Mario Hair

Service quality measurement in the Chinese corporate banking market

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to construct a measurement instrument to capture service quality in the Chinese corporate banking market.Design/methodology/approach – To create the measurement instrument, Chinese Banking Service Quality (CBSQ), constructs are utilised from the generic service quality literature and Chinese business culture. In addition, 18 financial managers were interviewed to identify how other aspects of the Chinese banking market could be included in the new instrument. CBSQ was administered to 259 corporate customers in China. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assist data reduction, test hypothesised models and refine scales.Findings – Factor analysis identifies that service quality in Chinese corporate banking is measured by a nested model, consisting of two higher‐order constructs (i.e. functional quality and technical quality) and four lower‐order dimensions (i.e. reliability, human capital, technology and communication).Research limitations/implicat...

Comparison of Urinary Albumin and Urinary Total Protein as Predictors of Patient Outcomes in CKD

BACKGROUND Proteinuria is common and is associated with adverse patient outcomes. The optimal test of proteinuria to identify those at risk is uncertain. This study assessed albuminuria and total proteinuria as predictors of 3 patient outcomes: all-cause mortality, start of renal replacement therapy (RRT), and doubling of serum creatinine level. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS Nephrology clinic of a city hospital in Scotland; 5,586 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and proteinuria measured in random urine samples (n = 3,378) or timed urine collections (n = 1,808). PREDICTORS Baseline measurements of albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR), total protein-creatinine ratio (PCR), 24-hour albuminuria, and total proteinuria. OUTCOMES All-cause mortality, start of RRT, and doubling of serum creatinine level were assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves and Cox proportional hazards models. MEASUREMENTS Blood pressure, serum creatinine level, ACR, PCR, date of death, date of starting RRT. RESULTS Patients were followed up for a median of 3.5 (25th-75th percentile, 2.1-6.0) years. For all outcomes, adjusted HRs were similar for PCR and ACR (derived from random urine samples and timed collections): death, 1.41 (95% CI, 1.31-1.53) vs 1.38 (95% CI, 1.28-1.50); RRT, 1.96 (95% CI, 1.76-2.18) vs 2.33 (95% CI, 2.06-3.01); and doubling of serum creatinine level, 2.03 (95% CI, 1.87-2.19) vs 1.92 (95% CI, 1.78-2.08). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed almost identical performance for ACR and PCR for the 3 outcome measures. Adjusted HRs for ACR and PCR were similar when derived from random urine samples or timed collections and compared with 24-hour total protein and albumin excretion for each outcome measure. LIMITATIONS This is a retrospective study. CONCLUSIONS Total proteinuria and albuminuria perform equally as predictors of renal outcomes and mortality in patients with CKD. ACR and PCR were as effective as 24-hour urine samples at predicting outcomes and are more convenient for patients, clinicians, and laboratories. Both ACR and PCR stratify risk in patients with CKD.

Stratifying risk in chronic kidney disease: an observational study of UK guidelines for measuring total proteinuria and albuminuria*

BACKGROUND Proteinuria predicts poor renal and cardiovascular outcomes. Some guidelines recommend measuring proteinuria using albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR), while others recommend total protein:creatinine ratio (TPCR). AIM To compare renal outcomes and mortality in the populations identified by these different recommendations. DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. METHODS Baseline ACR and TPCR measurements were obtained from 5586 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) attending a Scottish hospital nephrology clinic. The cohort was divided into three groups with concordant results by ACR and TPCR (no proteinuria; low proteinuria; significant proteinuria) and one group with discordant results (significant proteinuria with TPCR, but not ACR). Outcomes were assessed using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS Median follow-up was 3.5 years [interquartile range (IQR) 2.1-6.0]; 844 (15%) died at 3.0 years (IQR 1.8-4.7) and 468 (8%) started renal replacement therapy (RRT) at 1.7 years (IQR 0.6-3.4). Proteinuria was associated with a substantially increased risk of RRT and death. Patients with significant proteinuria by TPCR, but not ACR (n = 231) had high renal risk, and the highest all-cause mortality (log-rank P < 0.001). With multivariate analysis the risk fell below those with significant proteinuria with concordant results by ACR and TPCR but remained considerably higher than those without significant proteinuria. CONCLUSION Proteinuria screening with TPCR identifies an additional 16% of patients with significant proteinuria, not identified using ACR. This subgroup has high renal risk, and high risk of all-cause mortality and therefore warrant identification. Guideline recommendations on proteinuria screening in CKD should be reconsidered.

Superqual: A Tool to Explore the Initial Expectations of PhD Students and Supervisors.

In recent years there has been growing concern to improve standards in postgraduate research. Much of this has focused on generic research skills training. However, there are other, equally important, supervisory aspects such as welfare, mentoring and support arrangements. This article focuses on the initial expectations, of both students and supervisors, of their roles and duties at the start of the supervisory process. Using concepts from the service quality literature, an instrument ‘Superqual’ is developed aimed at exposing any gaps in expectations that, if not resolved, could generate problems during the life of a doctorate. The use of Superqual in a number of case studies is reported. The results are mostly positive, and suggestions are made for its improvement and adoption.In recent years there has been growing concern to improve standards in postgraduate research. Much of this has focused on generic research skills training. However, there are other, equally importa...

Everyone Abandons - Eventually: Understanding the Online Shopping Experience

Many e-stores use conversion rates, ie. how many people convert shopping baskets to actualpurchases as a primary indicator of success. A low conversion rate is used as a reason for spending moretime and effort on improving the usability of the site, assuming thatthe fault must be with the usability of the website.There is some question, however, about whether this focusis justified. We argue here that the online shopping experience has adistinct nature of its own, having different characteristics andencouraging different behaviours. We therefore carried out a study in order tounderstand e-shopper behaviours - specifically their usage ofthe electronic shopping basket and wish list. We used an online survey to ask anumber of questions calculated to explore this usage. We report hereon our findings.We found that eventually, along with becoming more mature in the usageof online ecommerce, every e-shopper will abandon the shoppingbasket. Hence abandonment rates should not be used as a successindicator and a low conversion rate does not indicate that a sitesusabiity is poor. We also identified three categories of e-shopper, thevague, the cost conscious and the window shoppers. The first group had the strongest intention to purchase and were the least likely toabandon their shopping baskets with the other two groups being morelikely to abandon.Finally there werealso two distinct types of wish list user: the cleaners and thehoarders. The former were cost conscious and appeared to use the wishlist to monitor prices. The hoarders tended to have used e-commercefor longer and used the wish list to keep track of items they mightwell like to purchase in the future.

Anti-Psychotic Medication and the Pattern of Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Population Based Study (The Ayrshire Diabetes Follow-Up Cohort (ADOC) Study)

Background: Life expectancy in people with severe mental illness is significantly reduced: in part due to increased cardiac risk. Aim: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and to determine the prevalence of regular screening in these patients. Method: Data was extracted from 48 General Practices in NHS Ayrshire and Arran (n=320,613) in April 2015. Results: There were 3857 patients on anti-psychotic medication (prevalence 1.2%). Female patients and those on first generation medication were older (p<0.001). Monitoring rates ranged from 75% for BP and smoking down to under 50% for lipids. Only 10% of patients monitored were free of a cardiovascular risk factor. Conclusion: Treatment with anti-psychotic medication was associated with clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. Screening varied in relation to age and sex of the patient, the anti-psychotic agent prescribed and cardiovascular risk factor.