PurposeThe purpose of this study is to integrate findings of empirical studies regarding the effect of total quality management (TQM) on competitive advantage. This purpose is to support building a theoretical model of TQM and its components. These components are: top management commitment/leadership, teams, culture, training/education, and process efficiency; they are grounded in the work of Deming and deduced from three other models offered by Dean and Bowen and Reed et al.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a meta‐analysis to synthesize results of a sample of 51 studies into, effectively, one database. The meta‐analysis approach is used to establish external validity for the theoretical model of TQM used in the paper. The sample includes studies that were conducted in different countries to provide a comprehensive investigation.FindingsEach individual component of TQM was associated with competitive advantage, that these associations each explain roughly 60 percent of the variability in competitive advantage, and that a 1 point change in an average component score (1‐5 Likert scale) results in at least a 0.1 point change in competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsThe strong correlations between the five components, coupled with the limited sample size, made it impossible to fit a competitive advantage explanation model that included all five components with any statistical significance. Thus, it was not possible to determine the relative impacts of the five components on competitive advantage. Moreover, these limitations made the impact of leadership relative to other variables indeterminate, even in two independent variable models.Originality/valueDespite the modest findings, this study provides a link between the theory and practice of TQM efforts and provides direction for future research.

The degree to which the use of debt is increased in response to risk-reducing and income-augmenting farm policies is studied theoretically. A mean-variance model is used to determine the optimal leverage adjustment, then the effects of policies 011 the cumulative probability of earning very low rates of return on equity are examined. The evidence suggests that farm policies induce a large enough increase in financial leverage to increase the probability offarmers having negative returns to equity.

The dynamic response of real farm asset values to changes in net returns and interest rates is studied using vector autoregression. Results show that a shock in real asset values, real returns to assets, or real interest rates leads to a process in which real asset values overreact. In the initial period, a reaction to a shock immediately occurs followed by a continued build-up in the asset value for up to six years until finally the effect of the one-time, transitory shock begins to die out. The results suggest a market with a propensity for bubbles.The propensity for periodic long-term swings in the value of farm assets has been an important, almost inherent, characteristic of the agricultural sector. Melichar (1984a) points to two boom-bust periods earlier in this century and to two in the nineteenth century. The effects of these extended over several decades, and each shaped the fortunes of a generation of farmers, landlords, suppliers, and lenders. One of the important questions stemming from this history is whether the boom-bust sequence is the result of a rational dynamic response to the information available or a process of over-and under-shooting of asset values.This article reports the results from a study of the dynamic response of real farm asset values to changes in net returns and interest rates. Of particular interest is the hypothesis that there is no overreaction in the farm asset market. This study differs from previous studies through its emphasis on asset value dynamics and in the length of its data series. The relative importance of returns and interest Allen M. , and two anonymous referees. rates in determining asset values is also quantified. Furthermore, this study compares the determinants of asset value declines in the 1980s to those during the 1930s depression. The article is organized into five sections that include the following: a brief review of previous research on farm asset values, a description of the conceptual framework for understanding asset price dynamics and the vector autoregression (VAR) model, a discussion of the data, and the estimated results and analysis of the dynamics of real asset values. Review of Previous ResearchPast research on farm asset values has focused on land. Several explanations for the level of farmland values have been generated. Work in the 1960s was based on structural simultaneous equation models of supply and demand for land. Reynolds and Timmons concluded that expected capital gains, government payments for land diversion, conservation payments, farm enlargement, and the return on common stock were important variables in explaining land prices. Tweeten and Martin concluded that the major determinants of changes in farmland prices include pressures for farm expansion and capitalized benefits from government programs tied to land. Herdt and Cochrane concluded that technological progress and government supported output prices have influenced farmland prices. Klinefelter explained movements in land price using

The five small rural emergency facilities encountered most of the clinical problems seen in full EDs. They saw almost all categories of emergency presentation, saw almost all diagnostic categories, treated critically ill and injured patients, and performed most procedures.

IntroductionTo compare the cost‐effectiveness and patient impact between acute magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) management and conventional management in the diagnosis of occult scaphoid fractures in a rural setting.MethodsConsecutive patients presenting to a rural emergency department (ED) with a suspected scaphoid fracture were randomly assigned to either conventional management (6) or acute MRI management (10) (3 patients were excluded from the study analysis). All healthcare costs were compared between the two management groups and potential impacts on the patients’ pain, mobility and lifestyle were also measured.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline. There was one (10%) scaphoid fracture in the MRI group and none in the conventional group (P = 0.42). A larger proportion of other fractures were diagnosed in the MRI group (20% (2) vs. 16.7% (1), P = 0.87), as well as less clinic attendances (1 (0–2.25) vs. 4 (2.25–5)) and diagnostic services (1 (1–1.25) vs. 2 (1–3)). Median management costs were $485.05 (AUD) (MRI) and $486.90 (AUD) (conventional). The MRI group had better pain and satisfaction scores as well as less time of immobilisation, treatment and time off work.Conclusion MRI dramatically reduces the amount of unnecessary immobilisation, time of treatment and healthcare usage in a rural setting. The two protocols are suggested to be equivalent financially. When potential societal costs, the amount of unnecessary immobilisation, low prevalence of true fractures and patient satisfaction are considered, acute MRI should be the management technique of choice. Further studies are still required to assess the best method for managing bone bruise within the scaphoid.

Venomous snakes often display extensive variation in venom composition both between and within species. However, the mechanisms underlying the distribution of different toxins and venom types among populations and taxa remain insufficiently known. Rattlesnakes (Crotalus, Sistrurus) display extreme inter- and intraspecific variation in venom composition, centered particularly on the presence or absence of presynaptically neurotoxic phospholipases A2 such as Mojave toxin (MTX). Interspecific hybridization has been invoked as a mechanism to explain the distribution of these toxins across rattlesnakes, with the implicit assumption that they are adaptively advantageous. Here, we test the potential of adaptive hybridization as a mechanism for venom evolution by assessing the distribution of genes encoding the acidic and basic subunits of Mojave toxin across a hybrid zone between MTX-positive Crotalus scutulatus and MTX-negative C. viridis in southwestern New Mexico, USA. Analyses of morphology, mitochondrial and single copy-nuclear genes document extensive admixture within a narrow hybrid zone. The genes encoding the two MTX subunits are strictly linked, and found in most hybrids and backcrossed individuals, but not in C. viridis away from the hybrid zone. Presence of the genes is invariably associated with presence of the corresponding toxin in the venom. We conclude that introgression of highly lethal neurotoxins through hybridization is not necessarily favored by natural selection in rattlesnakes, and that even extensive hybridization may not lead to introgression of these genes into another species.

The present paper aims to review current evidence for the effectiveness and/or feasibility of using inter-agency data sharing of ED recorded assault information to direct interventions reducing alcohol-related or nightlife assaults, injury or violence. Potential data-sharing partners involve police, local council, liquor licensing regulators and venue management. A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature was conducted. The initial search discovered 19,506 articles. After removal of duplicates and articles not meeting review criteria, n = 8 articles were included in quantitative and narrative synthesis. Seven of eight studies were conducted in UK EDs, with the remaining study presenting Australian data. All studies included in the review deemed data sharing a worthwhile pursuit. All studies attempting to measure intervention effectiveness reported substantial reductions of assaults and ED attendances post-intervention, with one reporting no change. Negative logistic feasibility concerns were minimal, with general consensus among authors being that data-sharing protocols and partnerships could be easily implemented into modern ED triage systems, with minimal cost, staff workload burden, impact to patient safety, service and anonymity, or risk of harm displacement to other licensed venues, or increase to length of patient stay. However, one study reported a potential harm displacement effect to streets surrounding intervention venues. In future, data-sharing systems should triangulate ED, police and ambulance data sources, and assess intervention effectiveness using randomised controlled trials that account for variations in venue capacity, fluctuations in ED attendance and population levels, seasonal variations in assault and injury, and control for concurrent interventions.

In this paper, we investigate the relationships of farm programs and farm finance on farmers' decisions to hedge with futures or options. Results from a two-period discrete sequential stochastic programming model of the farm firm indicates two important points. First, farmers' use of futures and options decreases in the presence of loan rates and target prices, and second, farms with high debt hedge more than farms with low debt. The results imply that evaluating farmers' use of futures and options based solely on market risks may exclude important information, namely participation in farm programs and the farm's capital structure.