Search results for: mini markets

Authors: Torben Hansen

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While trust has long been regarded as one of the most critical variables for developing and maintaining well-functioning financial customer-seller relationships it can be suggested that trust not only relates to customer trust in individual companies (narrow-scope trust). Trust also relates to the broader business context in which consumers may carry out their financial behaviour (broad-scope trust). However, despite the well-recognized significance of trust in marketing research, only few studies have investigated the role of broad-scope trust in consumer financial behaviour. Moreover, as one of its many serious outcomes, the global financial crisis has elevated the need for an improved understanding of the role of broad-scope trust in consumer financial services markets. Only a minority of US and European consumers are currently confident in financial companies and ‘financial stability’ and ‘trust’ are now among the top reasons for choosing a bank. This research seeks to address this shortcoming in the marketing literature by investigating direct and moderating effects of broad-scope trust on consumer financial behaviour. Specifically, we take an ability-effort approach to consumer financial behaviour. The ability-effort approach holds the basic premise that the quality of consumer actions is influenced by ability factors, for example consumer knowledge and cognitive effort. Our study is based on two surveys. Survey 1 comprises 1,155 bank consumers, whereas survey 2 comprises 764 pension consumers. The results indicate that broad-scope trust negatively moderates relationships between knowledge and financial healthiness and between cognitive effort and financial healthiness. In addition, it is demonstrated that broad-scope trust negatively influences cognitive effort. Specifically, the results suggest that broad-scope trust contributes to the financial well-being of consumers with limited financial knowledge and processing capabilities. Since financial companies are dependent on customers to pay their loans and bills they have a greater interest in developing relations with consumers with a healthy financial behaviour than with the opposite. Hence, financial managers should be engaged with monitoring and influencing broad-scope trust. To conclude, by taking into account the contextual effect of broad-scope trust, the present study adds to our understanding of knowledge-effort-behaviour relationship in consumer financial markets.

Keywords: cognitive effort, customer-seller relationships, financial healthiness, knowledge, trust

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Authors: Cristian Păuna

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In the first decades of the 21st century, in the electronic trading environment, algorithmic capital investments became the primary tool to make a profit by speculations in financial markets. A significant number of traders, private or institutional investors are participating in the capital markets every day using automated algorithms. The autonomous trading software is today a considerable part in the business intelligence system of any modern financial activity. The trading decisions and orders are made automatically by computers using different mathematical models. This paper will present one of these models called Price Prediction Line. A mathematical algorithm will be revealed to build a reliable trend line, which is the base for limit conditions and automated investment signals, the core for a computerized investment system. The paper will guide how to apply these tools to generate entry and exit investment signals, limit conditions to build a mathematical filter for the investment opportunities, and the methodology to integrate all of these in automated investment software. The paper will also present trading results obtained for the leading German financial market index with the presented methods to analyze and to compare different automated investment algorithms. It was found that a specific mathematical algorithm can be optimized and integrated into an automated trading system with good and sustained results for the leading German Market. Investment results will be compared in order to qualify the presented model. In conclusion, a 1:6.12 risk was obtained to reward ratio applying the trigonometric method to the DAX Deutscher Aktienindex on 24 months investment. These results are superior to those obtained with other similar models as this paper reveal. The general idea sustained by this paper is that the Price Prediction Line model presented is a reliable capital investment methodology that can be successfully applied to build an automated investment system with excellent results.

Keywords: algorithmic trading, automated trading systems, high-frequency trading, DAX Deutscher Aktienindex

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Authors: Yishu Gong, Liangliang Yang, Jianyu Zhang, Zhengyu Chen, Sihong He, Xusheng Zhang, Wei Zhang

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide and is characterized by cognitive decline and behavioral changes. People living with Alzheimer’s disease often find it hard to complete routine tasks. However, there are limited objective assessments that aim to quantify the difficulty of certain tasks for AD patients compared to non-AD people. In this study, we propose to use speech emotion recognition (SER), especially the frustration level, as a potential biomarker for quantifying the difficulty patients experience when describing a picture. We build an SER model using data from the IEMOCAP dataset and apply the model to the DementiaBank data to detect the AD/non-AD group difference and perform longitudinal analysis to track the AD disease progression. Our results show that the frustration level detected from the SER model can possibly be used as a cost-effective tool for objective tracking of AD progression in addition to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, speech emotion recognition, longitudinal biomarker, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Ibrahim Arslan

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Since 1984, Turkey has experienced a significant transformation in legal and economic matters. The most consequential examples of this transformation in recent years are the renewal of the Commercial Code and the Check Act. Nowadays, the commercial activity is not limited within the boundaries of the country; on the contrary, as required by the global economy, it has an international dimension. For this reason, unlike some other legal principles, the rules regulating the commercial life should be compatible with the international standards as much as possible. Otherwise the development possibility in the global markets will be limited. The Check Act has been adopted in 2009 and the Commercial Code has been adopted in 2011. The Commercial Code has been entered into force on 1 July 2012. The international dimension of check is in-disputable for it is based on the Geneva Convention. However, the Turkish business life has created a unique application of this legal tool. This application is called “post-date” checks. Indeed the majority of the checks being used in the market are post-dated checks. The holders of these checks have waited the date written on the check for presentation and collection. Thus, the actual situation has occurred. This actual situation has been legitimized via Check Act No. 5941 and post dated checks have gained a legal status. In the preparation of the new the Turkish Commercial Code one of the goals is "to ensure that the Turkish commercial law becomes a part of the international market". To achieve this goal, significant changes have been made especially concerning the independent external audition of the corporations, the board structure and public disclosure regulations. These changes aim to facilitate the internationalization of Turkish corporations as well as intensification of foreign direct investments through foreign capital. Although the target has been determined this way, after the adoption but five days before the entry into force of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, a law made backward going alterations concerning independent external audition and public disclosure regulations. Turkish Commercial Code has been currently in force with its altered status. Both the regulations in the Check Act as well as the changes in the Commercial Code are not compatible with the goals introduced by rationale “to ensure Turkish commercial law to be a part of the international market” as such.

Keywords: Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, Turkish Check Act, “post-date” checks, legal changes

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Authors: Parth Shah

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The author examines the recent trend where business organizations are significantly reducing their developmental cycle times to stay competitive in today’s global marketspace. The author proposes a rapid systems engineering framework to address late design changes and allow for flexibility (i.e. to react to unexpected or late changes and its impacts) during the product development cycle using a Systems Engineering approach. A System Engineering approach is crucial in today’s product development to deliver complex products into the marketplace. Design changes can occur due to shortened timelines and also based on initial consumer feedback once a product or service is in the marketplace. The ability to react to change and address customer expectations in a responsive and cost-efficient manner is crucial for any organization to succeed. Past literature, research, and methods such as concurrent development, simultaneous engineering, knowledge management, component sharing, rapid product integration, tailored systems engineering processes, and studies on reducing product development cycles all suggest a research gap exist in specifically addressing late design changes due to the shortening of life cycle environments in increasingly competitive markets. The author’s research suggests that 1) product development cycles time scales are now measured in months instead of years, 2) more and more products have interdepended systems and environments that are fast-paced and resource critical, 3) product obsolesce is higher and more organizations are releasing products and services frequently, and 4) increasingly competitive markets are leading to customization based on consumer feedback. The author will quantify effectiveness with respect to success factors such as time-to-market, return-of-investment, life cycle time and flexibility in late design changes by complexity of product or service, number of late changes and ability to react and reduce late design changes.

Keywords: product development, rapid systems engineering, scalability, systems engineering, systems integration, systems life cycle

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Authors: Motlatjo Ntatamala, Natasha Ravyse, Michael Laubsher

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As much as students are being assessed through reflective activities, it is important to examine and check if those very same activities really assist in influencing and shaping both their writing and critical thinking skills. The skills which students will acquire from the reflective activities will not only be beneficial for the present or immediate moment, but they will also carry them over to their 4th year of writing a mini dissertation and in future for those who would want to explore their post-graduate studies. Thus, the only way to source the reliable and raw feedback on whether students think the reflective activities help them think about their writing and critical thinking skills is to get a direct students’ perspective by analysing their submitted reflective activities. Writing a research proposal implies that critical thinking is a talent that will grow in a holistic manner, as evidenced by previous studies. However, no research has been conducted to investigate the impact of critical thinking on legal writing skills in the South African setting. This study seeks to examine the effectiveness of the reflective activities in 3rd years’ students’ writing and towards their critical thinking. The proposed paper aims to examine the effectiveness of the reflection activities as an encouragement and motivation to their both writing and thinking skills. The paper will make use of students’ activities as a means of data collection and the activities will thus be analysed.

Keywords: reflection activities, writing skills, critical thinking skills, reflective thinking

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Authors: Farangiz Davranbekova

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Subject: The study explores the impact of Over-the-Top services in the sports rights market, focusing on football games. This impact is analysed in the big five European football markets. The research entails how the pay-TV market is combating the disruptors' entry, how the fans are adjusting to these changes and how leagues and football clubs are orienting in the transitional period of more choice. Aims and methods: The research aims to offer a general overview of the impact of OTT players in the football rights market. A theoretical framework of Jenkins’ five layers of convergence is implemented to analyse the transition the sports rights market is witnessing from various angles. The empirical analysis consists of secondary research data as and seven expert interviews from three different clusters. The findings are bound by the combination of the two methods offering general statements. Findings: The combined secondary data as well as expert interviews, conducted on five layers of convergence found: 1. Technological convergence presents that football content is accessible through various devices with innovative digital features, unlike the traditional TV set box. 2. Social convergence demonstrates that football fans multitask using various devices on social media when watching the games. These activities are complementary to traditional TV viewing. 3. Cultural convergence points that football fans have a new layer of fan engagement with leagues, clubs and other fans using social media. Additionally, production and consumption lines are blurred. 4. Economic convergence finds that content distribution is diversifying and/or eroding. Consumers now have more choices, albeit this can be harmful to them. Entry barriers are decreased, and bigger clubs feel more powerful. 5. Global convergence shows that football fans are engaging with not only local fans but with fans around the world that social media sites enable. Recommendation: A study on smaller markets such as Belgium or the Netherlands would benefit the study on the impact of OTT. Additionally, examination of other sports will shed light on this matter. Lastly, once the direct-to-consumer model is fully taken off in Europe, it will be of importance to examine the impact of such transformation in the market.

Keywords: sports rights, OTT, pay TV, football

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Authors: William Castillo, Hugo Viza, Arturo Vargas

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The Pacific Alliance is a trade bloc that is composed of four emerging economies: Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. These economies have gained macroeconomic stability in the past decade and as a consequence present future economic progress. Under this positive scenario, international business firms have flourished. However, the literature in this region has been widely unexamined. Therefore, it is critical to fill this theoretical gap, especially considering that Latin America is starting to become a global player and it possesses a different institutional context than developed markets. This paper analyzes the effect of international entrepreneurial orientation and institutionalism on international performance, for the Pacific Alliance small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). The literature considers international entrepreneurial orientation to be a powerful managerial capability – along the resource based view- that firms can leverage to obtain a satisfactory international performance. Thereby, obtaining a competitive advantage through the correct allocation of key resources to exploit the capabilities here involved. Entrepreneurial Orientation is defined around five factors: innovation, proactiveness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy. Nevertheless, the institutional environment – both local and foreign, adversely affects International Performance; this is especially the case for emerging markets with uncertain scenarios. In this way, the study analyzes an Entrepreneurial Orientation, key endogenous variable of international performance, and Institutionalism, an exogenous variable. The survey data consists of Pacific Alliance SMEs that have foreign operations in at least another country in the trade bloc. Findings are still in an ongoing research process. Later, the study will undertake a structural equation modeling (SEM) using the variance-based partial least square estimation procedure. The software that is going to be used is the SmartPLS. This research contributes to the theoretical discussion of a largely postponed topic: SMEs in Latin America, that has had limited academic research. Also, it has practical implication for decision-makers and policy-makers, providing insights into what is behind international performance.

Keywords: institutional theory, international entrepreneurial orientation, international performance, SMEs, Pacific Alliance

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Authors: Nadia Fatima Zahra Malki

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The world has witnessed a great revolution in to field of technology and communication, especially after the opening of markets (globalization). This has led to a change from traditional marketing, which depends on direct selling and buying, to electronic marketing; consequently, different corporations have adopted this new concept so as to gain time, effort and money for the sake of the customer’s satisfaction. The main reason for this study is to know the impact of electronic marketing on consumer satisfaction in the fields of communication through practical studies of Ooredoo customers, where the descriptive analytical method was used with statistics to analyze the results of the survey. It concluded that e-marketing effectively contributes to customer satisfaction.

Keywords: e-marketing, consumer, consumer behavior, satisfaction

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Authors: Xue Junwei

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The rapid economic development of China has made it a critical global market. Multinational companies operating in China face evolving challenges, necessitating adjustments in their marketing strategies. This study uses SWOT analysis and qualitative research methods to explore the trends and countermeasures for adjusting the marketing strategies of multinational companies in China. The research employs the SWOT analysis, quantitative as well as qualitative research techniques to investigate the marketing strategy adjustments of multinational companies in China. The study reveals emerging trends and proposes strategic countermeasures for multinational companies to adapt their marketing strategies in the Chinese market. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the dynamic environment of multinational companies in China and offering practical recommendations for strategy adjustments. Data were collected using qualitative research methods, including interviews and case studies, and quantitative research methods, such as questionnaires to study multinational companies in China. The collected data were analyzed using SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by multinational companies in China, guiding the formulation of effective marketing strategies. This study addresses the challenges faced by multinational companies in China, the need for strategic adjustments, and the potential approaches to enhancing marketing effectiveness in this market. The study emphasizes the significance of adapting marketing strategies to align with the changing landscape of the Chinese market. It provides actionable recommendations for multinational companies to thrive in this environment.

Keywords: multinational company, marketing strategies, Chinese market, SWOT

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Authors: Periklis Brakatsoulas

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Recent empirical research shows a growing interest in investment decision-making under market anomalies that contradict the rational paradigm. Momentum is undoubtedly one of the most robust anomalies in the empirical asset pricing research and remains surprisingly lucrative ever since first documented. Although predominantly phenomena identified across equities, momentum premia are now evident across various asset classes. Yet few many attempts are made so far to provide traders a diversified portfolio of strategies across different assets and markets. Moreover, literature focuses on patterns from past returns rather than mechanisms to signal future price directions prior to momentum runs. The aim of this paper is to develop a diversified portfolio approach to price distortion signals using daily position data on stocks, credit derivatives, and bonds. An algorithm allocates assets periodically, and new investment tactics take over upon price momentum signals and across different ranking groups. We focus on momentum life cycles, trend reversals, and price acceleration signals. The main effort here concentrates on the density, time span and maturity of momentum phenomena to identify consistent patterns over time and measure the predictive power of buy-sell signals generated by these anomalies. To tackle this, we propose a two-stage modelling process. First, we generate forecasts on core macroeconomic drivers. Secondly, satellite models generate market risk forecasts using the core driver projections generated at the first stage as input. Moreover, using a combination of the ARFIMA and FIGARCH models, we examine the dependence of consecutive observations across time and portfolio assets since long memory behavior in volatilities of one market appears to trigger persistent volatility patterns across other markets. We believe that this is the first work that employs evidence of volatility transmissions among derivatives, equities, and bonds to identify momentum life cycle patterns.

Keywords: forecasting, long memory, momentum, returns

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Authors: Toka M. Abufarag

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This research primarily studies the correlation between the existence of different spatial factors in relation to the perception of females towards safely participating in the labor force within selected areas of economic bustle in Historic Cairo. This research measures the following independent variables: (1) perception regarding spatial safety on the street as controlled by street network, (2) vegetation as a facilitator and inhibitor of feeling safe in public places, and (3) outdoor lighting; in relation to the following dependent variable: the perception of females towards safely participating in the labor force in Historic Cairo. The objective of this research lies within adding to the design guidelines of urban design and planning in terms of design recommendations, making them more inclusive, especially those dealing with conserving and enhancing the built environment of old and historic cities. It is hypothesized that a balanced male-to-female ratio in terms of street activity, increased visibility of street in terms of its volume, a decrease in street obstacles, creation of open sighted vegetation, and increased visibility due to proper lighting will show up as positive response relating to the female perception of safety. The site chosen as an area to host this exercise of data collection is Al-Ataba. The site is within the borders of Historic Cairo and was chosen for two reasons: firstly, it provides a major source of economic bustle in Historic Cairo; and secondly, it hosts retail economic activities. This is a cross-sectional study. The data collected will consist of three parts: (1) observations by the researcher regarding the percentage of female participation, as well as perception of females on site, (2) interviews with women working on-site regarding the percentage of female participation, as well as their perception on participating, and (3) an anonymous online survey that studies the perception of a random sample of women towards the site as a place to exist in. The survey will aid in producing design recommendations on how to design an open 'souk' that suits women’s perception of a safe space.

Keywords: urban design, women empowerment, safety perception, street markets, historic Cairo

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Authors: Phoenix W. Y. Lam

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As one of the most important service-oriented industries in contemporary society, tourism has increasingly seen the influence of the Internet on all aspects of travelling. Travellers nowadays habitually research online before making travel-related decisions. One platform on which such research is conducted is destination forums. The emergence of such online destination forums in the last decade has allowed tourists to share their travel experiences quickly and easily with a large number of online users around the world. As such, these destination forums also provide invaluable data for tourism bodies to better understand travellers’ views on their destinations. Collecting posts from the Hong Kong travel forum on the world’s largest travel website TripAdvisor®, the present study identifies the top questions asked by TripAdvisor users about Hong Kong through a corpus-based discourse analytic approach. Based on questions posted on the forum and their associated meta-data gathered in a one-year period, the study examines the top questions asked by travellers around the world to identify the key geographical locations in which users have shown the greatest interest in the city. Questions raised by travellers from different geographical locations are also compared to see if traveller communities by location vary in terms of their areas of interest. This analysis involves the study of key words and concordance of frequently-occurring items and a close reading of representative examples in context. Findings from the present study show that travellers who asked the most questions about Hong Kong are from North America and Asia, and that travellers from different locations have different concerns and interests, which are clearly reflected in the language of the questions asked on the travel forum. These findings can therefore provide tourism organisations with useful information about the key markets that should be targeted for promotional purposes, and can also allow such organisations to design advertising campaigns which better address the specific needs of such markets. The present study thus demonstrates the value of applying linguistic knowledge and methodologies to the domain of tourism to address practical issues.

Keywords: corpus, hong kong, online travel forum, tourism, TripAdvisor

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Authors: Abderahman Efhialelbum

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The period since the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and the collapse of the former Soviet Union in December 1985 has seen a major change in the economies and labour markets of Eastern Europe. The events also had reverberating effects across Asia and South America and parts of Africa, including Libya. This article examines the typologies and the models of transition economies. Also, it sheds light on the Libyan transition in particular and the impact of Qadhafi’s regime on the transition process. Finally, it illustrates how the Libyan transition process followed the trajectory of other countries using economic indicators such as free trade, property rights, and inflation.

Keywords: transition, economy, typology, model, Libya

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Authors: Isabela Vieira, Leonor Carvalho Garcez, Adalmiro Pereira, Tânia Teixeira

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In the present work, we aim to analyse IKEA as a company, by focusing on its development, financial analysis and future benchmarks, as well as applying some of the knowledge learned in class, namely hedging and other financial risk mitigation solutions, to understand how IKEA navigates and protects itself from risk. The decision that led us to choose IKEA for our casework has to do with the long history of the company since the 1940s and its high internationalization in 63 different markets. The company also has clear financial reports which aided us in the making of the present essay and naturally, was a factor that contributed to our decision.

Keywords: Ikea, financial risk, risk management, hedge

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Authors: Mohamed Gherbi

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The informal trade has invaded the Algerian cities, especially in their peripherals. About 1368 informal markets have been registrated during 2013 where the important ones are known by Doubaï Markets. They appeared since the adoption of the new system of the economy market in 1990. It permitted the intervention of new actors: the importers but also the fake ones. The majority of them were 'ex-Trabendistes' who have chosen to settle and invest in big and small cities of center and east of Algeria, mainly Algiers, El Eulma, Aïn El Fekroun, Tadjnenent, and Aïn M’lila. This study will focus on the case of the city of El Eulma which contains more of 1000 importers (most of them are fake). They have changed the image and architecture of some important streets of the city, without respecting rules of urbanism such as those included in the building permit for instance. The case of 'Doubaï' place in El Eulma illustrates this situation. This area is not covered by a Soil Occupation Plan (responsible of the design of urban spaces), even if this last covers other zones nearby surrounding of it. These importers helped by the wholesale and retail traders installed in 'Doubaï' place, have converted spaces inside and outside of residential buildings in deposits and sales of goods. They have squatted sidewalks to expose their goods imported predominantly from the South-East Asian countries. The scenery that reigns resembles partly to the bazaar of the Middle East and Chinese cities like Yiwu. These signs characterize the local ambiance and give the particularity to this part of the city. A customer tide from different cities and outside of Algeria comes daily to visit this district. The other zones surrounding have underwent the same change and have followed the model of 'Doubaï' place. Consequently, the mechanical movement has finished by stifling an important part of the city and the prices of land and real estate have reached exorbitant values and can be compared to prices charged in Paris due to the rampant speculation that has reached alarming dimensions. Similarly, renting commercial premises did not escape this logic. This paper will explain the reasons responsible of this change, the logic of importers through their acts in different spaces of the city.

Keywords: Doubaï place, design of urban spaces, fake importers, informal trade

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Authors: Mini P. Singh, Manasi Majumdar, Kapil Goyal, Pvm Lakshmi, Deepak Bhatia, Radha Kanta Ratho

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India is endemic for Hepatitis E virus and frequent water borne outbreaks are reported. The conventional diagnosis rests on the detection of serum anti-HEV IgM antibodies which may take 7-10 days to develop. Early diagnosis in such a situation is desirable for the initiation of prompt control measures. The present study compared three diagnostic methods in 60 samples collected during two suspected HEV outbreaks in the vicinity of Chandigarh, India. The anti-HEV IgM, HEV antigen and HEV-RNA could be detected in serum samples of 52 (86.66%), 16 (26.66%) and 18 (30%) patients respectively. The suitability of saliva samples for antibody detection was also evaluated in 21 paired serum- saliva samples. A total of 15 serum samples showed the presence of anti HEV IgM antibodies, out of which 10 (10/15; 66.6%) were also positive for these antibodies in saliva samples (χ2 = 7.636, p < 0.0057), thus showing a concordance of 76.91%. The positivity of reverse transcriptase PCR and HEV antigen detection was 100% within one week of illness which declined to 5-10% thereafter. The outbreak was attributed to HEV Genotype 1, Subtype 1a and the clinical and environmental strains clustered together. HEV antigen and RNA were found to be an early diagnostic marker with 96.66% concordance. The results indicate that the saliva samples can be used as an alternative to serum samples in an outbreak situation.

Keywords: HEV-antigen, outbreak, phylogenetic analysis, saliva

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Authors: Shahnaz Safitri, Rose Mini Agoes Salim, Pratiwi Widyasari

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Intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior that appears before the age of 18 years old. The prominent impacts of intellectual disability in adolescents are failure to establish interpersonal relationships as socially expected and lower academic achievement. Meanwhile, it is known that emotion regulation skills have a role in supporting the functioning of individual, either by nourishing the development of social skills as well as by facilitating the process of learning and adaptation in school. This study aims to look for the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in developing emotion regulation skills for adolescents with intellectual disability. DBT's special consideration toward clients’ social environment and their biological condition is foreseen to be the key for developing emotion regulation capacity for subjects with intellectual disability. Through observations on client's behavior, conducted before and after the completion of DBT intervention program, it was found that there is an improvement in client's knowledge and attitudes related to the mastery of emotion regulation skills. In addition, client's consistency to actually practice emotion regulation techniques over time is largely influenced by the support received from the client's social circles.

Keywords: adolescent, dialectical behavior therapy, emotion regulation, intellectual disability

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Authors: Megha Gupta, Nupur Prakash

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Identification of plant diseases has been performed using machine learning and deep learning models on the datasets containing images of healthy and diseased plant leaves. The current study carries out an evaluation of some of the deep learning models based on convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures for identification of plant diseases. For this purpose, the publicly available New Plant Diseases Dataset, an augmented version of PlantVillage dataset, available on Kaggle platform, containing 87,900 images has been used. The dataset contained images of 26 diseases of 14 different plants and images of 12 healthy plants. The CNN models selected for the study presented in this paper are AlexNet, ZFNet, VGGNet (four models), GoogLeNet, and ResNet (three models). The selected models are trained using PyTorch, an open-source machine learning library, on Google Colaboratory. A comparative study has been carried out to analyze the high degree of accuracy achieved using these models. The highest test accuracy and F1-score of 99.59% and 0.996, respectively, were achieved by using GoogLeNet with Mini-batch momentum based gradient descent learning algorithm.

Keywords: comparative analysis, convolutional neural networks, deep learning, plant disease identification

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Authors: M. Akhondizadeh, Mohsen Khajoei, Mojtaba Khajoei

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The purpose of the present work was the design of a towing machine which was decided to be manufactured by Arman Gohar-e-Sirjan company in the Gol-e-Gohar iron ore complex in Iran. The load analysis has been conducted to determine the static and dynamic loads at the critical conditions. The inertial forces due to the velocity increment and road bump have been considered in load evaluation. The form of loading of the present machine is hauling and/or conveying the mineral machines on the mini ramp. Several stages of these forms of loading, from the initial touch of the tow and carried machine to the final position, have been assessed to determine the critical state. The stress analysis has been performed by the ANSYS software. Several geometries for the main load-carrying elements have been analyzed to have the optimum design by the minimum weight of the structure. Finally, a structure with a total weight of 38 tons has been designed with a static load-carrying capacity of 80 tons by considering the 40 tons additional capacity for dynamic effects. The stress analysis for 120 tons load gives the minimum safety factor of 1.18.

Keywords: mechanical design, stress analysis, tow structure, dynamic load, static load

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Authors: Mats Nilsson

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The European electricity markets have been changing from a regulated market, to in some places a deregulated market, and are now experiencing a strong influence of renewable support systems. Firm’s that rely on subsidies have a different business logic than firms acting in a market context. The article proposes that an offspring to the regular business models, the business-to-citizen, should be used. The case of the European electricity market frames the concept of a business-citizen business model, and a research agenda for this concept is outlined.

Keywords: business logic, business model, subsidies, business-to-citizen

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Authors: K. M. Jananni, R. Nandini

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The proposed wireless, inverter type design of a LPG leakage monitoring system aims to provide a smart and safe kitchen. The system detects the LPG gas leak using Nano-sensors and alerts the concerned individual through GSM system. The system uses two sensors, one attached to the chimney and other to the regulator of the LPG cylinder. Upon a leakage being detected, the sensor at the regulator actuates the system to cut off the gas supply immediately using a solenoid control valve. The sensor at the chimney checks for the permissible level of LPG mix in the air and when the level exceeds the threshold, the system sends an automatic SMS to the numbers saved. Further the sensor actuates the mini suction system fixed at the chimney within 20 seconds of a leakage to suck out the gas until the level falls well below the threshold. As a safety measure, an automatic window opening and alarm feature is also incorporated into the system. The key feature of this design is that the system is provided with a special inverter designed to make the device function effectively even during power failures. In this paper, utilization of sensors in the kitchen area is discussed and this gives the proposed architecture for real time field monitoring with a PIC Micro-controller.

Keywords: nano sensors, global system for mobile communication, GSM, micro controller, inverter

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Authors: Malki Fatima Zahra Nadia, Kellal Chaimaa, Brahimi Houria

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The world has witnessed a great revolution in to field of technology and communication, especially after the opening of markets (globalization) . Which has led to a change from traditional marketing, which depends on direct selling and buying to electronic marketing, consequently different corporation have adopted this concept so as to gain time , efforts and money for the sake of the customer’s satisfaction. It is the main reason of the study, which is to know the impact of electronic marketing on the consumer’s satisfaction in the fields of communication through practical studies of Ooredoo customer’s where the descriptive analytical method has been used with statistics to analyze the results of the survey. It concluded that e-marketing effectively contributes to customer satisfaction.

Keywords: e-marketing, consumer, consumer behavior, satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Ignatio Madanhire, Charles Mbohwa

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Efficiency in manufacturing is critical in raising the value of exports so as to gainfully trade on the regional and international markets. There seems to be increasing popularity of continuous improvement strategies availed to manufacturing entities, but this research study established that there has not been a similar popularity accorded to the Six Sigma methodology. Thus this work was conducted to investigate the applicability, effectiveness, usefulness, application and suitability of the Six Sigma methodology as a competitiveness option for discrete manufacturing entity. Development of Six-sigma center in the country with continuous improvement information would go a long way in benefiting the entire industry

Keywords: discrete manufacturing, six-sigma, continuous improvement, efficiency, competitiveness

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Authors: Stefanie J. Huber, Tobias Schmidt

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Cross-country differences in homeownership rates are large and very persistent over time, ranging between 35% in Switzerland to 80% in Spain. In this project, we test the hypothesis that these cross-country differences are driven by cultural tastes. To isolate the effect of culture from the effects of institutions and economic factors, we investigate the homeownership attitudes of second-generation immigrants in the United States. We find robust evidence that cross-country differences in cultural preferences are an important explanatory factor for the observed persistent differences in homeownership rates across countries.

Keywords: housing markets, homeownership rates, country heterogeneity, preferences, cultural transmission, migration

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Authors: Umut Erksan Senalp

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The aim of this study is to examine the link between firm level productivity heterogeneity and firm’s decision to export. Thus, we test the self selection hypothesis which suggests only more productive firms self select themselves to export markets. We analyze UK manufacturing sector by using firm-level data for the period 2003-2011. Although our preliminary results suggest that exporters outperform non-exporters when we pool all manufacturing industries, when we examine each industry individually, we find that self-selection hypothesis does not hold for each industries.

Keywords: total factor productivity, firm heterogeneity, international trade, decision to export

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Authors: Monique M. Keller, Roline Barnes, Corlia Brandt

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Introduction Scientific evidence on the hand forces and the types of grasps measurement during daily tasks are lacking, leaving a gap in the field of hand rehabilitation and robotics. Measuring the grasp forces and types produced by the individual fingers during daily functional tasks is valuable to inform and grade rehabilitation practices for second to fifth metacarpal fractures with robust scientific evidence. Feix et al, 2016 identified the most extensive and complete grasp study that resulted in the GRASP taxonomy. Covid-19 virus changed data collection across the globe and safety precautions in research are essential to ensure the health of participants and researchers. Methodology A cross-sectional study investigated six healthy adults aged 20 to 59 years, pilot participants’ hand forces during 105 tasks. The tasks were categorized into five sections namely, personal care, transport and moving around, home environment and inside, gardening and outside, and office. The predominant grasp of each task was identified guided by the GRASP Taxonomy. Grasp forces were measured with 13mm force-sensing resistors glued onto a glove attached to each of the dominant and non-dominant hand’s individual fingers. Testing equipment included Flexiforce 13millimetres FSR .5" circle, calibrated prior to testing, 10k 1/4w resistors, Arduino pro mini 5.0v – compatible, Esp-01-kit, Arduino uno r3 – compatible board, USB ab cable - 1m, Ftdi ft232 mini USB to serial, Sil 40 inline connectors, ribbon cable combo male header pins, female to female, male to female, two gloves, glue to attach the FSR to glove, Arduino software programme downloaded on a laptop. Grip strength measurements with Jamar dynamometer prior to testing and after every 25 daily tasks were taken to will avoid fatigue and ensure reliability in testing. Covid-19 precautions included wearing face masks at all times, screening questionnaires, temperatures taken, wearing surgical gloves before putting on the testing gloves 1.5 metres long wires attaching the FSR to the Arduino to maintain social distance. Findings Predominant grasps observed during 105 tasks included, adducted thumb (17), lateral tripod (10), prismatic three fingers (12), small diameter (9), prismatic two fingers (9), medium wrap (7), fixed hook (5), sphere four fingers (4), palmar (4), parallel extension (4), index finger extension (3), distal (3), power sphere (2), tripod (2), quadpod (2), prismatic four fingers (2), lateral (2), large-diameter (2), ventral (2), precision sphere (1), palmar pinch (1), light tool (1), inferior pincher (1), and writing tripod (1). Range of forces applied per category, personal care (1-25N), transport and moving around (1-9 N), home environment and inside (1-41N), gardening and outside (1-26.5N), and office (1-20N). Conclusion Scientifically measurements of finger forces with careful consideration to types of grasps used in daily tasks should guide rehabilitation practices and robotic design to ensure a return to the full participation of the individual into the community.

Keywords: activities of daily living (ADL), Covid-19, force-sensing resistors, grasps, hand forces

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Authors: Ilma Robo, Saimir Heta, Emela Dalloshi, Nevila Alliu, Vera Ostreni

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The dental whitening process, beyond the fact that it is a mini-invasive dental treatment, has effects on the dental structure, or on the pulp of the tooth, where it is applied. The electronic search was performed using keywords to find articles published within the last 10 years about side effects, assessed as such, of minimally invasive dental bleaching treatment. Methodology: In selected articles, the other aim of the study was to evaluate the side effects of bleaching based on the percentage and type of solution used, where the latter was evaluated on the basic solution used for bleaching. Results: The side effects of bleaching are evaluated in selected articles depending on the method of bleaching application, which means it is carried out with recommended solutions, or with mixtures of alternative solutions or substances based on Internet information. Short conclusion: The dental bleaching process has side effects which have not yet been definitively evaluated, experimentally in large samples of individuals or animals (mice or cattle) to arrive at accurate numerical conclusions. The trend of publications about this topic is increasing in recent years, as long as the trend for aesthetic facial treatments, including dental ones, is increasing.

Keywords: teeth whitening, side effects, permanent teeth, formed dental apex

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Authors: K. D. Mroczek

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In the study presented institutional context is discussed in terms of companies’ entry mode choice. In contrary to many previous analyses, instead of using one or two aggregated variables, a set of eleven determinants is used to establish equity and non-equity internationalization friendly conditions. Based on secondary data, 140 countries are analysed and grouped into clusters revealing similar framework. The range of the economies explored is wide as it covers all regions distinguished by The World Bank. The results can prove a useful alternative for operationalization of institutional variables in further research concerning entry modes or strategic management in international markets.

Keywords: clustering, entry mode choice, institutional environment, transaction costs

Procedia PDF Downloads 266

Authors: Mohamad Mahdi Namdari

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In today's rapidly changing and evolving business competition, companies and organizations require advanced and efficient tools to manage their markets and sales networks. Big data analysis, quick response in competitive markets, process and operations optimization, and forecasting customer behavior are among the concerns of executive managers. Artificial intelligence, as one of the emerging technologies, has provided extensive capabilities in this regard. The use of artificial intelligence in market and sales network management can lead to improved efficiency, increased decision-making accuracy, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Specifically, AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data, identify complex patterns, and offer strategic suggestions to improve sales performance. However, many companies are still distant from effectively leveraging this technology, and those that do face challenges in fully exploiting AI's potential in market and sales network management. It appears that the general public's and even the managerial and academic communities' lack of knowledge of this technology has caused the managerial structure to lag behind the progress and development of artificial intelligence. Additionally, high costs, fear of change and employee resistance, lack of quality data production processes, the need for updating structures and processes, implementation issues, the need for specialized skills and technical equipment, and ethical and privacy concerns are among the factors preventing widespread use of this technology in organizations. Clarifying and explaining this technology, especially to the academic, managerial, and elite communities, can pave the way for a transformative beginning. The aim of this research is to elucidate the capacities of artificial intelligence in market and sales network management, identify its opportunities and benefits, and examine the existing challenges and obstacles. This research aims to leverage AI capabilities to provide a framework for enhancing market and sales network performance for managers. The results of this research can help managers and decision-makers adopt more effective strategies for business growth and development by better understanding the capabilities and limitations of artificial intelligence.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, market management, sales network, big data analysis, decision-making, digital marketing

Procedia PDF Downloads 41