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This article charts key developments and cross-national variations in the coverage of foreign culture (i.e., classical and popular music, dance, film, literature, theater, television, and visual arts) in Dutch, French, German, and U.S. elite newspapers between 1955 and 2005. Such coverage signals the awareness of foreign culture among national elites and the degree and direction of \"globalization from within.\" Using content analysis, we examine the degree, direction, and diversity of the international orientation of arts journalism for each country and cultural genre. Results denote how international arts and culture coverage has increased in Europe but not in the United States. Moreover, the centrality of a country in the cultural \"world-system\" offers a better explanation for cross-national differences in international orientation than do other country-level characteristics, such as size and cultural policy framework. Recorded and performance-based genres differ markedly in their levels of internationalization, but the effect of other genre-level characteristics, such as language dependency and capital intensiveness, is not clear. In each country, international coverage remains concentrated on a few countries, of which the United States has become the most prominent. Although the global diversity of coverage has increased, non-Western countries are still underrepresented.

Mass customization has gained increasing importance in recent years due to its ability to provide customized products efficiently and effectively, and manufacturing companies are continuously searching for ways to develop their mass‐customization ability. Despite extensive literature focusing on mass customization, few studies have systematically examined the impact of work‐design practices on a company's mass‐customization ability. Using the Sociotechnical Systems theory as a foundation, we link work‐design practices with mass‐customization ability, specifically identifying ten work‐design practices and examining their impact on mass‐customization ability using survey data and empirical research methods. The results support our hypothesized links and suggest that work‐design practices that manage both the technical and the social dimensions for achieving organization success have significant impact on a company's ability to achieve mass customization.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the key success factors behind Bangtan Boys’ (BTS) popularity, and how they can contribute to sustaining it, along with detailed strategies for the success of global pop.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a mixed-methods approach that uses text mining and interviews and uses the success of BTS to find the key factors accounting for its sustained popularity. For use in text mining, we collected data related to BTS from social network sites (SNS) and analyzed this data using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling, term frequency analysis and keyword extraction. In addition, we conducted interviews to explore the key factors accounting for the sustained popularity of BTS.FindingsWe found ten key success factors—active global fandom, SNS communication, fans' loyalty, empathy through music, storytelling and world view, performance quality, music video quality, overseas expansion at an early stage, efforts for self-development and teamwork among members— for a global pop group's success and sustained popularity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the literature by finding key factors for success and sustained popularity of a global group through using a mixed-methods approach.Practical implicationsOur results suggest strategies to sustain the popularity of global groups and its potential to benefit across the entertainment industry.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to comprehensively examine the key factors for Korean pop’s (K-pop) sustained popularity by using a mixed-methods approach of text mining and interviews.

Violeta Parra's visual art is characterized by the integration of the popular Chilean artist's craftsmanship, her field research, the role of women, poverty and injustice, as well as the use of everyday and modern art materials. Today, fifty years after her passing, Parra's creations are still being debated on the grounds of a solid narrative that supports the current socio-political discussion of the Chilean and Latin American scenario, for which she has earned a fundamental place in the collective memory. “Justice” (1964, 149.5 × 109.5 cm) is an oil painting on burlap canvas from the collection of the “Museo Violeta Parra” (Violeta Parra Museum). For the first time, the recent conservation treatment of the painting has allowed the development of a scientific multi-analytical approach. This research aimed to study the color palette and understand the studio practice used by the artist in the creation of the oil painting. The scientific strategy included visual documentation, canvas characterization, noninvasive portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) to determine elemental composition, and vibrational spectroscopy analysis to identify pigments. In addition, a stratigraphic study was conducted to understand the painting technique used by Parra. However, due to the rich elemental composition found in the blue areas, consistent with the predominance of this color in the composition of the painting, a chemometric analysis was performed that allowed the identification of five characteristic elements: iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu). By using Raman spectrometry and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis, the blue pigments were later identified as ultramarine blue, copper phthalocyanine blue, anthraquinone blue, and manganese blue. In contrast, no specific pigments could be identified to explain the systematic appearance of cobalt and iron. Since commercial production of manganese blue was limited to a narrow time frame, its identification could be further used as a marker for Parra's color palette. Furthermore, the findings of the stratigraphic study showed that the artist made an overall application of a white ground layer, used a block distribution of underlying colors, and suggested the application of a varnish. Results correlated with previous documentation about Parra paying close attention to the facial expressions of the figures in her oil paintings, which is consistent with the application of multiple pictorial layers using a wet-on-wet painting technique. Due to the lack of evidence or studies on the subject, this research represents the first scientific milestone on the studio practice and use of materials in Parra's visual artwork.

Candida species are known as opportunistic pathogens, and a possible cause of invasive infections. Because of their species-specific antimycotic resistance patterns, reliable techniques for their detection, quantification and identification are needed. We validated a DNA amplification method for direct detection of Candida spp. from clinical samples, namely the ITS2-High Resolution Melting Analysis (direct method), by comparing it with a culture and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry based method (indirect method) to establish the presence of Candida species in three different types of clinical samples. A total of 347 clinical samples, i.e. throat swabs, rectal swabs and vaginal swabs, were collected from the gynaecology/obstetrics, intensive care and haematology wards at the Ghent University Hospital, Belgium. For the direct method, ITS2-HRM was preceded by NucliSENS easyMAG DNA extraction, directly on the clinical samples. For the indirect method, clinical samples were cultured on Candida ID and individual colonies were identified by MALDI-TOF. For 83.9% of the samples there was complete concordance between both techniques, i.e. the same Candida species were detected in 31.1% of the samples or no Candida species were detected in 52.8% of the samples. In 16.1% of the clinical samples, discrepant results were obtained, of which only 6.01% were considered as major discrepancies. Discrepancies occurred mostly when overall numbers of Candida cells in the samples were low and/or when multiple species were present in the sample. Most of the discrepancies could be decided in the advantage of the direct method. This is due to samples in which no yeast could be cultured whereas low amounts could be detected by the direct method and to samples in which high quantities of Candida robusta according to ITS2-HRM were missed by culture on Candida ID agar. It remains to be decided whether the diagnostic advantages of the direct method compensate for its disadvantages.

Using a humorous and easy-to-understand approach to solving common process engineering problems, this unique volume is the go-to guide for any veteran or novice engineer in the plant, office, or classroom. --

The first book to explore the hot new science of networks and their impact on nature, business, medicine, and everyday life.

An introductory tour into the stranger-than-fiction world of genetic engineering, a scientific realm inhabited by eager researchers intent upon fashioning a prodigious medley of genetically modified (GM) organisms to serve human needs.

Have you ever daydreamed about digging a hole to the other side of the world? Robert Banks not only entertains such ideas but, better yet, he supplies the mathematical know-how to turn fantasies into problem-solving adventures. In this sequel to the popularTowing Icebergs, Falling Dominoes(Princeton, 1998), Banks presents another collection of puzzles for readers interested in sharpening their thinking and mathematical skills. The problems range from the wondrous to the eminently practical. In one chapter, the author helps us determine the total number of people who have lived on earth; in another, he shows how an understanding of mathematical curves can help a thrifty lover, armed with construction paper and scissors, keep expenses down on Valentine's Day. In twenty-six chapters, Banks chooses topics that are fairly easy to analyze using relatively simple mathematics. The phenomena he describes are ones that we encounter in our daily lives or can visualize without much trouble. For example, how do you get the most pizza slices with the least number of cuts? To go from point A to point B in a downpour of rain, should you walk slowly, jog moderately, or run as fast as possible to get least wet? What is the length of the seam on a baseball? If all the ice in the world melted, what would happen to Florida, the Mississippi River, and Niagara Falls? Why do snowflakes have six sides? Covering a broad range of fields, from geography and environmental studies to map- and flag-making, Banks uses basic algebra and geometry to solve problems. If famous scientists have also pondered these questions, the author shares the historical details with the reader. Designed to entertain and to stimulate thinking, this book can be read for sheer personal enjoyment.