University of Bedfordshire

About: University of Bedfordshire is a education organization based out in Luton, Bedford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Social work. The organization has 3860 authors who have published 6079 publications receiving 143448 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Luton.

Market orientation and performance

Abstract: This response is prompted by Hult, Ketchen and Slater's (2005) article entitled ‘Market orientation and performance: an integration of disparate approaches.’ As a contributor to the foregoing debate in the pages of this journal to which they refer I am writing to offer some observations on the nature and implications of the research reported in their paper and to clarify my essential difficulty as a strategist with the ‘market-oriented: customer-led’ construct. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ventilated body support

Abstract: Disclosed is a ventilated support for living bodies comprising an inflatable alternating pressure pad which is either enclosed by or forms a part of an air permeable plenum chamber through which air is pumped at low pressure to provide a source of ventilating air to a body resting on the support. The alternating pressure pad which is inflated by a high pressure pump has two sets of interdigitated cells which are alternately inflatable and deflatable and carry the weight of a body, alternately, on each of the two sets of cells. The plenum chamber is provided with a separate low pressure air pump which passes through the air permeable upper element of the plenum chamber to reduce moisture build-up and otherwise cool the body resting on the support. In the embodiment in which the alternating pressure pad forms the upper element of the plenum chamber, it is provided with a plurality of apertures which are sealed from the alternating pressure cells to prevent the loss of pressure therein.

Intracell handover for interference and handover mitigation in OFDMA two-tier macrocell-femtocell networks

Abstract: There are two main access policies (open and closed) to Femtocell Access Points (FAPs), being closed access the customers favorite. However, closed access is the root cause of crosstier interference in cochannel deployments of two-tier networks (i.e., macrocells and femtocells). Further, the effect of this problem is remarkably serious in the downlink of outdoor users not subscribed to any femtocell. Open access has been considered as a potential solution to this problem. However, this increases signaling in the network due to the elevated number of HandOvers (HOs) that mobile users have to perform. Therefore, this paper proposes an interference avoidance technique based on the use of Intracell HandOvers (IHOs) in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) femtocells. It is shown that a proper combination of IHO and power control techniques reduces the outage probability for nonsubscribers compared with that of closed and open access. In addition, the impact of several network parameters such as the femtocell penetration is also considered in the analysis.

Gene family expansions and contractions are associated with host range in plant pathogens of the genus Colletotrichum

Abstract: Many species belonging to the genus Colletotrichum cause anthracnose disease on a wide range of plant species. In addition to their economic impact, the genus Colletotrichum is a useful model for the study of the evolution of host specificity, speciation and reproductive behaviors. Genome projects of Colletotrichum species have already opened a new era for studying the evolution of pathogenesis in fungi. We sequenced and annotated the genomes of four strains in the Colletotrichum acutatum species complex (CAsc), a clade of broad host range pathogens within the genus. The four CAsc proteomes and secretomes along with those representing an additional 13 species (six Colletotrichum spp. and seven other Sordariomycetes) were classified into protein families using a variety of tools. Hierarchical clustering of gene family and functional domain assignments, and phylogenetic analyses revealed lineage specific losses of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and proteases encoding genes in Colletotrichum species that have narrow host range as well as duplications of these families in the CAsc. We also found a lineage specific expansion of necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide 1 (Nep1)-like protein (NLPs) families within the CAsc. This study illustrates the plasticity of Colletotrichum genomes, and shows that major changes in host range are associated with relatively recent changes in gene content.

Barriers to relationship marketing in consumer retailing

Abstract: This study focuses on the potential difficulties in implementing a relationship marketing strategy within a retail context. We suggest that a number of attributes characterise the nature of the service and market structure are influential in an organisation’s ability to implement relationship marketing. Specifically, these are balance of power; level of involvement with the purchase; professionalism of the service provider; and level of personal contact. Seven dimensions central to relationship marketing in a retail context are derived from the literature. Via survey research, these are evaluated in four service contexts, namely: hairdresser/barber; optician; recreation centre; and supermarket. Findings indicate that because of the influence of the four factors identified above, hairdressers, opticians, and recreation centres are more likely to operate in conditions that give greater support to the development of relationship marketing.