusion

We investigate the effects of passive forward ownership on the sustainability of upstream collusion. We consider a homogeneous Cournot duopoly with competing vertical chains, where each upstream firm has symmetric passive ownership over its downstream exclusive client. With general demand, (i) we show that passive forward ownership increases collusive profits, (ii) we identify two opposing effects of passive forward ownership on punishment and deviating profits: a positive (direct) effect due to ownership and a negative effect working through input prices. By considering three demand functions, including the widely-used linear demand, we show that passive forward ownership hinders upstream collusion.

Support needs of care dependent individuals : Survey of general and specific needs for information, assistance and support of care dependent individuals and their relatives

HintergrundPflegeempfangende und deren Angehörige haben in Deutschland seit 2009 einen gesetzlichen Anspruch auf eine Pflegeberatung. Um Pflegeberatende angemessen auf aktuelle Beratungsbedarfe vorzubereiten, sind dafür zunächst die bestehenden Anliegen zu erfassen. Ziel der Studie war es, die unterschiedlichen Bedarfe von Pflegeempfangenden und deren Angehörigen zu ermitteln.MethodikEs erfolgte eine Online-Befragung von Pflegeberatenden mittels standardisiertem Fragebogen. Die Ausprägung des allgemeinen Beratungsbedarfs von Pflegeempfangenden und Angehörigen wurde mittels 10-stufiger Skala (1 [gering] bis 10 [hoch]) erhoben. Über eine 5‑stufige Likert-Skala wurde die Höhe vorliegender Beratungsbedarfe zu 16 Themenschwerpunkten bewertet. Mittels „classification and regression trees“ (CRT) und „random forest“ wurde der Zusammenhang zwischen den einzelnen Themenschwerpunkten und dem allgemeinen Beratungsbedarf analysiert.ErgebnisseDer allgemeine Informationsbedarf von Pflegeempfangenden bzw. Angehörigen wurde von den teilnehmenden Pflegeberatern (n = 276) mit MW 7,8 bzw. MW 9,2 eingeschätzt. Bei den Pflegeempfangenden bestand laut CRT der stärkste Zusammenhang zwischen allgemeinem Informationsbedarf und „Wohnraumberatung“, bei den Angehörigen zwischen allgemeinem Informationsbedarf und „Sozialrechtliche[n] Aspekte[n], Ansprüche[n], Leistungen“.DiskussionDer allgemeine Informationsbedarf von Pflegeempfangenden und Angehörigen wird als sehr hoch eingeschätzt. Dennoch lassen sich Unterschiede feststellen. Daher erscheint es notwendig, Pflegeberatungen nach den gruppenspezifischen Beratungsbedarfen auszurichten.Zusatzmaterial onlineZusätzliche Informationen sind in der Online-Version dieses Artikels (10.1007/s00391-022-02068-w) enthalten.

The Key Role of 3D Printing Technologies in the Further Development of Electrical Machines

There is a strong general demand for the permanent improvement of electrical machines. Nowadays, these are at their near maximum potential, and even small further improvements can only be achieved with great effort and high cost. The single solution should be a paradigm shift in their development, by using radically new approaches to topology, materials, and fabrication. Therefore, the application of diverse 3D printing techniques for advanced fabrication in this field is inevitable. Therefore, these new approaches are receiving a great deal of attention among electrical machines designers. In the paper, the possible applications of these new fabrication technologies in the field of electrical machines are surveyed. The focus is set on emphasizing the advancement over the traditional manufacturing approaches.