Local banking markets depict enormous variation in population size. Yet this paper finds that the nature of bank competition across markets is strikingly similar. First, markets remain similarly concentrated regardless of size. Second, the number of dominant banks is roughly constant across markets of different size; it is the number of fringe banks that increases with market size. Third, servi...

Quality management has become more and more important in the last couple of years. The user is faced with a multitude of methods such as Six Sigma, TQM or Theory of Constraints. Therefore quality managers are more and more engaged in the selection of an appropriate approach for achieving the quality goals as they have been defined. Due to the necessity of coordinating heterogeneous quality meth...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To test an adapted end-of-life conceptual model of the geriatric cancer experience and provide evidence for the validity and reliability of the model for use in practice and research. DESIGN Nonexperimental and cross-sectional using baseline data collected within 24-72 hours of admission to hospice. SETTING Two hospices in the southeastern United States. SAMPLE 403 hosp...

This paper discusses how to make a distributed object system exible so as to satisfy the application's requirement in the change of the system environment. Each object supports other objects with quality of service (QoS). The change of the system is modeled to be the change of not only types of service but also QoS supported by the objects. We discuss equivalency and compatibility relations amo...

tuberculosis is still one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. besides clinical impact, the disease affects the quality of life (qol) too. with the rise of 21st century, multi-drug-resistant tb (mdr tb) has risen as a significant public health problem due to emergence of resistance to anti-tuberculosis therapy (att) drugs. this study was planned to analyze the impact of mdrtb on qo...

the study was conducted to determine the effect of varying protein levels and preservation method on external egg qualities of japanese quails. a total of 180 birds were randomly allotted into three dietary treatments in a completely randomized design (crd) replicated six times. a factorial arrangement of 3 × 4 × 4 which involves 3 protein levels (15, 20 and 25% crude protein), 4 storage method...