Intangible resources of competitive advantage: Analysis of 49 Asian airlines across three business models

Without sustainable competitive advantage firms have limited economic reasons to exist and will decline. Competitive advantage concerns the factors which provide competitive strength. This paper is based upon the resource-based view which considers firm resources to be heterogeneous and which believes that firms only have a small bundle of core resources irrespective of their overall performance. This research establishes the role of 36 intangible resources for 49 Asian airlines across three business models: network airlines; low-cost subsidiaries from network airlines; and low-cost carriers. It uses the VRIN framework which examines whether resources are valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable. Research participants distribute points between their chosen seven resources according to their perceived role in firm performance. Resources which meet all four requirements of VRIN are considered core competences and sources of sustained advantage. Across all 49 Asian airlines, the top-three most important resources of advantage are slots, brand, and product/service reputation. While these core resources are predictable, they have not previously been proven within the context of airlines, let alone geographically and by airline model. Results show that the core bundle of resources vary for each model, which helps to explain the difference in performance across models, and that some resources which were expected to be high-ranking, such as organisational culture and customer focus, were not

Whole lifespan microscopic observation of budding yeast aging through a microfluidic dissection platform

Important insights into aging have been generated with the genetically tractable and short-lived budding yeast. However, it is still impossible today to continuously track cells by high-resolution microscopic imaging (e.g., fluorescent imaging) throughout their entire lifespan. Instead, the field still needs to rely on a 50-y-old laborious and time-consuming method to assess the lifespan of yeast cells and to isolate differentially aged cells for microscopic snapshots via manual dissection of daughter cells from the larger mother cell. Here, we are unique in achieving continuous and high-resolution microscopic imaging of the entire replicative lifespan of single yeast cells. Our microfluidic dissection platform features an optically prealigned single focal plane and an integrated array of soft elastomer-based micropads, used together to allow for trapping of mother cells, removal of daughter cells, monitoring gradual changes in aging, and unprecedented microscopic imaging of the whole aging process. Using the platform, we found remarkable age-associated changes in phenotypes (e.g., that cells can show strikingly differential cell and vacuole morphologies at the moment of their deaths), indicating substantial heterogeneity in cell aging and death. We envision the microfluidic dissection platform to become a major tool in aging research.

Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from humans, environmental surfaces, and companion animals in households of children with community-onset methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections

Our objective was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from 110 households of children with community-onset methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections. Cultures were obtained from household members, household objects, and dogs and cats, yielding 1,633 S. aureus isolates. The S. aureus isolates were heterogeneous, although more than half were methicillin resistant. The highest proportion of MRSA was found in bathrooms. The majority of isolates were susceptible to antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings

On the relation between weather variables and sorghum ergot infection

Sorghum ergot (Claviceps africana) has had a significant impact on seed production and breeders’ nurseries in Australia since it was first found in 1996. In this paper, 3 distinct key development stages of sorghum that are related to ergot infection were identified: flag leaf stage, pollen starch accumulation stage, and flowering period. Relationships between weather variables during these 3 stages and ergot severity as well as pollen viability were analysed using observed data from 2 field trials, a serial planting trial and a genotype trial, conducted at Gatton, Queensland. The duration of the flag leaf stage and of the flowering period was estimated from thermal time. An infection factor was introduced and calculated based on hourly temperature during the flowering period. This infection factor and the mean relative humidity at 0900 hours during the flowering period were the main factors influencing ergot infection. Mean daily minimum temperature during flag leaf stage also had a significant effect on ergot severity, although no significant relation was found between this mean daily minimum temperature and pollen viability. A linear regression model using the above 3 factors accounted for 94% of the environmentally caused variation in ergot severity observed in the genotype trial

Sourcebook on the Production of Electricity From Geothermal Energy. Draft: Chapter 4, Section 4. 4. Status of the Development of the Total Flow System for Electric Power Production From Geothermal Energy. [Includes Glossary]

Discussion is presented under the following section headings: introduction; characteristics of wellhead fluid; energy conversion concepts (including subsections, the flashed steam system, the total flow concept, and comparison of total flow expanders); brine chemistry effects; a possible total flow system design; and references, bibliography, glossary, and figures. (JGB

Heat transfer coefficient determination on 3D geometries from transient thermochromic liquid crystal experiments

A valuable new postprocessing technique has been developed to enable the application of transient thermochromic liquid crystal experiments where lateral conduction is significant and thus cannot be treated as one-dimensional (1D). This enables the measurement of spatially resolved heat transfer coefficient (HTC) over geometrically complex surfaces, extending the current limitations of transient thermochromic liquid crystal experiments. The postprocessing technique couples raw experimental transient thermochromic liquid crystal data and finite element analysis, in an iterative procedure, to generate the HTC distributions. In the current study, the experimental data come from a stationary experiment of an engine realistic rib turbulated cooling passage. Spatially resolved maps of HTC have been determined over the surface of the ribs. The results are compared with conventionally processed experimental data that assume 1D semi-infinite conduction and also to results from steady-state numerical simulations. Where the 1D assumption is applicable, results are less than the experimental uncertainty (<6%) at the majority of locations. Typical 1D-based methods are unable to provide reliable spatial measurements over geometrically complex ribbed surfaces, and to the authors’ best knowledge this is the first time distributions of HTC have been reported for engine representative rib geometry

Azithromycin Use in Upper Respiratory Infection

Antibiotic resistance is a problem that is growing worldwide. Misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics leads to a rise in pathogens that are resistant to the conventional drugs prescribed, causing increases in morbidity and mortality rates. Antibiotic resistance occurs when microbes still survive despite the presence of an antibiotic. The remaining microbes grow in strength and multiply until there is a population that are now resistant to treatment. One such treatment is azithromycin, an antibiotic often prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URI). A URI is any infection of the respiratory tract from the nasal cavities to the larynx that can have symptoms ranging from acute to severe and life-threatening. Although URIs are caused by either a viral or bacterial pathogens, antibiotics are not effective for viral infections. The current treatment guidelines for URIs do not recommend an initial antibiotic prescription, but encourage delayed antibiotic prescribing techniques in which the practitioner waits 48 to 72 hours before prescribing an antibiotic. However, these guidelines are not consistently followed. To determine the rate of azithromycin prescribing, this study will collect data from three different Federally Qualified Health Centers. These rates will then be compared with the number of articles available in the PubMed database on the topic of antibiotic resistance, to determine whether the current literature available on antibiotic prescribing has an effect in decreasing the misuse of antibiotics. Results from this study will be used to enhance clinical performance. Our data can add to already existing campaigns within pharmacy, as well as promote pharmacists’ responsibilities in patient care involvement and counseling for antibiotics. If there is no correlation found between antibiotic prescribing and education campaigns, this may be grounds for additional research to determine an alternate education methods to promote antibiotic stewardship

Ergot: A New Disease Threat to Sorghum in the Americas and Australia

Sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, is the world’s fifth most important cereal crop, cultivated on about 45 million hectares for food, feed, beverage, and fodder. The most significant technological change since the 1960s has been the development and use of F1 hybrid seed (14), which has lead to a dramatic improvement in the crop’s productivity. Sorghum cultivation in intensive, commercialized systems where yields average 3 to 5 t ha-1 relies almost totally on hybrid seed. In contrast, yields vary widely and average less than 1 t ha-1 in low-input production systems