How an emerging market firm overcomes liabilities and builds legitimacy in a high-quality institutional environment

Objective: To examine how an emerging market firm adopts specific strategies to neutralize the liabilities of foreignness (LOF), emergingness (LOE) and outsidership (LOO), and to gain legitimacy in a high-quality institutional environment. Method: Single in-depth case study of a Brazilian firm in the information technology industry based on secondary data and interviews. Main Results: The study shows how the acquisition of a local company addressed the three liabilities: LOF, by acquiring knowledge on the host country’s institutional environment; LOE, by detaching the company image from the home country and emphasizing a global image; and LOO, by gaining access to already established connections to international networks by the acquired firm. Relevance/ Originality: There is still a dearth of literature on how firms from emerging economies other than China — and particularly from Latin America — strategize to mitigate LOF, LOE and LOO when internationalizing to high-quality institutional environments. Theoretical/ Methodological Contributions: To provide a fine-grained view of the relationship between LOF, LOE and LOO and their manifestations; and to provide an understanding of the relationship between the liabilities and the legitimation strategies adopted to overcome them along the international expansion of an emerging market high-tech firm from Latin America

Institutional Theory and International Entrepreneurship: A Review

Purpose: To review the literature that uses institutional theory to examine the internationalization of smaller and entrepreneurial firms, covering the period from January 1, 2008 to September 30, 2020. Method: The bibliometric review uses the bibliographic coupling technique and content analysis. Main Findings:  The literature was divided in three periods using bibliometric techniques, and the main themes examined in each period were identified and analyzed qualitatively. Relevance /Originality: Only one previous literature review examined the same issue addressed in this paper, but only covered articles published up to 2008 (Szyliowicz & Galvin, 2010). Theoretical Contributions: The study uncovers the thematic structure of the field throughout the period examined and suggests issues for future research

Costs and advance directives at the end of life: a case of the ‘Coaching Older Adults and Carers to have their preferences Heard (COACH)’ trial

Background Total costs associated with care for older people nearing the end of life and the cost variations related with end of life care decisions are not well documented in the literature. Healthcare utilisation and associated health care costs for a group of older Australians who entered Transition Care following an acute hospital admission were calculated. Costs were differentiated according to a number of health care decisions and outcomes including advance directives (ADs). Methods Study participants were drawn from the Coaching Older Adults and Carers to have their preferences Heard (COACH) trial funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Data collected included total health care costs, the type of (and when) ADs were completed and the place of death. Two-step endogenous treatment-regression models were employed to test the relationship between costs and a number of variables including completion of ADs. Results The trial recruited 230 older adults with mean age 84 years. At the end of the trial, 53 had died and 80 had completed ADs. Total healthcare costs were higher for younger participants and those who had died. No statistically significant association was found between costs and completion of ADs. Conclusion For our frail study population, the completion of ADs did not have an effect on health care utilisation and costs. Further research is needed to substantiate these findings in larger and more diverse clinical cohorts of older people

The study of atmospheric ice-nucleating particles via microfluidically generated droplets

Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) play a significant role in the climate and hydrological cycle by triggering ice formation in supercooled clouds, thereby causing precipitation and affecting cloud lifetimes and their radiative properties. However, despite their importance, INP often comprise only 1 in 10³–10⁶ ambient particles, making it difficult to ascertain and predict their type, source, and concentration. The typical techniques for quantifying INP concentrations tend to be highly labour-intensive, suffer from poor time resolution, or are limited in sensitivity to low concentrations. Here, we present the application of microfluidic devices to the study of atmospheric INPs via the simple and rapid production of monodisperse droplets and their subsequent freezing on a cold stage. This device offers the potential for the testing of INP concentrations in aqueous samples with high sensitivity and high counting statistics. Various INPs were tested for validation of the platform, including mineral dust and biological species, with results compared to literature values. We also describe a methodology for sampling atmospheric aerosol in a manner that minimises sampling biases and which is compatible with the microfluidic device. We present results for INP concentrations in air sampled during two field campaigns: (1) from a rural location in the UK and (2) during the UK’s annual Bonfire Night festival. These initial results will provide a route for deployment of the microfluidic platform for the study and quantification of INPs in upcoming field campaigns around the globe, while providing a benchmark for future lab-on-a-chip-based INP studies

The Physics of the B Factories

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C

Carcinoma espinocelular: relato de caso

O Carcinoma espinocelular (CEC) é uma neoplasia maligna de origem epitelial mais recorrente em região de cabeça e pescoço, e ocorre predominantemente em homens com mais de 50 anos. Esta neoplasia se apresenta clinicamente em superfícies ventrais e lateral posterior da língua e assoalho bucal, com aspecto multiforme. É fundamental compreender os fatores que levam ao seu surgimento a fim de proporcionar um tratamento individualizado para cada paciente, com o objetivo de obter melhores resultados. Este relato de caso apresenta um Carcinoma Espinocelular (CEC) em um paciente de gênero masculino, 46 anos de idade. Foi realizado uma biópsia incisional com diagnóstico de Carcinoma Espinocelular, e mediante o resultado o paciente foi encaminhado para a realização de ressecção cirúrgica com quimioterapia e radioterapia adjuvante. O prognóstico da lesão está diretamente relacionado ao tempo de descoberta da lesão e seu grau de invasividade

Odontectomia parcial intencional em dente semi-incluso: relato de caso

A Odontectomia parcial intencional ou Coronectomia é uma abordagem cirúrgica que envolve a remoção da porção coronária de molares inferiores impactados e a preservação de suas raízes no alvéolo dentário, indicada, principalmente, quando a raiz do terceiro molar está em proximidade direta com o canal mandibular, resultando em um risco aumentado de lesões traumáticas no feixe vásculo-nervoso alveolar inferior. Esse artigo tem como objetivo relatar o caso de um coronectomia realizada devido a relação de ápice em ilha, com íntimo contato com o canal mandibular. Paciente do sexo feminino, 29 anos, ASA I, compareceu à atendimento com indicação para exodontia de terceiro molar inferior esquerdo semi-incluso e impactado. Após avaliação de tomografia de face observou-se uma relação próxima entre a raiz do dente e o canal mandibular. Diante do quadro clínico, optou-se por realizar a Odontectomia Parcial Intencional, com o objetivo de evitar danos ao feixe vásculo-nervoso. A Odontectomia Parcial Intencional é uma alternativa viável e segura em casos de extrações de molares inferiores impactados próximos ao canal mandibular, reduzindo riscos de danos aos nervos dos pacientes, sem provocar outras co-morbidades associadas

The experience of palliative patients and their families of a family meeting utilised as an instrument for spiritual and psychosocial care: A qualitative study

Background: This study explores the experience of palliative patients and their family members of a family meeting model, utilised as an instrument for the provision of spiritual and psychosocial care. In doing so the study embraces a broad understanding of spirituality which may or may not include formal religious practice and a concept of psychosocial care that includes: social and emotional well-being, communication, self esteem, mental health and adaptation to illness. The meeting of spiritual and psychosocial needs is considered to be an important aspect of palliative care. Methods. This qualitative study, philosophically underpinned by hermeneutic phenomenology, investigates the participatory experience of palliative care patients and their significant family members of such a family meeting. People registered with two large metropolitan palliative care services, who met selection criteria, were referred by medical staff. Twelve of the 66 referred took part in family meetings which also included significant others invited by the patient. A total of 36 family members participated. The number of participants of individual family meetings ranged from two to eleven. After the family meeting every participant was invited to take part in an individual in-depth interview about their experience of the meeting. Forty seven interviews were conducted. These were audio recorded and transcribed. Results: Data analysis, utilising Ricoeur's theory of interpretation, revealed seven main themes: personal experience of the meeting, personal outcomes, observation of others' experience, observation of experience and outcomes for the family unit, meeting facilitation, how it could have been different and general applicability of the family meeting. Throughout these themes were numerous references to aspects of the web of relationships which describe the concept of spirituality as it is defined for the purpose of this study. Conclusions: The findings indicate the potential of the type of family meeting reported for use in the spiritual and psychosocial care of people receiving palliative care and their families. However further research is needed to explore its application to more culturally diverse groups and its longer term impact on family members.Heather M Tan, Anne Wilson, Ian Olver and Christopher Barto