Search results for: purchase intentions

Authors: Daewook Kim, Gilwon Yoon

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Intrabody communication (IBC) is a new way of transferring data using human body as a medium. Minute current can travel though human body without any harm. IBC can remove electrical wires for human area network. IBC can be also a secure communication network system unlike wireless networks which can be accessed by anyone with bad intentions. One of the IBC systems is based on frequency shift keying modulation where individual data are transmitted to the external devices for the purpose of secure access such as digital door lock. It was found that the quality of IBC data transmission was heavily dependent on ground configurations of electronic circuits. Reliable IBC transmissions were not possible when both of the transmitter and receiver used batteries as circuit power source. Transmission was reliable when power supplies were used as power source for both transmitting and receiving sites because the common ground was established through the grounds of instruments such as power supply and oscilloscope. This was due to transmission dipole size and the ground effects of floor and AC power line. If one site used battery as power source and the other site used the AC power as circuit power source, transmission was possible.

Keywords: frequency shift keying, ground, intrabody, communication, door lock

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Authors: Muhammad Usman Sardar, Muhammad Haroon Nadeem, Shahbaz Ahmad, Ashiq Hussain

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The marketing of solar photovoltaic energy systems has one of the monetary settlements to address the higher rate to pay in advance with the purchase of two decades worth of electricity services. To deploy solar photovoltaic technologies and energy setups in areas, it’s important to create a system of credit that can ensure the availability of subsidized capital and commercial conditions for the society. Meanings of energy in developing countries like Pakistan were strongly prompted by marketable interests and industrialization trend influences within their culture. It’s going to be essential to prepare the concerned proceeding models of energy development strategies. This paper discuss the impact and share of environmental friendly solar photo-voltaic energy, researching to find the most appropriate alternate solutions for balance the energy demand and supply and current progressive position in different countries regarding to development and deployment. Based on the literature reviews, its presence found that most beneficial and concerning policies have implemented in several countries around the globe.

Keywords: photovoltaic marketing and pricing, renewable energy technology, solar photovoltaic, SPV

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Authors: Naresh Kumar Verma

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Nuclear energy being adapted as a renewable energy source and its production by developing countries has turned into a major strategic concern and politics by the developed world. The West seem to be the sole proprietor of such energy source and any country opting for such energy production either face significant hurdles or geopolitical challenges in developing such energy source. History of West Asia is full of interference by external powers which has been integral in the incessant conflict in the region. Whether it was the creation of Israel, the Gulf war of 1991, or the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and more recently the Iranian nuclear conundrum, the soil of West Asia has always been a witness to the play of extra regional powers game. Iran, being a theocratic state has been facing such threats and challenges, regarding its intentions and its capability in such energy production. The paper will try to assess the following issues: -Politics of Renewable Energy Generation. -Geographical and strategic significance of Iran’s nuclear programme. -Challenges in the path of Iran developing nuclear energy as a RE source. -The interests of the regional and extra-regional actors in challenging Iranian Nuclear Programme.

Keywords: developing countries, geopolitics, Iran, nuclear energy, renewable energy

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Authors: K. Sangeeth, P. Rekha, P. Preeja, P. Divya, R. Arya, R. Maneesha

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Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are small or tiny devices that consists of different sensors to sense physical parameters like air pressure, temperature, vibrations, movement etc., process these data and sends it to the central data center to take decisions. The WSN domain, has wide range of applications such as monitoring and detecting natural hazards like landslides, forest fire, avalanche, flood monitoring and also in healthcare applications. With such different applications, it is being taught in undergraduate/post graduate level in many universities under department of computer science. But the cost and infrastructure required to purchase WSN nodes for having the students getting hands on expertise on these devices is expensive. This paper gives overview about the remote triggered lab that consists of more than 100 WSN nodes that helps the students to remotely login from anywhere in the world using the World Wide Web, configure the nodes and learn the WSN concepts in intuitive way. It proposes new way called over the air programming (OTAP) and its internals that program the 100 nodes simultaneously and view the results without the nodes being physical connected to the computer system, thereby allowing for sparse deployment.

Keywords: WSN, over the air programming, virtual lab, AT45DB

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Authors: Vera Lucia da S. Ventura, Valmir Alves Ventura, Marcelo E. Fernandes, Marcelo T. Okano, Osmildo S. Santos, Heide Landi

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The paper aims to present the attitude of consumers regarding the environmental practices adopted by Brazilian organizations. It is understood organizations adopt practices about environment is essential, as their internal processes as external actions, the corporative and social changes are considered in this scene. It is observed consumers are important, therefore, more and more they analyze the responsible performance of Brazilian organizations. It was performed a quantitative research through questionnaire for achieving the objectives of this study. The sample was composed by 336 people at capacity consumption fully. The survey results demonstrate environmental management can be an excellent tool for conquering consumers, because consumers realize the great responsibility assumed by organizations regarding to the environment, nowadays. This finding was possible because most of the respondents answered the environmentally responsible behavior of organizations is decisive factor at the purchase’s moment. However, the data revealed consumers do not realize the practices adopted by companies. This lack of awareness may prejudice environmentally responsible organizations’ worth by consumers.

Keywords: environmental management, sustainability, conscious consumption, Brazilian organizations

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Authors: Marwin M. Dela Cruz

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Aviation as a transport sector is supportive of the seventeen (17) Sustainable Goals espoused by the United Nations. Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) states that over 18.1 million indirect jobs globally were sustained through the purchase of goods and services by companies in the aviation industry. This supply chain activity contributed approximately $816.4 billion to global GDP. This was achieved through numerous actions to lessen economic uncertainty and challenges. Its impact is not just a by-product of economic activity but of the facilities it generates. As the aviation industry is unifying its efforts, education and training should also come with it. The need for aviation education and training and a well-crafted regulatory policy initiated by lawmakers can provide a better aviation education. The Philippine State College of Aeronautics (PhilSCA), being the only government Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the Philippines, is given a very distinct congressional mandate to offer aviation-related courses to afford those in the aviation industry the opportunity to pursue studies. Having this, the industry has become the precursor and venue of present-day communities. In addition, it becomes an essential measure of a better life.

Keywords: Philippine state college of aeronautics, aviation industry, sustainable goals, aviation education

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Authors: Sylvie Studente, Filia J. Garivaldis

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The emotions and cognitions that underpin creative performance have been of interest for decades if not centuries, however, research evidence has still not conclusively offered reliable predictors of creativity. It is unclear whether stressors are detrimental to creative thinking, or whether some stress imposes necessary constraints to facilitate the creative process. The present research aims to examine the role of individual differences in self-regulation in influencing the links between emotions, cognitions, and creativity. Self-regulation is the capacity to disengage from moods that inhibit goal progress, and cope with failure, focus on impending intentions, and enhance the intrinsic appeal of tasks. Therefore, it is anticipated that individuals with an intuitive ability in self-regulation are able to harness their emotions and cognitions, to perform well on a creative task. In contrast, individuals with a deficiency in self-regulation will experience difficulty in such a task. Furthermore, stress in the form of positive and negative assessment feedback in the context of education will be manipulated to explore the interactive effects of environmental and individual difference factors on creative performance. The results will provide insight into the underlying factors associated with emotions and creativity, and inform future research in individual differences in cognition and emotion, and environmental triggers of creativity.

Keywords: creativity, feedback, self-regulation, stress

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Authors: E. Osorio Schmied

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Architects commonly attempt a depiction of organic forms when their works are inspired by nature, regardless of the building site. Nevertheless it is also possible to try matching structures with natural scenery, by applying a phenomenological approach in terms of spatial operations, regarding perceptions from nature through architectural aspects such as protection, views, and orientation. This method acknowledges a relationship between place and space, where intentions towards tangible facts then become design statements. Although spaces resulting from such a process may present an effective response to the environment, they can also offer further outcomes beyond the realm of form. The hypothesis is that, in addition to recognising a bond between architecture and nature, it is also plausible to associate such perceptions with the inner ambient of buildings, by analysing features such as daylight. The case study of a single-family house in a rainforest near Valdivia, Chilean Patagonia is presented, with the intention of addressing the above notions through a discussion of the actual effects of inhabiting a place by way of a series of insights, including a revision of diagrams and photographs that assist in understanding the implications of this design practice. In addition, figures based on post-occupancy behaviour and daylighting performance relate both architectural and environmental issues to a decision-making process motivated by the observation of nature.

Keywords: architecture, design statements, nature, perception

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Authors: Tristance Kee

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With the unprecedented increase in elderly population globally, it is critical to search for new sustainable housing and urban development alternatives to traditional housing options. This research examines concepts of elderly migration pattern in the context of a high density city in Hong Kong to Mainland China. The research objectives are to: 1) explore the relationships between soon-to-be-old elderly and their intentions to move to Mainland upon retirement and their demographic characteristics; and 2) What are the desired amenities, locational factors and activities that are expected in the soon-to-be-old generation’s retirement housing environment? Primary data was collected through questionnaire survey conducted using random sampling method with respondents aged between 45-64 years old. The face-to-face survey was completed by 500 respondents. The survey was divided into four sections. The first section focused on respondent’s demographic information such as gender, age, education attainment, monthly income, housing tenure type and their visits to Mainland China. The second section focused on their retirement plans in terms of intended retirement age, prospective retirement funding and retirement housing options. The third section focused on the respondent’s attitudes toward retiring in Mainland for housing. It asked about their intentions to migrate retire into Mainland and incentives to retire in Hong Kong. The fourth section focused on respondent’s ideal housing environment including preferred housing amenities, desired living environment and retirement activities. The dependent variable in this study was ‘respondent’s consideration to move to Mainland China upon retirement’. Eight primary independent variables were integrated into the study to identify the correlations between them and retirement migration plan. The independent variables include: gender, age, marital status, monthly income, present housing tenure type, property ownership in Hong Kong, relationship with Mainland and the frequency of visiting Mainland China. In addition to the above independent variables, respondents were asked to indicate their retirement plans (retirement age, funding sources and retirement housing options), incentives to migrate to retire (choices included: property ownership, family relations, cost of living, living environment, medical facilities, government welfare benefits, etc.), perceived ideal retirement life qualities including desired amenities (sports, medical and leisure facilities etc.), desired locational qualities (green open space, convenient transport options and accessibility to urban settings etc.) and desired retirement activities (home-based leisure, elderly friendly sports, cultural activities, child care, social activities, etc.). The finding shows correlations between the used independent variables and consideration to migrate for housing options. The two independent variables indicated a possible correlation were gender and the frequency of visiting Mainland at present. When considering the increasing property prices across the border and strong social relationships, potential retirement migration is a very subjective decision that could vary from person to person. This research adds knowledge to housing research and migration study. Although the research is based in Mainland, most of the characteristics identified including better medical services, government welfare and sound urban amenities are shared qualities for all sustainable urban development and housing strategies.

Keywords: elderly migration, housing alternative, soon-to-be-old, sustainable environment

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Authors: Walter E. Allen, Robert D. Murray

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Many large transit agencies have adopted RFID technology and electronic automatic fare collection (AFC) or smart card systems, but small and rural agencies remain tied to obsolete manual, cash-based fare collection. Small countries or transit agencies can benefit from the implementation of smart card AFC technology with the promise of increased passenger convenience, added passenger satisfaction and improved agency efficiency. For transit agencies, it reduces revenue loss, improves passenger flow and bus stop data. For countries, further implementation into security, distribution of social services or currency transactions can provide greater benefits. However, small countries or transit agencies cannot afford expensive proprietary smart card solutions typically offered by the major system suppliers. Deployment of Contactless Fare Media System (CFMS) Standard eliminates the proprietary solution, ultimately lowering the cost of implementation. Acumen Building Enterprise, Inc. chose the Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA) existing proprietary YCAT smart card system to implement CFMS. The revised system enables the purchase of fare product online with prepaid debit or credit cards using the Payment Gateway Processor. Open and interoperable smart card standards for transit have been developed. During the 90-day Pilot Operation conducted, the transit agency gathered the data from the bus AcuFare 200 Card Reader, loads (copies) the data to a USB Thumb Drive and uploads the data to the Acumen Host Processing Center for consolidation of the data into the transit agency master data file. The transition from the existing proprietary smart card data format to the new CFMS smart card data format was transparent to the transit agency cardholders. It was proven that open standards and interoperability design can work and reduce both implementation and operational costs for small transit agencies or countries looking to expand smart card technology. Acumen was able to avoid the implementation of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) which is expensive to develop and costly to operate on a continuing basis. Due to the substantial additional complexities of implementation and the variety of options presented to the transit agency cardholder, Acumen chose to implement only the Directed Autoload. To improve the implementation efficiency and the results for a similar undertaking, it should be considered that some passengers lack credit cards and are averse to technology. There are more than 1,300 small and rural agencies in the United States. This grows by 10 fold when considering small countries or rural locations throughout Latin American and the world. Acumen is evaluating additional countries, sites or transit agency that can benefit from the smart card systems. Frequently, payment card systems require extensive security procedures for implementation. The Project demonstrated the ability to purchase fare value, rides and passes with credit cards on the internet at a reasonable cost without highly complex security requirements.

Keywords: automatic fare collection, near field communication, small transit agencies, smart cards

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Authors: O. Mauroner, L. Le, S. Best

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Digital technologies offer many opportunities in the design and implementation of brand communication and advertising. Augmented reality (AR) is an innovative technology in marketing communication that focuses on the fact that virtual interaction with a product ad offers additional value to consumers. AR enables consumers to obtain (almost) real product experiences by the way of virtual information even before the purchase of a certain product. Aim of AR applications in relation with advertising is in-depth examination of product characteristics to enhance product knowledge as well as brand knowledge. Interactive design of advertising provides observers with an intense examination of a specific advertising message and therefore leads to better brand knowledge. The elaboration likelihood model and the central route to persuasion strongly support this argumentation. Nevertheless, AR in brand communication is still in an initial stage and therefore scientific findings about the impact of AR on information processing and brand attitude are rare. The aim of this paper is to empirically investigate the potential of AR applications in combination with traditional print advertising. To that effect an experimental design with different levels of interactivity is built to measure the impact of interactivity of an ad on different variables o advertising effectiveness.

Keywords: advertising effectiveness, augmented reality, brand communication, brand recall

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Authors: Mustopa, Setyawan Wahyu Pradana

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This study aims to determine the application of animal welfare in Madura cow racing competition at Sumenep district, Madura Island. This study conducted by survey and discussion methods with 3 Madura cow owners in the competition. The animal welfare is going to be proved by observing the condition of the cage, the cleanliness of it, feeding and water, the health of the cow, also owner treatments for their Madura cow that will be served as a racer. Observations made using stable conditions ACRES form with assessment scores ranged from 1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = regular, 4 = good and 5 = very good, animal welfare conditions seen by conducting observations and interviews with Madura cow owners. The result shows that the Madura cow competition has fulfilled the criteria of animal welfare application. Application of animal welfare principle by the owner of Madura cow terms of ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society) below standard, the average score obtained was 2.06, which is mean in a poor ratings. Besides considering the animal welfare application, Madura cow owners also do special treatments for their Madura cow with purpose to produce racers that are healthy and fast. Therefore, if the cow wins in Madura cow racing competition, it will purchase a high-value price.

Keywords: animal welfare, competition, Madura cow, racing

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Authors: Mozhgan Sabzehparvar, Mohammad Montazeri, Mahdie Jafarnejad Shahri, Neda Boroumandi, Shakib Alipour, Hamide Torabi, Zahra Dehghani

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In this article, the aesthetic criteria, which are regarded as the key factors in the product development, and design process are carefully taken into account and an attempt has been made to extract the influential concepts in successful product design. This review article was conducted from 22.05.2021 to 22.06.2021, recent published paper in English (2017-2021) in three search engines of JSTOR, IEEE, and EMERALD were selected. The selected main keywords in our search were "Customer, Behavior, Aesthetics, Marketing and Product". During the screenings, 21 articles were analyzed. The aesthetic criteria play a role in increasing the power of choice, loyalty, satisfaction and purchase intention of the customers. Also, product design has a positive effect on the customers’ perception of aesthetics and acts effectively on customer behavior. Aesthetics has a significant relationship with the customer's intention to buy products and can make the product popular and satisfy people.

Keywords: product design, design process, customer behaviour, aesthetic, marketing

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Authors: Zofija Tupikovskaja-Omovie, David Tyler, Sam Dhanapala, Steve Hayes

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The UK is leading in online retail and mobile adoption. However, there is a dearth of information relating to mobile apparel retail, and developing an understanding about consumer browsing and purchase behavior in m-retail channel would provide apparel marketers, mobile website and app developers with the necessary understanding of consumers’ needs. Despite the rapid growth of mobile retail businesses, no published study has examined shopping behaviour on fashion mobile websites and apps. A mixed method approach helped to understand why fashion consumers prefer websites on mobile devices, when mobile apps are also available. The following research methods were employed: survey, eye-tracking experiments, observation, and interview with retrospective think aloud. The mobile gaze tracking device by SensoMotoric Instruments was used to understand frustrations in navigation and other issues facing consumers in mobile channel. This method helped to validate and compliment other traditional user-testing approaches in order to optimize user experience and enhance the development of mobile retail channel. The study involved eight participants - females aged 18 to 35 years old, who are existing mobile shoppers. The participants used the Topshop mobile app and website on a smart phone to complete a task according to a specified scenario leading to a purchase. The comparative study was based on: duration and time spent at different stages of the shopping journey, number of steps involved and product pages visited, search approaches used, layout and visual clues, as well as consumer perceptions and expectations. The results from the data analysis show significant differences in consumer behaviour when using a mobile app or website on a smart phone. Moreover, two types of problems were identified, namely technical issues and human errors. Having a mobile app does not guarantee success in satisfying mobile fashion consumers. The differences in the layout and visual clues seem to influence the overall shopping experience on a smart phone. The layout of search results on the website was different from the mobile app. Therefore, participants, in most cases, behaved differently on different platforms. The number of product pages visited on the mobile app was triple the number visited on the website due to a limited visibility of products in the search results. Although, the data on traffic trends held by retailers to date, including retail sector breakdowns for visits and views, data on device splits and duration, might seem a valuable source of information, it cannot explain why consumers visit many product pages, stay longer on the website or mobile app, or abandon the basket. A comprehensive list of pros and cons was developed by highlighting issues for website and mobile app, and recommendations provided. The findings suggest that fashion retailers need to be aware of actual consumers’ behaviour on the mobile channel and their expectations in order to offer a seamless shopping experience. Added to which is the challenge of retaining existing and acquiring new customers. There seem to be differences in the way fashion consumers search and shop on mobile, which need to be explored in further studies.

Keywords: consumer behavior, eye-tracking technology, fashion retail, mobile app, m-retail, smart phones, topshop, user experience, website

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Authors: Aleksandra Nocoń (Szunke)

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The study is a review of the literature concerning the consequences of non-standard monetary policy, which are used by central banks during unconventional periods, threatening instability of the banking sector. In particular, the attention was paid to the effects of non-standard monetary policy tools for financial markets. However, the empirical evidence about their effects and real consequences for the financial markets are still not final. The main aim of the study is to survey the consequences of standard and non-standard monetary policy instruments, implemented during the global financial crisis in the United States, United Kingdom and Euroland, with particular attention to the results for the stabilization of global financial markets. The study analyses the consequences for short and long-term market interest rates, interbank interest rates and LIBOR-OIS spread. The study consists mainly of the empirical review, indicating the impact of the implementation of these tools for the financial markets. The following research methods were used in the study: literature studies, including domestic and foreign literature, cause and effect analysis and statistical analysis.

Keywords: asset purchase facility, consequences of monetary policy instruments, non-standard monetary policy, quantitative easing

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Authors: Cynthia Pope

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Though traditional art has been strong on showcasing aesthetics to imbue pleasantries, modern public art has been breaking trends to push citizens beyond the pleasure of seeing beauty. Contemporary public sculpture, in particular, has been the impetus of provoking questions about community standards, identity, and race relations. A phenomenon involving Scaffold, a sculpture by artist Sam Durant, became the focal point of contention within Minneapolis, Minnesota, recently. With intentions to better understand the power public sculpture has to disrupt community identity, in this book, It will use primarily rhetorical theory to explain how all parties involved—The Walker Art Museum, the Dakota Nation, Durant, and local citizens—participated in a controversy touching on racial politics, identity, culture, history and public art. This mixed-methods case study examines the public artifact contextually through historical and cultural frameworks. Findings in this project will reveal Scaffold to be represented as a tool of empowered Caucasians to the exclusion of marginalized people. This project also informs the fields of public rhetoric and political identity, marginalized voices, and community and social justice initiatives to include the difficult topic of race and identity.

Keywords: public art controversy, technical communication, community narrative, ambient rhetoric

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Authors: Gholamreza Madad

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The role of medical equipment in modern advanced hospitals is irrefutable. Despite limited financial resources, developing countries have taken an uncontrollable manner to the purchase of complex and expensive equipment, although they have not taken good maintenance to keep these huge capitals. In our country, limited studies have indicated that the irregularities exist in the management of medical equipment maintenance. Research method: The research was done as a cross-sectional one, and in this study, a questionnaire was used to collect data in 10 hospitals. After distributing and collecting questionnaires in person, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS software. Research findings: According to the obtained results from the four dimensions of the management of medical equipment maintenance, only (maintenance planning) was in a moderate position and other components with a score of less than 50% were at a low level. There was a direct relationship between the total score of maintenance management and guidance points and coordination of medical equipment maintenance, and as well as the age of hospital managers. Discussion and conclusion: In sum, we can say that problems such as lack of skilled staff in medical engineering departments of hospitals, lack of funds and unaware of the authorities of medical engineering units to their duties have caused that the maintenance situation of medical equipment maintenance is in poor condition (near average). The low inexperience of the authorities of the unit has also contributed to this problem.

Keywords: equipment, maintenance, medical equipment, hospitals

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Authors: Jennifer Buz, Alvin Spivey

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The most common greenhouse gas emitted through human activities, carbon dioxide (CO2), is naturally consumed by plants during photosynthesis. This process is actively being monetized by companies wishing to offset their carbon dioxide emissions. For example, companies are now able to purchase protections for vegetated land due-to-be clear cut or purchase barren land for reforestation. Therefore, by actively preventing the destruction/decay of plant matter or by introducing more plant matter (reforestation), a company can theoretically offset some of their emissions. One of the biggest issues in the carbon credit market is validating and verifying carbon offsets. There is a need for a system that can accurately and frequently ensure that the areas sold for carbon credits have the vegetation mass (and therefore for carbon offset capability) they claim. Traditional techniques for measuring vegetation mass and determining health are costly and require many person-hours. Orbital Sidekick offers an alternative approach that accurately quantifies carbon mass and assesses vegetation health through satellite hyperspectral imagery, a technique which enables us to remotely identify material composition (including plant species) and condition (e.g., health and growth stage). How much carbon a plant is capable of storing ultimately is tied to many factors, including material density (primarily species-dependent), plant size, and health (trees that are actively decaying are not effectively storing carbon). All of these factors are capable of being observed through satellite hyperspectral imagery. This abstract focuses on speciation. To build a species classification model, we matched pixels in our remote sensing imagery to plants on the ground for which we know the species. To accomplish this, we collaborated with the researchers at the Teakettle Experimental Forest. Our remote sensing data comes from our airborne “Kato” sensor, which flew over the study area and acquired hyperspectral imagery (400-2500 nm, 472 bands) at ~0.5 m/pixel resolution. Coverage of the entire teakettle experimental forest required capturing dozens of individual hyperspectral images. In order to combine these images into a mosaic, we accounted for potential variations of atmospheric conditions throughout the data collection. To do this, we ran an open source atmospheric correction routine called ISOFIT1 (Imaging Spectrometer Optiman FITting), which converted all of our remote sensing data from radiance to reflectance. A database of reflectance spectra for each of the tree species within the study area was acquired using the Teakettle stem map and the geo-referenced hyperspectral images. We found that a wide variety of machine learning classifiers were able to identify the species within our images with high (>95%) accuracy. For the most robust quantification of carbon mass and the best assessment of the health of a vegetated area, speciation is critical. Through the use of high resolution hyperspectral data, ground-truth databases, and complex analytical techniques, we are able to determine the species present within a pixel to a high degree of accuracy. These species identifications will feed directly into our carbon mass model.

Keywords: hyperspectral, satellite, carbon, imagery, python, machine learning, speciation

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Authors: Kateryna Pilyarchuk

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A dress has, since times immemorial, been used to communicate the wearer’s identity. When a new trend is born, fashionistas buy it not only with the purpose to beautify themselves, but also to acquire the collective identity. Fashion has become a means of narrating one’s stance and status. Thus, when one spends money on a brand, one pays for some unmaterial components associated with it. This paper will present some ways in which fashion magazines promote consumerism by drawing on women’s craving for collective identity and need to fill in their identity gap by means of a purchase. By applying the method of critical discursive psychology, it will present layers of ideology and positions that become visible in framing of the message in U.S. Harper’s Bazaar. In this context, fashion decisions that are presented to its readers will be critically evaluated from the gender perspective. It will be demonstrated that what is presented as a postfeminist choice in the neoliberal society is still, to a considerable extent, oppressive and driven by the male gaze. As the findings show, the contemporary female identities in fashion are still built on the principles of traditional femininity. Magazines and fashion discourse train women that they should fear being left out of fashion and, by extension, out of the category of the sexually appealing (from the male perspective).

Keywords: collective identity, critical discursive psychology, fashion discourse, identity gap

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Authors: Kamal Amarouche, Houda Benbrahim, Ismail Kassou

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Nowadays, e-commerce shopping websites have experienced noticeable growth. These websites have gained consumers’ trust. After purchasing a product, many consumers share comments where opinions are usually embedded about the given product. Research on the automatic management of opinions that gives suggestions to potential consumers and portrays an image of the product to manufactures has been growing recently. After launching the product in the market, the reviews generated around it do not usually contain helpful information or generic opinions about this product (e.g. telephone: great phone...); in the sense that the product is still in the launching phase in the market. Within time, the product becomes old. Therefore, consumers perceive the advantages/ disadvantages about each specific product feature. Therefore, they will generate comments that contain their sentiments about these features. In this paper, we present an unsupervised method to extract different product features hidden in the opinions which influence its purchase, and that combines Time Weighting (TW) which depends on the time opinions were expressed with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF). We conduct several experiments using two different datasets about cell phones and hotels. The results show the effectiveness of our automatic feature extraction, as well as its domain independent characteristic.

Keywords: opinion mining, product feature extraction, sentiment analysis, SentiWordNet

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Authors: Cherouk Amr Yassin

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This study aims to provide insight into consumer decision-making, which has become very complicated to understand and predict in the existing world of sustainable development. The deficiency of a good understanding of the tourist's perception and attitude toward sustainable development in the tourism industry may impede the ability of organizations to build a sustainable marketing orientation and may negatively influence predicted consumer response. Therefore, this research paper adds further insights into the attitude toward recommended eco-friendly hotel advertisements and their effect on the purchase intention of eco-friendly services. Structural equational modeling was completed to realize the effects of the variables under investigation. The findings revealed that consumer decision-making in choosing eco-friendly hotels is affected by the positive attitude toward sustainable development ads, influenced by informativeness and credibility as values perceived by eco-friendly hotels. This study provides practical implications for tourism, marketers, hotel managers, promoters, and consumers.

Keywords: attitude, consumer behavior, consumer decision making, eco-friendly hotels, perception, the tourism industry

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Authors: Shivangi Agrawal, Hsiu-I Ting

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Entrepreneurship is an essential source of economic growth and a prominent factor influencing socio-economic development. Entrepreneurship education educates and enhances entrepreneurial activity. This study aims to understand current trends in entrepreneurship education and evaluate the effectiveness of diverse entrepreneurship education programs. An increasing number of universities offer entrepreneurship education courses to create and successfully continue entrepreneurial ventures. Despite the prevalence of entrepreneurship education, research studies lack inconsistency about the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education to promote and develop entrepreneurship. Strategies to develop entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions among individuals are hindered by a lack of understanding of entrepreneurs' educational purposes, components, methodology, and resources required. Lack of adequate entrepreneurship education has been linked with low self-efficacy and lack of entrepreneurial intent. Moreover, in the age of digitisation and during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital learning platforms (e.g., online entrepreneurship education courses and programs) and other digital tools (e.g., digital game-based entrepreneurship education) have become more relevant to entrepreneurship education. This paper contributes to the continuation of academic literature in entrepreneurship education by evaluating and assessing current trends in entrepreneurship education programs, leading to better understanding to reduce gaps between entrepreneurial development requirements and higher education institutions.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, digital technologies, academic entrepreneurship, COVID-19

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Authors: Mary Titilayo Olowe

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The controversies that trailed the political campaign and eventual choice of Donald Trump as the American president is so great that expectations are high as to what the content of his inaugural speech will portray. Given the fact that language is a dynamic vehicle of expressing intentions, the speech needs to be objectively assessed so as to access its content in the manner intended through the three strands of meaning postulated by the Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG): the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual. The focus of this paper, however, is on the interpersonal meaning which deals with how language exhibits social roles and relationship. This paper, therefore, attempts to analyse President Donald Trump’s inaugural speech to elicit interpersonal meaning in it. The analysis is done from the perspective of mood and modality which are housed in SFG. Results of the mood choice which is basically declarative, reveal an information-centered speech while the high option for the modal verb operator ‘will’ shows president Donald Trump’s ability to establish an equal and reliant relationship with his audience, i.e., the Americans. In conclusion, the appeal of the speech to different levels of Interpersonal meaning is largely responsible for its overall effectiveness. One can, therefore, understand the reason for the massive reaction it generates at the center of global discourse.

Keywords: interpersonal, modality, mood, systemic functional grammar

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Authors: Enas R. Shouman

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Economic development with population growth is leading to a continuous increase in energy demand. At the same time, growing global concern for the environment is driving to decrease the use of conventional energy sources and to increase the use of renewable energy sources. The objective of this study is to present the market trends of solar energy photovoltaic technology over the world and to represent economics methods for PV financial analyzes on the basis of expectations for the expansion of PV in many applications. In the course of this study, detailed information about the current PV market was gathered and analyzed to find factors influencing the penetration of PV energy. The paper methodology depended on five relevant economic financial analysis methods that are often used for investment decisions maker. These methods are payback analysis, net benefit analysis, saving-to-investment ratio, adjusted internal rate of return, and life-cycle cost. The results of this study may be considered as a marketing guide that helps diffusion of using PV Energy. The study showed that PV cost is economically reliable. The consumers will pay higher purchase prices for PV system installation but will get lower electricity bill.

Keywords: photovoltaic, financial methods, solar energy, economics, PV panel

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Authors: Senay Yitmen

Abstract:

This research investigated individual’s support and helping intentions towards Syrian refugees in Turkey. This is examined in relation to perceived threat and negative emotions, and also to the perceptions of whether one’s intimate social network (family and friends) considers Syrians a threat (descriptive network norm) and whether this network morally supports Syrian refugees (injunctive norms). A questionnaire study was conducted among Turkish participants (n= 565) and the results showed that perception of threat was associated with negative emotions which, in turn, were related to less support of Syrian refugees. Additionally, descriptive norms moderated the relationship between perceived threat and negative emotions towards Syrian refugees. Furthermore, injunctive norms moderated the relationship between negative emotions and support to Syrian refugees. Specifically, the findings indicate that perceived threat is associated with less support of Syrian refugees through negative emotions when descriptive norms are weak and injunctive norms are strong. Injunctive norms appear to trigger a dilemma over the decision to conform or not to conform: when one has negative emotions as a result of perceived threat, it becomes more difficult to conform to the moral obligation of injunctive norms which is associated with less support of Syrian refugees. Hence, these findings demonstrate that both descriptive and injunctive norms are important and play different roles in individual’s support of Syrian refugees.

Keywords: descriptive norms, emotions, injunctive norms, the perception of threat

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Authors: Dalal Tarfaoui, Salah Zkim

Abstract:

Today, environmental sustainability is everyone’s concern as it contributes in many aspects to a country's development. Morocco is also aware of the increasing threats to its natural resources. Accordingly, many projects and research have been discussed pointing mainly to water security, pollution, desertification, and land degradation, but few studies bothered to dig into the human demeanor to disclose its ecological behavior. Human behavior is accountable for environment deterioration in the first place, but we keep fighting the symptoms instead of limiting the root causes. In the conceptual framework highlighted in the present article, semi-structured interviews have been conducted using a grounded theory approach. Initially this study will serve as a pilot study and a cornerstone to approve a bigger project now in progress. Beyond the existing general ecological measures (GEM), this study has chosen the grounded theory approach to bring out firsthand insights, and probe to which extent an ecological dimension exists in Morocco as a developing country. The discourse of the ecological behavior within the Moroccan context is seen in more realist, social, and community philosophy. The study has revealed an appreciative ecological behavior that is unfortunately repressed by variables beyond people’s control, which would prevent the people’s environmental good intentions to be translated into real ecological actions.

Keywords: ecological behavior, ecological dimension, variables beyond people’s control, Morocco

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Authors: Tianyu Chen

Abstract:

China's school district education policy has encouraged parents to purchase properties in school districts with high-quality education resources. Shanghai has implemented "Simultaneous Admission to Public and Private Schools" (SAPPS) since 2018, which has covered all nine-year compulsory education by 2020. This study examines the impact of SAPPS on the housing market, specifically the premium effect of houses located in dual-school districts. Based on the Hedonic Pricing Model and the Signaling Theory, data is collected from 585 second-hand house transactions in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, and it is analyzed with the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. The results indicate that the implementation of SAPPS has exacerbated the premium of dual school district housing and weakened the effect of the policy to a certain degree. To ensure equal access to education for all students, the government should work both on the supply and demand sides of the education resource equation.

Keywords: simultaneous admission to public and private schools, housing prices, education policy, education equity

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Eleanor L. Kutschera

Abstract:

This study explores the possible impact that QR codes play in helping individuals make more sustainable choices regarding apparel consumption. Data was collected via an online survey to ascertain individuals’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to QR codes and how this impacts their decisions to purchase apparel. Results from 250 participants provide both qualitative and quantitative data that provide valuable information regarding consumers’ use of QR codes and more sustainable purchases. Specifically, results indicate that QR codes are currently under-utilized in the apparel industry but have the potential to generate more environmentally conscious purchases. Also, results posit that while the cost of the item is the most influential factor in purchasing sustainable garments, other factors such as how, where, and what it is made of are in the middle, along with the company’s story/inspiration for creation have an impact. Moreover, participants posit the use of QR codes could make them more informed and empowered consumers, and they would be more likely to make purchases that are better for the environment. Participants’ qualitative responses provide useful incentives that could increase their future sustainable purchases. Finally, this study touches on the study’s limitations, implications, and future direction of research.

Keywords: digital ID, QR codes, environmental consciousness, sustainability, fashion industry, apparel consumption

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Authors: Shivkumar Krishnamurti, Ruchi Agarwal

Abstract:

The study examines the influence of marital status on consumers of products and services using blogs as a source of information. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from the respondents (experiences). Data were collected from one hundred and eighty seven respondents residing in and around the Emirates of Sharjah and Dubai of the United Arab Emirates. The collected data was analyzed with the help of statistical tools such as averages, percentages, factor analysis, student’s t-test and structural equation modeling technique. Objectives of the study are to know the reasons how married and unmarried or single consumers of products and services are motivated to use blogs as a source of information, to know whether the consumers of products and services irrespective of their marital status share their views and experiences with other bloggers and to know the respondents’ future intentions towards blogging. The study revealed the following: Majority of the respondents have the motivation to blog because they are willing to receive comments on what they post about services, convenience of blogs to search for information about services and products, by blogging respondents share information on the symptoms of a disease/ disorder that may be experienced by someone, helps to share information about ready to cook mix products and are keen to spend more time blogging in the future.

Keywords: blog, consumer, information, marital status

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Gultekin Gurcay

Abstract:

It is known that the most crucial influence of the psychological, social and emotional factors that affect any human behavior is to corrupt the rational decision making mechanism of the individuals and cause them to display irrational behaviors. In this regard, the social context of human beings influences the rationality of our decisions, and people tend to display different behaviors when they were alone compared to when they were surrounded by others. At this point, the interaction and interdependence of the behavioral finance and economics with the area of social psychology comes, where intentions and the behaviors of the individuals are being analyzed in the actual or implied presence of others comes into prominence. Within the context of this study, the prevalent theories of behavioral finance, which are The Prospect Theory, The Utility Theory Given Uncertainty and the Five Axioms of Choice under Uncertainty, Veblen’s Hidden Utility Theory, and the concept of ‘Overreaction’ has been examined and demonstrated; and the meaning, existence and validity of these theories together with the social context has been assessed. Finally, in this study the behavior of the individuals in financial crisis situations where the majority of the society is being affected from the same negative conditions at the same time has been analyzed, by taking into account how individual behavior will change according to the presence of the others.

Keywords: conditional variance coefficient, financial crisis, garch model, stock market

Procedia PDF Downloads 218