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Investigates the medical factors affecting the reliability of artificial heart valves using the proportional hazards model. The data, from a database which is still being assembled at Killingbeck Hospital, Leeds, refer to patients who have had artificial heart valves implanted. The analysis of the data has been carried out using a suite of programs not specifically designed with this application in mind. Illustrates the exploratory analysis, the parameter estimation for the model and the validation of the model, being a preliminary study to assess the value of the proportional hazards model for this area. Follow‐up work, as the database is revised and augmented, is intended.

The inverse Gaussian distribution arises quite naturally as a model for failure times brought on by a “steady” deterioration in quality. If the underlying “wear” process is one of Brownian motion with a positive drift at rate µ, with variance σ2 per unit time, the first passage time T to a barrier at a distance a from the origin has p.d.f. of inverse Gaussian type.

We have just celebrated the bicentenary of the public library movement in this country. In preparing these notes on our achievement of the last hundred years, as a guide to the historical side of your studies for the next year, I naturally turned to the accounts of the first centenary as a starting point. It is always interesting to see how our ancestors viewed history, and how far wide of the mark were their predictions of the future.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce librarians who are not necessarily music specialists to four books on a subset of American popular song literature (“the American songbook” or “standards”), all of which assume some degree of musical literacy on the reader's part. This assumption sets these books apart from most writing on the subject, and the paper suggest reasons why this is the case.

The books are grouped into pairs. The first two books are by a single author whose previous scholarship may make his interest in the American songbook seem surprising. In the other pair the second book is both a continuation of the first and a response to it. In both pairs the earlier book breaks new ground.

All four books should be regarded as essential parts of a library's music literature collection. The first book discussed is more technical than the others, but its pioneering status makes it a landmark.

The author's research indicates that the oldest of the books considered was not discussed in scholarly journals until many years after its publication, while the most recent appears to have received only glancing consideration in peer‐reviewed literature.

Applying mainstream, Western-centric corporate social responsibility (CSR) theory to make sense of CSR practices of multinational firms of non-Western origin seems to be problematic for CSR theory and practice. The purpose of this study is to critically analyse the CSR integration journey of a Japanese multinational firm with a view to understanding CSR integration in a global business context.

This study used a qualitative research method using a single case study approach to investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context. A theoretical lens of seven patterns of CSR integration interwoven with Japanese and mainstream CSR discourses is used to make sense of internalisation and internationalisation process.

Main findings are presented under four themes: product harm crisis as a call for CSR, CSR governance and bottom up initiatives, recycling oriented CSR and product designing, co-existing Japanese CSR in the global marketplace. An external misfit of a firm’s practice in the domestic market can lead to internalising country-specific CSR through CSR integration resulting in successful internationalisation of country-specific CSR practices.

Country-specific CSR integration follows context-specific routines and practices; this process can be shaped and reshaped by the prevailing international CSR discourse due to internationalisation of a firm’s operation.

Although CSR is viewed as a fundamental strategic priority driving firms to focus on shared value-creating products and services, how best a firm can integrate CSR into an existing business model is unclear. This gap is addressed in this current study.

To understand the challenges of building a successful business in an emerging market like Yola, Nigeria. To understand the role of micro-finance banks in doing business in Yola, Nigeria. To comprehend strategies adopted in market segmentation and sales of products or services to the customer. To apprehend strategies adopted to sustain and compete in Nigeria – both rural and urban.

Standard Microfinance Bank Limited (SMFB) was a private micro-finance bank situated at Yola, Adamawa State of Nigeria. It initially started as a community bank in 1992 to provide loans to individuals and small business owners in Adamawa. It started with the services of payment service and savings account with a limited lending capacity. It had become a full-fledged retail bank and was grown to 13 branches across Nigeria. It planned for expansion such as market development, product development and diversification by the year 2020. It had a customer base of 60,000 till the end of December 2018. Vazheparambil Mani Francis was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SMFB. The SMFB faced challenges such as operating the remote villages, lack of financial literacy among people, recovery of the loan amount, submission of false credentials and change of customer identity after loan by their customer. It was not going to be an easy task for him to operate the business of SMFB in Nigeria. However, in December 2018, Francis was facing a dilemma about the future success of SMFB business in Nigeria by looking into the challenges and complexities of business. Francis was determined to figure out the appropriate growth strategy for managing the challenges.

Undergraduate and graduate early-stage program.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.