Medical team resource management can improve patient safety during contrasted CT scan-a pilot study

Yen-Fang Liu,Yen-Chih Huang,Hsin-Ni Lin 한국간호과학회 2023 한국간호과학회 학술대회 Vol.2023 No.11

Nonlinear Exchange Rate Pass-Through: The Role of National Debt

Po-Chin Wu,Shiao-Yen Liu,Ming-Fang Yang 연세대학교 동서문제연구원 2017 Global economic review Vol.46 No.1

This study uses the panel smooth transition regression model with a debt ratio as the transition variable to evaluate the level of exchange rate pass-through. This model can investigate the threshold effect of the debt ratio on the pass-through. To perform the empirical estimation, we choose the 22 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries during 1994–2013 as sample objects. The empirical results show that the exchange rate passthrough displays a nonlinear and smooth transition process, depending on each period of debt ratio of the export country in different regimes. That is, the pass-through is nonlinear and varies with time and across countries. The larger the debt ratio is, the lower the pass-through would be. The threshold for the pass-through to generate smooth regime switching is 36.62% of debt ratio.

AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY OF INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN A HOSPITALITY STARTUP CONTEXT

Jeou-Shyan Horng,Chang-Yen Tsai,Chih-Hsing Liu,Sheng-Fang Chou,Da-Chian Hu,Shang-Yu 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction Due to fierce competition in the marketplace, globalization and an explosion of technology in recent years, innovation and differentiation are considered as a necessity for every company (Tajeddini & Trueman, 2008a). At the same time, to achieve market success and sustain a competitive advantage, businesses need to exploit new opportunities, develop new products and/or services and markets (Berthon, McHulbert, & Pitt, 2004) as well as place customer orientation at the heart of the firm’s competitiveness (Deshpande, Farley, & Webster, 1993). Hospitality entrepreneurship is a pivotal factor in the development and growth of many national economies (Hospitality Standards Institute, 2012), and in Taiwan, a significant proportion of hospitality businesses are small owner-operated outlets (). Therefore, understanding the nature of, and challenges faced by hospitality entrepreneurs is an important issue for researchers, as well as current and future entrepreneurs, financial institutions, local authorities, and government. This article reports on an exploratory study of qualitative data collected through open-ended questions, understanding of the many factors influencing entrepreneurs to start their businesses. Literature As noted by Middleton (2001), small businesses form a seedbed for the entrepreneurial and enterprise culture on which much of the profit and employment prospects of big businesses ultimately depend. This observation clearly indicates the difference between small business owners and entrepreneurs. But although support for this viewpoint in the literature is universal, some researchers do not draw such a fine line between the two terms when discussing related issues; also, studies of small business firms are usually found in the entrepreneurship literature, where sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably. The existing entrepreneurship literature shows that several critical factors influence the birth and growth of start-up firms. These factors include both macro-level environmental and micro-level, or personal level, forces. Studies focusing on the former often examine the influence of politics, culture, society, economics, competition, and demographics on a person’s decision to start or grow a new business in a specific setting; this in turn can take place at different levels, such as the company, city, region, or nation (Jogartnam, 2002; Ramos-Rodriguez et al., 2012). Studies on the latter investigate the influence of personal characteristics, such as subculture, social factors (e.g., role, status, reference group), personal factors (e.g., age, gender, education, life cycle, personality, self-perception, lifestyles, values), and psychological factors (e.g., motives, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, learning, risk-taking propensity, etc. (Littunen, 2000; Ramos-Rodriguez et al., 2012). This study adopted Chen and Elston’s (2013) entrepreneurial activity model for classifying and modeling these factors affecting firm start-ups and growth. Fig. 1 captures this process and highlights the critical factors influencing the entrepreneurial process and their various relationships. In this model, the macro-environment mix influences not only a person’s personal characteristics but also this person’s entrepreneurial process. These personal characteristics in turn also influence the entrepreneurial process. The research methodology was conducted with qualitative research method. Firstly, we interviewed the experts with regard to this industry, and then used content analysis for the interview records. After the in-depth interviews, a grounded theory was adopted to analyze the interview data with repeated coding and reading, and then innovative entrepreneurship were coded into fundamental categories with diverse descriptions (Corbin & Strauss, 1990). These descriptions represent the idea and meaning squeeze from the transcripts of interview. As for the research reliability, we read the biographies of participants and collect relative information such as their provided books, documents and reports from the news. To guarantee the validity of this study, we also improve the research content with researchers’ interview and reflection notes. Those notes were observation on innovative entrepreneurship process in this study. Therefore, these systematic methods could conclude a theory for a specific phenomenon (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). Results The results of our qualitative analysis demonstrated the opinions of experts with regard to innovative entrepreneurship in hotel industry. Based on Chen and Elston’s (2013) entrepreneurial activity model, the characteristics of each concept were grounded with four dimensions: (1) Macro-environment mix (2) Personal characteristics (3) Entrepreneurial Proces (4) Major entrepreneurial outcome. The experts’ critical viewpoints are also presented by typical quotations. (1) Macro-environment mix ●? Shifting Market “Now the entire consumer market is shifting, everyone booking via the internet.”(sample 1) “When you book a hotel or a flight, people like the price competition. So you may have to spend a lot of time.” (sample 9) ●? The old technology “We are still using the technology more than a decade ago. Taiwan is still running the hotel in a very traditional way. It is when I open a hotel , I am looking for some people, and then ... I think I will make money. In fact, a lot of know how they do not know.”(sample 1) ●? Price competition “We think the outbound market has entered the Red Sea. The inbound market has not been fully developed and has potential for development. Therefore, we would not like to see the inbound market enter the price competition.” (sample 6) ●? Want Taiwan to be seen “Taiwan's B & B are really world-class highlights in tourism industry.”(DEAR BNB) ●? Make up the industrial gap “We think Taiwan needs a brand new high-quality hotel and lodging platform and we did it.” (sample 3) “I think what we do is very traditional! Just fill the gap by using the resources we have integrated with the method we want.” (sample 4) (2) Personal characteristics ●? Personal interest “I like traveling, I like going abroad, I like to fly.”(sample 8) “This is my hobby, I also like to interact with people.” (sample 4) ●? Doing what I want to do “I just want to do what I want to do.”(sample 8) “I like the Internet and marketing but don’t like to do engineer. “(sample 7) ●? Apply own expertise “Using my own technology and see the market demand gap, hoping to help Taiwan's lodging industry can be transformed, technology upgrades, do not have to monopolize by the traditional manufacturers.” (sample 1) “I study hospitality and work for a year in Taipei Evergreen Hotel, and later went to Vancouver to study hotel management. To start a new venture also an ultimate goal of our depasample 6ent, so I think it must be done.” (sample 2) ●? Personal life experience “I think creation needs inspiration, inspiration comes from life experience. Entrepreneurship will not have nothing, what you have to do today, it must have some relationship with your past life experience.” (sample 3) (3) Entrepreneurial Process ●? Self-finaning “I did not find someone or looking for funds.” (sample 4) “I have a deposit of 20 years, our funds are wholly-owned. We do not borrow money from banks nor fundraising or venture capital.” (sample 5) ●? Related connections “Originally, my good friend who knew about the lodging industry. You are ready, and then meet the right people, and then a good time point enter into the right market.” (sample 1) “When talent comes in, they will recommend people who have such abilities and values. Therefore, we have not publicly recruited R & D people.” (sample 4) ●? Try and error “In the beginning, we don’t seriously think about our business model. Through more case, we revise our business model.”(sample 6) “After my trip, I wanted to start a business. At that time, I did not have many ideas, so I did a lot of work to find directions.” (sample 7) ●? Find the right shareholder “Shareholders are important. When finding shareholders, his resources and skills are very important. I want more than his money.” (sample 2) ●? Play a consultant role “We are selling our ideas, as well as selling our resources, experience so a bit like a consultant's role.” (sample 7) (4) Major entrepreneurial outcome ●? Change the industry ecology “We have successfully changed some of the airline's mind, we have changed the hotel's promotional model and have changed an ecological.”(sample 8) ” The core of entrepreneurship is to re-establish an ecosystem.(sample 5) ●? Tourism industry knowledge education and personnel training of think tanks “We want to make domain knowledge, know-how in tourism industry can be extracted, shared, and can be taught textbook.” (smaple 6) ●? Package Form a network and provide a unique package “In addition to the network, we hope to the forming some unique service package.” (sample 5) “Our three companies are different areas and require different skills. In the future, we would integrate them.” (sample 7) Discussion and conclusions This study examined the innovative entrepreneurship with start up in the hotel industry. Using content analysis method to access the research conclusions, the four key components of entrepreneurial activity: Macro-environment mix, personal characteristics, entrepreneurial process and major entrepreneurial outcome (Chen and Elston, 2013) were adopted to set up a theoretical framework. The results of our research were provided through a systematic approach to interpret and summarize experts’ professional opinions. These data were collected by in-depth and semi-structured interviews which give participants opportunities to express their opinions based on their experience in innovative entrepreneurship of hospitality. Meanwhile, the concepts of experts’ comprehensions were written into different characteristics with logical explanations. Most important of all, our research contributes to the entrepreneurship literature. Though some previous studies have discussed Chen and Elston’s (2013) entrepreneurial activity model, none of them tried to integrate this perspective with start up company in hotel industry. Therefore, the results of this study filled the gap between theory and practice, and provide a distinct example for future innovative entrepreneurship research in hospitality. To sum up, as most previous research focus on theoretical or practical perspective to interpret entrepreneurship, the result of this research further contribute the development of innovative entrepreneurship especially in start up. These findings offered essential framework and required knowledge of strategies for current and future trends in this field.

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Increased Autonomic Activation and Improved Symptoms of Depression and Insomnia among Patients with Major Depression Disorder

I-Mei Lin,Sheng-Yu Fan,Cheng-Fang Yen,Yi-Chun Yeh,Tze‐Chun Tang,Mei-Feng Huang,Tai-Ling Liu,Peng-Wei Wang,Huang-Chi Lin,Hsin-Yi Tsai,Yu-Che Tsai 대한정신약물학회 2019 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.17 No.2

Objective: Autonomic imbalance is considered a psychopathological mechanism underlying major depressive disorder (MDD). Heart rate variability (HRV) is an index for autonomic activation. Poor sleep quality is common among patients with MDD. HRV biofeedback (BF) has been used for regulating autonomic balance among patients with physical illness and mental disorders. The purpose of present study was to examine the effects of HRV-BF on depressive symptoms, sleep quality, pre-sleep arousal, and HRV indices, in patients with MDD and insomnia. Methods: In this case-controlled study, patients with MDD and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score higher than 6 were recruited. The HRV-BF group received weekly 60-minute protocol for 6 weeks, and the control group who have matched the age and sex received medical care only. All participants were assessed on Beck Depression Inventory-II, Back Anxiety Inventory, PSQI, and Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale. Breathing rates and electrocardiography were also performed under resting state at pre-testing, and post-testing conditions and for the HRV-BF group, also at 1-month follow-up. Results: In the HRV-BF group, symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep quality, and pre-sleep arousal were significantly improved, and increased HRV indices, compared with the control group. Moreover, in the HRV-BF group, significantly improved symptoms of depression and anxiety, decreased breathing rates, and increased HRV indices were detected at post-testing and at 1-month follow-up, compared with pre-testing values. Conclusion: This study confirmed that HRV-BF is a useful psychosocial intervention for improving autonomic balance, baroreflex, and symptoms of depression and insomnia in MDD patients.

Treatment Retention Rates of 3-monthly Paliperidone Palmitate and Risk Factors Associated with Discontinuation: A Population-based Cohort Study

Chien-Heng Lin,Huang-Li Lin,Chih-Lin Chiang,Yi-Wen Chen,Yan-Fang Liu,Yen Kuang Yang,Chao-Hsiun Tang 대한정신약물학회 2023 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.21 No.3

Objective: Limited evidence exists regarding real-world 3-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP3M) treatment retention and associated factors. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, nationwide cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between October 2017 and December 2019. Adult patients with schizophrenia initiated on PP3M were enrolled. The primary outcomes were time to PP3M discontinuation, time to psychiatric hospitalization, and the proportions of patients receiving the next PP3M dose within 120 days among first-, second-, and third-dose completers. Key covariates included prior PP1M duration and adequate PP3M initiation. Results: The PP3M treatment retention rates were 79.7%, 66.3%, and 52.5% after 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively, with 86.4%, 90.6%, and 90.0% of respective first-, second-, and third-dose completers receiving the next PP3M dose. Adequate PP3M initiation and prior PP1M treatment duration > 180 days were associated with favorable PP3M treatment retention. In multivariate analyses, PP1M durations of 180−360 days (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.76) or < 180 days (aRR, 2.79) were associated with PP3M discontinuation at the second dose. Inadequate PP3M initiation was associated with discontinuation at the third dose (aRR, 2.18). Patients fully adherent to PP3M treatment in the first year had a higher probability of being free from psychiatric hospitalization (86.7% at 2 years), compared with those partially adherent or non-adherent to PP3M in the first year. Conclusion: Prior PP1M duration and adequate PP3M initiation are major factors affecting PP3M treatment retention. Higher PP3M treatment retention is associated with a lower risk of psychiatric hospitalization.