WorldWideScience

Sample records for consumer electronics industry

  1. Integration with the Global Economy: The Case of Turkish Automobile and Consumer Electronics Industries

    OpenAIRE

    Erol Taymaz; Kamil Yılmaz

    2008-01-01

    This paper provides an extensive case study of the Turkish automotive and the consumer electronics industries. Despite a macroeconomic environment that inhibits investment and growth, both industries have achieved remarkable output and productivity growth since the early 1990s. Although there are similarities between the performances of the two industries, there are significant differences...

  2. The Dismantling of the Japanese Model in Consumer Electronics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frøslev Christensen, Jens; Holm Olesen, Michael; Kjær, Jonas

    This paper addresses an issue of great importance for the future organization of the consumerelectronics industry: the "battle" of control over component-based digitization. We are now witnessing the dismantling of the Japanese Model that has prevailed in consumer electronicsover the past 30 years....... Specialized and large-scale component suppliers have taken the lead inmost component-based innovations and have obtained increasingly powerful positions in thevalue chain of consumer electronics. This paper provides an in-depth study of the strategic andstructural ramifications of one such component...... technology. Aframework is developed to explain the reluctance of most of the large consumer electronicsgiants in developing/adopting this new technology.Key words: Consumer electronics, Industrial dynamics, Open InnovationJEL Codes: L6, L68, O32...

  3. Building the electronic industry's roadmaps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boulton, William R.

    1995-02-01

    JTEC panelists found a strong consistency among the electronics firms they visited: all the firms had clear visions or roadmaps for their research and development activities and had committed resources to ensure that they achieve targeted results. The overarching vision driving Japan's electronics industry is that of achieving market success through developing appealing, high-quality, low-cost consumer goods - ahead of the competition. Specifics of the vision include improving performance, quality, and portability of consumer electronics products. Such visions help Japanese companies define in detail the roadmaps they will follow to develop new and improved electronic packaging technologies.

  4. Industrial applications of electron beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmielewski, A.G.

    1997-01-01

    The review of industrial applications with use of electron beams has been done. Especially the radiation technologies being developed in Poland have been shown. Industrial installations with electron accelerators as radiation source have been applied for: modification of polymers; modification of thyristors; sterilization of health care materials; radiopreservation of food and other consumer products; purification of combustion flue gases in heat and power plants. 14 refs, 6 tabs, 7 figs

  5. Industrial applications of electron beam; Przemyslowe zastosowamia wiazki elektronow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chmielewski, A G [Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warsaw (Poland)

    1997-10-01

    The review of industrial applications with use of electron beams has been done. Especially the radiation technologies being developed in Poland have been shown. Industrial installations with electron accelerators as radiation source have been applied for: modification of polymers; modification of thyristors; sterilization of health care materials; radiopreservation of food and other consumer products; purification of combustion flue gases in heat and power plants. 14 refs, 6 tabs, 7 figs.

  6. Thermal Management of Software Changes in Product Lifecycle of Consumer Electronics

    OpenAIRE

    Muraoka , Yoshio; Seki , Kenichi; Nishimura , Hidekazu

    2014-01-01

    Part 6: Industry and Consumer Products; International audience; Because the power consumption of consumer electronic products varies according to processor execution, which depends on software, thermal risk may be increased by software changes, including software updates or the installation of new applications, even after hardware development has been completed. In this paper, we first introduce a typical system-level thermal simulation model, coupling the activities within modules related to...

  7. Legal Regulation and Consumers: The RFID Industry's Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronzani, Daniel

    Many journal articles have presented research on the adoption and diffusion of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) from a regulatory or consumer perspective. This research takes a reverse viewpoint. It researches the industry's experience with regulation by law and its experience with consumers. First, semi-structured interviews with RFID industry stakeholders are conducted on the topics of (UHF) frequency law, database law, and privacy law. Second, the industry's experience with (i) regulation by law and (ii) the consumers is collected in a worldwide online survey with companies and organisations that research, produce, sell, and consult on RFID technology. Third, empirical data is evaluated by different territories and industries to discuss four observations about legal regulation and consumers made by the authors with four feedback observations from the online survey. Given the evaluation of the empirical data, this article recommends that the RFID industry engage in better constructive dialogue with the legal regulator , strengthen its knowledge on applicable legislation, and re-evaluate its information policy to the consumer.

  8. National Skills Standards Development Program: Organization and Operation of Technical Committees To Develop National Skill Standards for Competency in the Electronics Industry. The Third Party Summative Evaluation of the Electronic Industries Foundation Project. Phase I & II. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Losh, Charles

    The Electronics Industries Foundation was awarded a project to develop national entry-level standards and a certification system. Ten specialties were included: automotive electronics, avionics, biomedical electronics, business machines, consumer products electronics, general electronics, industrial electronics, instrumentation, microcomputer, and…

  9. Consumer protection in electronic commerce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoleta Andreea NEACŞU

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Electronic commerce is one of the most important aspects of the Internet and allows people to buy instant. Fast and easy development of e-commerce has led to the necessity of consumer protection in cyberspace, where trade takes place, so as to ensure consumer safety and security matters. This article examines e-commerce in terms of consumer protection and data security, which concerns equally all stakeholders in the electronic market: buyers, sellers, banks, courier cargo and other participants.

  10. The Dismantling of the Japanese Model in Consumer Electronics The Case of the Digital Amplifier

    OpenAIRE

    Jens Frøslev Christensen; Michael Holm Olesen; Jonas Kjær

    2004-01-01

    This paper addresses an issue of great importance for the future organization of the consumer electronics industry: the "battle" of control over component-based digitization. We are now witnessing the dismantling of the Japanese Model that has prevailed in consumer electronics over the past 30 years. Specialized and large-scale component suppliers have taken the lead in most component-based innovations and have obtained increasingly powerful positions in the value chain of cons...

  11. Intellectual property in consumer electronics, software and technology startups

    CERN Document Server

    Halt, Jr , Gerald B; Stiles, Amber R; Fesnak, Robert

    2014-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive guide to procuring, utilizing and monetizing intellectual property rights, tailored for readers in the high-tech consumer electronics and software industries, as well as technology startups.  Numerous, real examples, case studies and scenarios are incorporated throughout the book to illustrate the topics discussed.  Readers will learn what to consider throughout the various creative phases of a product’s lifespan from initial research and development initiatives through post-production.  Readers will gain an understanding of the intellectual property protections afforded to U.S. corporations, methods to pro-actively reduce potential problems, and guidelines for future considerations to reduce legal spending, prevent IP theft, and allow for greater profitability from corporate innovation and inventiveness. • Offers a comprehensive guide to intellectual property for readers in high-tech consumer electronics, software and technology startups; • Uses real case studies...

  12. Analyzing the environmental impacts of laptop enclosures using screening-level life cycle assessment to support sustainable consumer electronics (j/a)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The market growth of consumer electronics makes it essential for industries and policy-makers to work together to develop sustainable products. The objective of this study is to better understand how to promote environmentally sustainable consumer electronics by examining the use...

  13. Anticipating Soft Problems with Consumer Electronic Products : How do soft problems interact with user characteristics and product properties?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kim, C.

    2012-01-01

    Over the last decade consumer electronic product industries have been confronted with an increase in consumer complaints. Interestingly about half of the reasons for product return are based on so called ‘soft problems’, consumer complaints that cannot be traced back to technical problems. Probably

  14. The role and performance measurement of after-sales in the durable consumer goods industries: an empirical study

    OpenAIRE

    N. Saccani; L. Songini; P. Gaiardelli

    2006-01-01

    Abstract: Purpose – To analyse the role of after-sales services in manufacturing contexts, and the related after-sales performance measurement systems. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory case study research was performed in the automotive, household appliance, IT and consumer electronics industries. The sample is made up of 48 firms with after-sales operations in Italy. Findings – The role attributed to after-sales activities in the IT and consumer electronics and household...

  15. 47 CFR 15.118 - Cable ready consumer electronics equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. 15... Unintentional Radiators § 15.118 Cable ready consumer electronics equipment. (a) All consumer electronics TV... provisions of this section. Consumer electronics TV receiving equipment that includes features intended for...

  16. Consumer Marketing and the Airline Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, W. R.

    1972-01-01

    The fundamentals of consumer marketing as applied to the airline industry are considered. An attempt is made to boil down the mystique and jargon which frequently surround the subject of marketing. Topics covered include: (1) The marketing concept; (2) consumer expectations from airlines; (3) planning of marketing strategy; and (4) the roles of advertising, sales, and middlemen.

  17. Optimal Consumer Electronics Product Take-Back Time with Consideration of Consumer Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Tse Fang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Rapid economic growth in recent years has transformed our lifestyle to massively produce, consume, and dispose of products, especially for consumer electronics. This change has put great threat to our environment and caused natural resource depletion. Moreover, short product life cycles and quick replacements of consumer electronics create enormous electronic wastes (e-wastes. Without proper waste management, immense environmental damage is expected. In this empirical study, we notice that lots of valuable materials that can still be recycled from these used consumer electronics are left unused at home instead of being recycled at the appropriate time, which causes a low collection rate and a decrease in residual value for the used products. Therefore, it is important for the government and the recyclers to handle them efficiently by increasing the used product take-back rate. Our study develops an assessment model for customer value based on the idea of value engineering and the perspective of product life cycle. We also explore the relationship between product value and the total cost of ownership with an evaluation of their time variation, considering different usage modes for various consumer groups and different recycling award schemes (fixed and variable recycling awards. Proper take-back management is likely to create a win-win situation both for consumers and environmental protection. This study regards the notebook computer as an example to determine the optimal time for recycling laptops based on usage patterns and provides consumers a reference for when to replace their used product. The results from our modeling firstly clearly indicate that consumers with higher frequency of usage have shorter take back times and higher maximum consumer value. Secondly, a variable recycling award scheme with higher maximum consumer value is more practical than a fixed recycling award scheme.

  18. RoHS Compliance - Is the Global Electronics Industry Ready?

    OpenAIRE

    Head, Marieke; Hróarsson, Hallur

    2006-01-01

    RoHS is an EU directive that was proposed along with the WEEE Directive in 2002 as a part of a plan to promote extended producer responsibility within the electronics industry. Together, these two directives seek to make electrical and electronic equipment easier to manage both in terms of environmental impacts and recycling. The RoHS Directive seeks to remove lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium and two brominated flame retardants from all consumer electrical equipment. This paper dea...

  19. Frugal Droplet Microfluidics Using Consumer Opto-Electronics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frot, Caroline; Taccoen, Nicolas; Baroud, Charles N

    2016-01-01

    The maker movement has shown how off-the-shelf devices can be combined to perform operations that, until recently, required expensive specialized equipment. Applying this philosophy to microfluidic devices can play a fundamental role in disseminating these technologies outside specialist labs and into industrial use. Here we show how nanoliter droplets can be manipulated using a commercial DVD writer, interfaced with an Arduino electronic controller. We couple the optical setup with a droplet generation and manipulation device based on the "confinement gradients" approach. This device uses regions of different depths to generate and transport the droplets, which further simplifies the operation and reduces the need for precise flow control. The use of robust consumer electronics, combined with open source hardware, leads to a great reduction in the price of the device, as well as its footprint, without reducing its performance compared with the laboratory setup.

  20. Consumer demands: Major problems facing industry in a consumer-driven society.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, G

    1994-01-01

    Demand is driven by conventional market forces over much of the world among consumers with strong positive attitudes to meat as a nutritious, tasty and premium food; price in relation to income, availability, quality (including leanness) and relevance to life-style remain the dominant forces operating. But in the developed world, there are emerging concerns about how meat is produced, which are likely to have negative effects on demand, particularly that of the current younger generation, and which may well begin to affect Government policies towards the meat industry. The industry needs to establish strong information and education programmes, but also to examine its procedures to provide greater consumer assurance about practises and controls. Also the scientists and technologists serving the industry need to help it move towards sustainable lower input, less environmentally damaging systems, less reliance on drugs, stimulants and additives, sensitive exploitation of the new genetics and with more consideration for the animals involved. Copyright © 1993. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Consumer perception and the role of science in the meat industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troy, D J; Kerry, J P

    2010-09-01

    The relationship between consumer perception of quality and the food industry's drive to satisfy consumer needs is complex and involves many different components. Science and innovation play a major role in equipping the industry to respond to consumer concerns and expectations. This paper examines the main elements of consumer perception of meat with focus on the red meat sector. Emphasis is placed on perception at point of sale particularly the intrinsic quality cues of colour, packaging and degree of visual fat. The state of the art developments in increasing consumers' perception at this point are discussed. Experienced quality cues such as tenderness and flavour are well known as being of immense importance to consumers at point of consumption. The latest technological developments to enhance the quality experienced by consumers are discussed. The use of pre-rigor restraining techniques offers the industry a method for changing its conventional procedures of processing beef for instance. Background cues of safety, nutrition, animal welfare and sustainability are also discussed. Finally opportunities and challenges facing the industry are outlined. It is concluded that the meat industry needs to invest in and embrace an innovation agenda in order to be sustainable. It must utilise emerging scientific knowledge and take a more proactive role in setting out a research agenda.

  2. Industrial consumers and electricity sector deregulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jukic, A.

    1999-01-01

    The paper presents the electricity sector deregulation from the point of view of major industrial consumers (MIC). Possibilities and limitations of MIC's impact on the introduction and development of an open power market in some European countries, the USA and Croatia are discussed. (author)

  3. Consumer Protection in the Electronic Market Place

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Falch, Morten; Henten, Anders

    1999-01-01

    This paper identifies the most important areas for regulation of consumer protection in relation to electronic commerce, such as marketing, contractual issues and privacy. Furthermore, different approaches for regulation of these issues in a global market is discussed......This paper identifies the most important areas for regulation of consumer protection in relation to electronic commerce, such as marketing, contractual issues and privacy. Furthermore, different approaches for regulation of these issues in a global market is discussed...

  4. Electronics Industry Study Report

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Belt, David; Fellows, John R; Kameru, Philip; Nazaroff, Boris-Frank A; Pauroso, Anthony; Schulz, Frederick; Ballew, Bob; Bond, Thomas; Demers, Stephy; Kirkpatrick, Steve

    2005-01-01

    This paper provides a national strategy for the US electronics industry. Electronics is one of the largest industries in the US and plays a critical role in almost every aspect of national security...

  5. 47 CFR 76.630 - Compatibility with consumer electronics equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Compatibility with consumer electronics equipment. 76.630 Section 76.630 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST... Compatibility with consumer electronics equipment. (a) Cable system operators shall not scramble or otherwise...

  6. AN EVALUATION OF ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH IN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY FOR CONSUMERS AND HOTELS

    OpenAIRE

    Kutlu, Didem; Ayyıldız, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    In recent years with the development of information communication technologies and social media sites, word of mouth(WOM) takes place not just face to face but in the internet, social networking sites, blogs…etc. Due to the intangibility of the tourism product and difficulty in try it out before purchasing, consumers rely on word from an experienced source to reduce the uncertainty and perceived risks. Therefore electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has become more important in terms of hospitality...

  7. Effects of Deceptive Advertising on Consumer Loyalty in Telecommunication Industry of Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Hasan, Syed Akif; Subhani, Muhammad Imtiaz

    2011-01-01

    This study is an attempt to interrogate the effects of deceptive advertising on consumer loyalty in telecommunication industry of Pakistan. Four variables, Call Charges (CC), Network Coverage (NC), Network Quality (NQ) and Customer Service (CS) were used to measure deception in Telecom Ads and then its effect on consumer loyalty while the consumer preference is used as the proxy of consumer loyalty. 10,000 random individuals from telecom industry were selected to conclude the results. Testing...

  8. General Industrial Electronics. Oklahoma Trade and Industrial Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harwick, Jim; Siebert, Leo

    This curriculum guide, part of a series of curriculum guides dealing with industrial electricity and electronics, is designed for use in teaching a course in general industrial electronics. Covered in the first half of the guide are units on the following electronic components: semiconductors, solid-state diodes, bipolar transistors, and special…

  9. 7 CFR 1220.230 - Promotion, research, consumer information, and industry information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Promotion, research, consumer information, and...), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SOYBEAN PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND CONSUMER INFORMATION Soybean Promotion and Research Order Expenses and Assessments § 1220.230 Promotion, research, consumer information, and industry...

  10. Consumer Information in the food service industry vs. food retailing

    OpenAIRE

    Rogge, C.B.E.; Becker, Tilman C.

    2008-01-01

    In order to define consumer expectations over a traceability and information system for the entire food supply chain, the information behaviour of consumers in the food service industry has been subject to an analysis for the first time. In comparison to consumers in retailing, significant differences appear in information seeking behaviour as well as in the information desired.

  11. Consumer behavior of electronic games' players: a study on the intentions to play and to pay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas Lopes Ferreira de Souza

    Full Text Available Abstract The electronic games market is one of the most profitable in the leisure segment, having surpassed the film industry. In terms of profitability, it is ranked as eleventh in the world and first in Latin America. Despite its relevance, there is little information about the reasons that lead consumers to play. This paper examined which attributes of the games influence consumers to play and pay for them. The methodology was a field research survey conducted with 600 electronic games' players, and structural equation modeling was used to test the model. The results indicate that the constructs challenge, diversion, fun, fantasy and social interaction influence the intention to play and pay for games, while the construct competition has a negative effect on the intention to play. No significant causalities were found, regarding the constructs time flexibility and arousal, on the intention to play. Furthermore, we also observed that motivations that had the highest impact were fun, challenge and fantasy, attributes that should be considered by game developers and industry.

  12. CORPORATE REPUTATION INFLUENCES CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY: EVIDENCE FROM CELLULAR INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IMRAN ALI

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Research suggests that it takes five times more expenses to attract new customer than to retain existing consumer. The growing concern of corporations in today’s competitive environment is to retain consumers. As a result, plenty of researches have been conducted to identify the approaches to satisfy and retain consumers. The current study examines the affects of corporate reputation on consumer satisfaction and consumer loyalty. The primary data has been collected from the consumers of cellular industry in Pakistan. The rationale behind selecting respondents from cellular industry is the intense competition, which is enduring in the cellular companies of Pakistan. The study used SPSS and AMOS to analyze the data. The correlation analysis, regression analysis, reliability analysis and model fit index analysis has been used to test hypotheses and interpret some interesting results. The study found significantly positive associations of corporate reputation on consumer satisfaction and consumer loyalty. The study also found strongly positive affects of consumer satisfaction on consumer loyalty for the case of cellular industry of Pakistan. The study proposes some useful recommendations for policy makers in the area.

  13. Analyzing the Environmental Impacts of Laptop Enclosures Using Screening-Level Life Cycle Assessment to Support Sustainable Consumer Electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    With the ever-increasing amount of consumer electronics in service, it is essential industries and policy-makers work together to develop ways to manufacture more environmentally sustainable IT products which meet the needs of society. The objective of this study was to better un...

  14. National energy use of consumer electronics in 1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, Karen; Meier, Alan; Zandelin, Stefan

    2000-01-01

    The major consumer electronics in U.S. homes accounted for nearly 7 percent of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999. We attribute more than half of this figure (3.6 percent) to televisions, videocassette recorders, and DVD players, and nearly one-third (1.8 percent) to audio products. Set-top boxes currently account for a relatively small fraction of residential electricity use (0.7 percent), but we expect this end-use to grow quickly with the proliferation of digital set-top boxes, which currently use 40 percent more energy per unit than the average TV set. In all, these consumer electronics plus telephone products consumed 75 TWh in the U.S. in 1999, half of which was consumed while the products were not in use. This energy use is expected to grow as products with new or advanced functionality hit the market

  15. Redesigning a collection system for "small" consumer electronics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melissen, Franciscus

    2006-01-01

    This paper establishes that the collection system within the recycling scheme for consumer electronics in the Netherlands has not been entirely successful in convincing consumers to hand in their used appliances by means of dedicated collection routes. Particularly regarding small appliances,

  16. Industrial applications of electron accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, A.

    1994-01-01

    The interaction of high-energy radiation with organic systems produces very reactive, short-lived, ionic and free-radical species. The chemical changes brought about by these species are very useful in several systems, and are the basis of the growth of the electron processing industry. Some typical areas of the industrial use of electron accelerators are crosslinking wire and cable insulation, manufacturing heat shrink plastic items, curing coatings, and partially curing rubber products. Electron accelerators are also being considered in other areas such as sewage treatment, sterilizing medical disposables, and food irradiation. An emerging application of industrial electron accelerators is the production of advanced composites for the aerospace and other industries. Traditionally, the carbon-, aramid- and glass-fibre-reinforced composites with epoxy matrices are produced by thermal curing. However, equivalent composites with acrylated-epoxy matrices can be made by electron curing. Cost estimates suggest that electron curing could be more economical than thermal curing. Food irradiation has traditionally been an application for 60 Co γ-radiation. With the increasing demand for food irradiation in various countries, it may become necessary to use electron accelerators for this purpose. Since the dose rate during gamma and electron irradiation are generally very different, a review of the relevant work on the effect of dose rates has been done. This paper presents an overview of the industrial applications of electron accelerator for radiation processing, emphasises the electron curing of advanced composites and, briefly reviews the dose-rate effects in radiation processing of advanced composites and food irradiation. (author). 84 refs., 8 tabs

  17. Electronic word of mouth: Challenges for consumers and companies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Willemsen, L.M.

    2013-01-01

    It is well-established that, as a consumer decision aid, electronic word of mouth (eWOM) provides opportunities to both consumers and companies. By relying on eWOM, consumers believe that they are better able to make informed purchase decisions. By incorporating eWOM in their business strategies,

  18. Japan's electronic packaging technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tummala, Rao R.; Pecht, Michael

    1995-02-01

    The JTEC panel found Japan to have significant leadership over the United States in the strategic area of electronic packaging. Many technologies and products once considered the 'heart and soul' of U.S. industry have been lost over the past decades to Japan and other Asian countries. The loss of consumer electronics technologies and products is the most notable of these losses, because electronics is the United States' largest employment sector and is critical for growth businesses in consumer products, computers, automobiles, aerospace, and telecommunications. In the past there was a distinction between consumer and industrial product technologies. While Japan concentrated on the consumer market, the United States dominated the industrial sector. No such distinction is anticipated in the future; the consumer-oriented technologies Japan has dominated are expected to characterize both domains. The future of U.S. competitiveness will, therefore, depend on the ability of the United States to rebuild its technological capabilities in the area of portable electronic packaging.

  19. MARKETING RESPONSES TO CHANGING CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN THE FRESH BEEF INDUSTRY

    OpenAIRE

    Procopio, Mary Elizabeth

    1990-01-01

    The fresh meat industry is changing the way it markets its products. The decline in red meat consumption that has resulted from greater consumer concerns about the "healthfulness" of red meat, coupled with changes in consumer lifestyles emphasizing a need for convenience is contributing to the diminishment of "commodity selling" in favor of a true "marketing" approach (Pierson and Allen, 1986). In a traditional industry such as meats, the shift from a commodity-selling perspective (i.e., sell...

  20. Analysis And Mathematical Modeling Of Consumer Behavior In Mobile Telecommunications Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saranga Gunasekara

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The mobile telecommunications industry is capital intensive by nature. With the rapid advancement of technology and changing consumer behaviors mobile network operators has had to adapt their product and service portfolio in quick succession. The main implication of the need for high capital investments is the risk associated with the investment. Therefore it is essential that mobile telcos follow up technological investments with the correct service provisioning to the customers. This requires a thorough understanding of the behavior of the consumers. Through this paper the author attempts to identify evaluate and quantify the effects of a number of traits of consumers that determine the consumer preference to a particular mobile network brand. The author also provides recommendations on strategy formulation. The evaluation has been carried out in the context of the Sri Lankan Mobile Telecommunications Industry.

  1. Can the developer be the user? A possible explanation for the increasing number of customer complaints in consumer electronics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luyk - de Visser, I.M.; Lu, Y.; Brombacher, A.C.

    2008-01-01

    Different business trends within consumer electronics industry have resulted in an increasing number of customer complaints in the after-market. Research into this increasing number by Den Ouden indicates that 85% of the complaints can be traced back to decisions made in the product creation process

  2. How does development lead time affect performance over the ramp-up lifecycle? : evidence from the consumer electronics industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pufall, A.A.; Fransoo, J.C.; Jong, de A.; Kok, de A.G.

    2012-01-01

    In the fast-paced world of consumer electronics, short development lead times and efficient product ramp-ups are invaluable. The sooner and faster a firm can ramp-up production of a new product, the faster it can start to earn revenues, profit from early market opportunities, establish technology

  3. Transformation of Bread Industry Structure by Consumer Tastes and Innovation

    OpenAIRE

    丸山, 泰広; 豊, 智行; 福田, 晋; 甲斐, 諭

    2003-01-01

    Bread industry is classfied two types of business. One type is Bread manufacturer which makes bread and sells them to retailer and supermarket. Another type is Bread self-making bakery which makes bread by themselves and directly sells them to consumer. Bread consumer tastes are freshness and diversification. Bread manufacturar copes with diversification by naking many items. Bread self-making bakery copes with freshness by directly providing consumer. But by a innovation a new group is organ...

  4. Critical analysis of industrial electron accelerators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korenev, S. E-mail: sergey_korenev@steris.com

    2004-10-01

    The critical analysis of electron linacs for industrial applications (degradation of PTFE, curing of composites, modification of materials, sterilization and others) is considered in this report. Main physical requirements for industrial electron accelerators consist in the variations of beam parameters, such as kinetic energy and beam power. Questions for regulation of these beam parameters are considered. The level of absorbed dose in the irradiated product and throughput determines the main parameters of electron accelerator. The type of ideal electron linac for industrial applications is discussed.

  5. Critical analysis of industrial electron accelerators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korenev, S.

    2004-09-01

    The critical analysis of electron linacs for industrial applications (degradation of PTFE, curing of composites, modification of materials, sterlization and others) is considered in this report. Main physical requirements for industrial electron accelerators consist in the variations of beam parameters, such as kinetic energy and beam power. Questions for regulation of these beam parameters are considered. The level of absorbed dose in the irradiated product and throughput determines the main parameters of electron accelerator. The type of ideal electron linac for industrial applications is discussed.

  6. Critical analysis of industrial electron accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korenev, S.

    2004-01-01

    The critical analysis of electron linacs for industrial applications (degradation of PTFE, curing of composites, modification of materials, sterilization and others) is considered in this report. Main physical requirements for industrial electron accelerators consist in the variations of beam parameters, such as kinetic energy and beam power. Questions for regulation of these beam parameters are considered. The level of absorbed dose in the irradiated product and throughput determines the main parameters of electron accelerator. The type of ideal electron linac for industrial applications is discussed

  7. Industrial applications or electron beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J. I.

    2001-01-01

    Industrial use of electron beams began in the 1950's with the crosslinking of polyethylene film and wire insulation. Today the number of electron beam Processing Systems installed for industrial applications throughout the world has grown to more than six hundred stations in over 35 countries. Total installed power is now approaching 40 megawatts (over 8 million tons of products per year). Electron beam is now utilized by many major industries including plastics, automotive, rubber goods, wire and cable, electrical insulation, semiconductor, medical, packaging, or pollution control. The principal effect of high-energy electrons is to produce ions in the materials treated, resulting in the liberation of orbital electrons. As a result, the original molecule is modified and the ree radicals combine to form new molecules with new chemical reactions or dis organisation od the DNA chains of living organisms (insects, fungus, microorganisms, etc.). (Author) 8 refs

  8. Annual electricity consumption forecasting by neural network in high energy consuming industrial sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azadeh, A.; Ghaderi, S.F.; Sohrabkhani, S.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) approach for annual electricity consumption in high energy consumption industrial sectors. Chemicals, basic metals and non-metal minerals industries are defined as high energy consuming industries. It is claimed that, due to high fluctuations of energy consumption in high energy consumption industries, conventional regression models do not forecast energy consumption correctly and precisely. Although ANNs have been typically used to forecast short term consumptions, this paper shows that it is a more precise approach to forecast annual consumption in such industries. Furthermore, the ANN approach based on a supervised multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is used to show it can estimate the annual consumption with less error. Actual data from high energy consuming (intensive) industries in Iran from 1979 to 2003 is used to illustrate the applicability of the ANN approach. This study shows the advantage of the ANN approach through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the ANN forecast is compared with actual data and the conventional regression model through ANOVA to show its superiority. This is the first study to present an algorithm based on the ANN and ANOVA for forecasting long term electricity consumption in high energy consuming industries

  9. Tobacco industry consumer research on socially acceptable cigarettes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ling, P M; Glantz, S A

    2005-10-01

    To describe tobacco industry consumer research to inform the development of more "socially acceptable" cigarette products since the 1970s. Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. 28 projects to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes were identified from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, British American Tobacco, and Lorillard tobacco companies. Consumer research and concept testing consistently demonstrated that many smokers feel strong social pressure not to smoke, and this pressure increased with exposure to smoking restrictions. Tobacco companies attempted to develop more socially acceptable cigarettes with less visible sidestream smoke or less odour. When presented in theory, these product concepts were very attractive to important segments of the smoking population. However, almost every product developed was unacceptable in actual product tests or test markets. Smokers reported the complete elimination of secondhand smoke was necessary to satisfy non-smokers. Smokers have also been generally unwilling to sacrifice their own smoking satisfaction for the benefit of others. Many smokers prefer smoke-free environments to cigarettes that produce less secondhand smoke. Concerns about secondhand smoke and clean indoor air policies have a powerful effect on the social acceptability of smoking. Historically, the tobacco industry has been unable to counter these effects by developing more socially acceptable cigarettes. These data suggest that educating smokers about the health dangers of secondhand smoke and promoting clean indoor air policies has been difficult for the tobacco industry to counter with new products, and that every effort should be made to pursue these strategies.

  10. Electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    International Acer Incorporated, Hsin Chu, Taiwan Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, Taichung, Taiwan American Institute of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan...Singapore and Malaysia .5 - 4 - The largest market for semiconductor products is the high technology consumer electronics industry that consumes up...Singapore, and Malaysia . A new semiconductor facility costs around $3 billion to build and takes about two years to become operational

  11. 78 FR 14835 - Investigations: Terminations, Modifications and Rulings: Certain Consumer Electronics and Display...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-07

    ..., Modifications and Rulings: Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same AGENCY... the sale within the United States after importation of certain consumer electronics devices and..., Washington; LG Electronics, Inc. of Seoul, South Korea; LG Electronics, Mobilecomm U.S.A., Inc. of San Diego...

  12. Consumers' Perceptions of Patient-Accessible Electronic Medical Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughon, Wendy L; Czaja, Sara J; Levy, Joslyn; Rockoff, Maxine L

    2013-01-01

    Background Electronic health information (eHealth) tools for patients, including patient-accessible electronic medical records (patient portals), are proliferating in health care delivery systems nationally. However, there has been very limited study of the perceived utility and functionality of portals, as well as limited assessment of these systems by vulnerable (low education level, racial/ethnic minority) consumers. Objective The objective of the study was to identify vulnerable consumers’ response to patient portals, their perceived utility and value, as well as their reactions to specific portal functions. Methods This qualitative study used 4 focus groups with 28 low education level, English-speaking consumers in June and July 2010, in New York City. Results Participants included 10 males and 18 females, ranging in age from 21-63 years; 19 non-Hispanic black, 7 Hispanic, 1 non-Hispanic White and 1 Other. None of the participants had higher than a high school level education, and 13 had less than a high school education. All participants had experience with computers and 26 used the Internet. Major themes were enhanced consumer engagement/patient empowerment, extending the doctor’s visit/enhancing communication with health care providers, literacy and health literacy factors, improved prevention and health maintenance, and privacy and security concerns. Consumers were also asked to comment on a number of key portal features. Consumers were most positive about features that increased convenience, such as making appointments and refilling prescriptions. Consumers raised concerns about a number of potential barriers to usage, such as complex language, complex visual layouts, and poor usability features. Conclusions Most consumers were enthusiastic about patient portals and perceived that they had great utility and value. Study findings suggest that for patient portals to be effective for all consumers, portals must be designed to be easy to read, visually

  13. Electronic word-of-mouth in consumer fashion blogs. A netnographic study

    OpenAIRE

    KULMALA, MARIANNE

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in consumer fashion blogs. The phenomenon of fashion blogs has become very popular among fashion consumers and companies within recent years. Fashion consumers buy clothes and shoes online, are active in social media pages, and produce electronic word-of-mouth in online communities. Fashion companies have noticed this change and want to be present in the Internet in different ways. In fashion blogs, there ar...

  14. Sustainable Product Strategy in Apparel Industry with Consumer Behavior Consideration

    OpenAIRE

    Liu Yang; Shaozeng Dong

    2017-01-01

    The article attempts to analyze sustainable product strategy in apparel industry specifically addressing a firm that is considering launching a sustainable product partly made from recycled materials. There are two types of consumers under consideration, environmentally conscious and regular consumers, as they have different perceived values for the sustainable products. The article provides an analytical model aimed to identify conditions under which a firm could benefit from adopting sustai...

  15. Assessing consumer responses to potential reduced-exposure tobacco products: a review of tobacco industry and independent research methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rees, Vaughan W; Kreslake, Jennifer M; Cummings, K Michael; O'Connor, Richard J; Hatsukami, Dorothy K; Parascandola, Mark; Shields, Peter G; Connolly, Gregory N

    2009-12-01

    Internal tobacco industry documents and the mainstream literature are reviewed to identify methods and measures for evaluating tobacco consumer response. The review aims to outline areas in which established methods exist, identify gaps in current methods for assessing consumer response, and consider how these methods might be applied to evaluate potentially reduced exposure tobacco products and new products. Internal industry research reviewed included published articles, manuscript drafts, presentations, protocols, and instruments relating to consumer response measures were identified and analyzed. Peer-reviewed research was identified using PubMed and Scopus. Industry research on consumer response focuses on product development and marketing. To develop and refine new products, the tobacco industry has developed notable strategies for assessing consumers' sensory and subjective responses to product design characteristics. Independent research is often conducted to gauge the likelihood of future product adoption by measuring consumers' risk perceptions, responses to product, and product acceptability. A model that conceptualizes consumer response as comprising the separate, but interacting, domains of product perceptions and response to product is outlined. Industry and independent research supports the dual domain model and provides a wide range of methods for assessment of the construct components of consumer response. Further research is needed to validate consumer response constructs, determine the relationship between consumer response and tobacco user behavior, and improve reliability of consumer response measures. Scientifically rigorous consumer response assessment methods will provide a needed empirical basis for future regulation of potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products and new products, to counteract tobacco industry influence on consumers, and enhance the public health.

  16. Consumer behavior towards Online shopping of electronics in pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    BASHIR, ADIL

    2013-01-01

    E-commerce has made life simple and innovative of individuals and groups; consumer Behavior in online shopping is different from the physical market where he has access to see the product. The purpose of the research was to study the consumer behavior in online shopping of electronics especially in Pakistan. The main research question in thesis is how consumers behave while shopping online. Primary data was collected through the questionnaire survey and by emails from personal contacts in...

  17. 78 FR 30934 - Certain Consumer Electronics With Display and Processing Capabilities; Notice of Receipt of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-23

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Docket No 2956] Certain Consumer Electronics With Display and... the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Consumer Electronics... consumer electronics with display and processing capabilities. The complaint names as respondents Panasonic...

  18. 77 FR 67290 - Basic Service Tier Encryption Compatibility Between Cable Systems and Consumer Electronics Equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-09

    ...-126] Basic Service Tier Encryption Compatibility Between Cable Systems and Consumer Electronics... between consumer electronics equipment (such as digital television sets) and newly encrypted cable service... Act''), Congress sought to make sure that consumer electronics equipment could receive cable...

  19. 76 FR 72439 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same; Receipt of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-23

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2858] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and.... International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled In Re Certain Consumer Electronics and Display... importation of certain consumer electronics and display devices and products containing same. The complaint...

  20. 76 FR 66666 - Basic Service Tier Encryption Compatibility Between Cable Systems and Consumer Electronics Equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-27

    ... 11-153] Basic Service Tier Encryption Compatibility Between Cable Systems and Consumer Electronics... substantially affect compatibility between cable service and consumer electronics equipment for most subscribers... problems between cable service and consumer electronics equipment were limiting and/or precluding the...

  1. 78 FR 38072 - Certain Consumer Electronics With Display and Processing Capabilities; Institution of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-25

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Inv. No. 337-TA-884] Certain Consumer Electronics With Display and... electronics with display and processing capabilities by reason of infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,650,327... after importation of certain consumer electronics with display and processing capabilities by reason of...

  2. 78 FR 13895 - Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and Tablets; Commission Determination Not...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-01

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-839] Certain Consumer Electronics... importation of certain consumer electronics, including mobile phones and tablets, by reason of infringement of..., Washington (collectively, ``HTC''); LG Electronics, Inc. of Seoul, Republic of Korea, LG Electronics U.S.A...

  3. Electronic Contracts and the Personal data Protection of the Consumer: Sources Dialogue Between the Consumer Protection Code and the Internet Civil Mark.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosane Leal Da Silva

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the personal data protection of the consumer and your vulnerability in interactive electronic contracts, aiming to point means of defense. For this, uses the deductive approach and starts of the electronic contracting to discuss the legal protection of the consumer in light of the capturing and processing of personal data by the furnisher. Considering the absence of law about personal data, concludes that electronic contracting expands the consumer vulnerability, which requires the principles application of the Consumer Protection Code, adding the Internet Civil Mark in relation to the privacy protection.

  4. Electron beam treatment of industrial wastewater

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Bumsoo; Kim, JinKyu; Kim, Yuri

    2004-01-01

    For industrial wastewater with low impurity levels such as contaminated ground water, cleaning water and etc., purification only with electron beam is possible, but it should be managed carefully with reducing required irradiation doses as low as possible. Also for industrial wastewater with high impurity levels such as dyeing wastewater, leachate and etc., purification only with electron beam requires high amount of doses and far beyond economies. Electron beam treatment combined with conventional purification methods such as coagulation, biological treatment, etc. is suitable for reduction of non-biodegradable impurities in wastewater and will extend the application area of electron beam. A pilot plant with electron beam for treating 1,000 m 3 /day of wastewater from dyeing industries has constructed and operated continuously since Oct 1998. Electron beam irradiation instead of chemical treatment shows much improvement in removing impurities and increases the efficiency of biological treatment. Actual plant is under consideration based upon the experimental results. (author)

  5. Electricity consumption by battery-powered consumer electronics: A household-level survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McAllister, J. Andrew; Farrell, Alexander E.

    2007-01-01

    The rapid proliferation of battery-powered consumer electronics and their reliance on inefficient linear transformers has been suggested to be an important part of the rapid growth in 'miscellaneous' electricity consumption in recent years, but detailed data are scarce. We conducted a survey of 34 randomly selected households (HHs) in Northern California about the number, type, and usage of consumer electronics. We also measured the energy consumption of 85 typical consumer electronic devices through various parts of the charge cycle. These primary data were supplemented by national sales information for consumer electronics. Results indicate that typical HHs own 8.4 rechargeable devices, which have a total average demand of 12-17 W per HH. Statewide, this amounts to 160-220 MW of demand, with the peak occurring in the late evening, and about 1600 GWh per year. Only about 15% of this energy is used for battery charging, the rest is lost as waste heat during no-load and charge maintenance periods. Technical options to increase the efficiency of these devices, and the research and policy steps needed to realize these savings are discussed

  6. Electronic Word-of-Mouth Communication and Consumer Behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Signe Tegtmeier; Razmerita, Liana; Colleoni, Elanor

    2014-01-01

    The rapid adoption of social media, along with the easy access to peer information and interactions, has resulted in massive online word-of-mouth communication. These interactions among consumers have an increasing power over the success or failure of companies and brands. Drawing upon word-of-mouth...... communication and consumer behaviour theories, this paper investigates the use of word-of-mouth communication through social media among a group of Danish consumers. The findings suggest that electronic word-of-mouth communication among friends and peers affect consumer behaviour. Additionally, peer...... communication is perceived as more objective and therefore found more reliable than companies’ brand communication. Furthermore, negative word-of-mouth is perceived as more trustworthy compared to positive messages, which are often believed to be too subjective. The research findings emphasise the importance...

  7. Sustainable Product Strategy in Apparel Industry with Consumer Behavior Consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Yang

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The article attempts to analyze sustainable product strategy in apparel industry specifically addressing a firm that is considering launching a sustainable product partly made from recycled materials. There are two types of consumers under consideration, environmentally conscious and regular consumers, as they have different perceived values for the sustainable products. The article provides an analytical model aimed to identify conditions under which a firm could benefit from adopting sustainable product strategy. The level of sustainability is determined by the trade-off between profitability and costs occurred and if more consumers value sustainable products, the firm will increase its sustainable level and get a higher profit. This is because of a combination effect of an increasing marginal profit and demand expansion. Moreover, the model has been further extended to address a situation where the firm could manage consumer segmentation. Depending on parameter settings, the firm may target different consumer segments and there is always a threshold of cost for managing consumer segments. When converting regular consumers to be environmentally conscious is not costly, the firm will convert all consumers to be environmentally conscious with great efforts; otherwise, the firm will convert part of consumers to be environmentally conscious.

  8. Industrial applications of electron accelerators

    CERN Document Server

    Cleland, M R

    2006-01-01

    This paper addresses the industrial applications of electron accelerators for modifying the physical, chemical or biological properties of materials and commercial products by treatment with ionizing radiation. Many beneficial effects can be obtained with these methods, which are known as radiation processing. The earliest practical applications occurred during the 1950s, and the business of radiation processing has been expanding since that time. The most prevalent applications are the modification of many different plastic and rubber products and the sterilization of single-use medical devices. Emerging applications are the pasteurization and preservation of foods and the treatment of toxic industrial wastes. Industrial accelerators can now provide electron energies greater than 10 MeV and average beam powers as high as 700 kW. The availability of high-energy, high-power electron beams is stimulating interest in the use of X-rays (bremsstrahlung) as an alternative to gamma rays from radioactive nuclides.

  9. Consumer Cost Differences for Traditional and Internet Markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Michael J.; Strader, Troy J.

    1999-01-01

    Addresses research issues related to the economics of electronic, Internet-based markets. Discusses consumer cost-based differences for traditional and electronic markets; revenue implications for sellers and transaction intermediaries; and results of an empirical, survey-based study of an electronic market in the sports trading-card industry.…

  10. China's Industrial Policy in Relation to Electronics Manufacturing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhongxiu Zhao; Xiaoling Huang; Dongya Ye; Paul Gentle

    2007-01-01

    China has become the biggest exporter of electronic products in the world. Government policy intervention has contributed significantly to the rapid expansion of the electronics industry. The present paper examines the evolutionary development of industrial policies related to the electronics industry in China and the impacts of such policies on the shaping of the industry. In particular, the relationship between foreign funded enterprises and domestic firms are examined in detail. The future trend of the industry is also discussed in the paper, and the policy focus of the Chinese Government is predicted.

  11. Consumers' Use of Personal Electronic Devices in the Kitchen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lando, Amy M; Bazaco, Michael C; Chen, Yi

    2018-02-23

    Smartphones, tablets, and other personal electronic devices have become ubiquitous in Americans' daily lives. These devices are used by people throughout the day, including while preparing food. For example, a device may be used to look at recipes and therefore be touched multiple times during food preparation. Previous research has indicated that cell phones can harbor bacteria, including opportunistic human pathogens such as Staphylococcus and Klebsiella spp. This investigation was conducted with data from the 2016 Food Safety Survey (FSS) and from subsequent focus groups to determine the frequency with which consumers use personal electronic devices in the kitchen while preparing food, the types of devices used, and hand washing behaviors after handling these devices. The 2016 FSS is the seventh wave of a repeated cross-sectional survey conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of the FSS is to evaluate U.S. adult consumer attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge about food safety. The FSS included 4,169 adults that were contacted using a dual-frame (land line and cell phone interviews) random-digit-dial sampling process. The personal electronics module was the first of three food safety topics discussed by each of eight consumer focus groups, which were convened in four U.S. cities in fall 2016. Results from the 2016 FSS revealed that of those individuals who use personal electronic devices while cooking, only about one third reported washing hands after touching the device and before continuing cooking. This proportion is significantly lower than that for self-reported hand washing behaviors after touching risky food products such as raw eggs, meat, chicken, or fish. Results from the focus groups highlight the varied usage of these devices during food preparation and the related strategies consumers are using to incorporate personal electric devices into their cooking routines.

  12. 77 FR 14422 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same; Notice of Receipt...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-09

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2882] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and... the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Consumer Electronics... importation of certain consumer electronics and display devices and products containing same. The complaint...

  13. OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRIAL MARKET IN ROMANIA. IMPLICATIONS FROM THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Constantin SASU

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays research in consumer behaviour has become really useful in understanding consumer needs regarding the use of products or services. Despite the tremendous work carried out in the field of consumer behaviour, few studies have concentrated on the organizational consumers as main buyers in the market. In this regard, considering the economic sectors of Romania, the main purpose of the article consists in characterizing the national industrial buyers taking into consideration the organizational consumer approach. Using an empirical study based on the macroeconomic indicators published by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics, we aimed to identify the components of the organizational market in Romania. In this regard, we selected several statistical indicators specific for the agriculture sector which can help us understand the behaviour of the organizations from this area considering the buying perspective. The results obtained demonstrate that although there are many macroeconomic indicators in the agriculture sector (43 few of them (19 provide significant information regarding the industrial buying behaviour among Romanian firms from this area.

  14. Defence electronics industry profile, 1990-1991

    Science.gov (United States)

    The defense electronics industry profiled in this review comprises an estimated 150 Canadian companies that develop, manufacture, and repair radio and communications equipment, radars for surveillance and navigation, air traffic control systems, acoustic and infrared sensors, computers for navigation and fire control, signal processors and display units, special-purpose electronic components, and systems engineering and associated software. Canadian defense electronics companies generally serve market niches and end users of their products are limited to the military, government agencies, or commercial airlines. Geographically, the industry is concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, where about 91 percent of the industry's production and employment is found. In 1989, the estimated revenue of the industry was $2.36 billion, and exports totalled an estimated $1.4 billion. Strengths and weaknesses of the industry are discussed in terms of such factors as the relatively small size of Canadian companies, the ability of Canadian firms to access research and development opportunities and export markets in the United States, the dependence on foreign-made components, and international competition.

  15. An investigation of used electronics return flows: a data-driven approach to capture and predict consumers storage and utilization behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabbaghi, Mostafa; Esmaeilian, Behzad; Raihanian Mashhadi, Ardeshir; Behdad, Sara; Cade, Willie

    2015-02-01

    Consumers often have a tendency to store their used, old or un-functional electronics for a period of time before they discard them and return them back to the waste stream. This behavior increases the obsolescence rate of used still-functional products leading to lower profitability that could be resulted out of End-of-Use (EOU) treatments such as reuse, upgrade, and refurbishment. These types of behaviors are influenced by several product and consumer-related factors such as consumers' traits and lifestyles, technology evolution, product design features, product market value, and pro-environmental stimuli. Better understanding of different groups of consumers, their utilization and storage behavior and the connection of these behaviors with product design features helps Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and recycling and recovery industry to better overcome the challenges resulting from the undesirable storage of used products. This paper aims at providing insightful statistical analysis of Electronic Waste (e-waste) dynamic nature by studying the effects of design characteristics, brand and consumer type on the electronics usage time and end of use time-in-storage. A database consisting of 10,063 Hard Disk Drives (HDD) of used personal computers returned back to a remanufacturing facility located in Chicago, IL, USA during 2011-2013 has been selected as the base for this study. The results show that commercial consumers have stored computers more than household consumers regardless of brand and capacity factors. Moreover, a heterogeneous storage behavior is observed for different brands of HDDs regardless of capacity and consumer type factors. Finally, the storage behavior trends are projected for short-time forecasting and the storage times are precisely predicted by applying machine learning methods. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Marketing of menthol cigarettes and consumer perceptions: a review of tobacco industry documents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Stacey J

    2011-05-01

    To examine tobacco industry marketing of menthol cigarettes and to determine what the tobacco industry knew about consumer perceptions of menthol. A snowball sampling design was used to systematically search the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (LTDL) (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) between 28 February and 27 April 2010. Of the approximately 11 million documents available in the LTDL, the iterative searches returned tens of thousands of results from the major US tobacco companies and affiliated organisations. A collection of 953 documents from the 1930s to the first decade of the 21st century relevant to 1 or more of the research questions were qualitatively analysed, as follows: (1) are/were menthol cigarettes marketed with health reassurance messages? (2) What other messages come from menthol cigarette advertising? (3) How do smokers view menthol cigarettes? (4) Were menthol cigarettes marketed to specific populations? Menthol cigarettes were marketed as, and are perceived by consumers to be, healthier than non-menthol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes are also marketed to specific social and demographic groups, including African-Americans, young people and women, and are perceived by consumers to signal social group belonging. The tobacco industry knew consumers perceived menthol as healthier than non-menthol cigarettes, and this was the intent behind marketing. Marketing emphasising menthol attracts consumers who may not otherwise progress to regular smoking, including young, inexperienced users and those who find 'regular' cigarettes undesirable. Such marketing may also appeal to health-concerned smokers who might otherwise quit.

  17. Electronic manufacturing and packaging in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Michael J.; Boulton, William R. (Editor); Kukowski, John A.; Meieran, Eugene S.; Pecht, Michael; Peeples, John W.; Tummala, Rao R.

    1995-01-01

    This report summarizes the status of electronic manufacturing and packaging technology in Japan in comparison to that in the United States, and its impact on competition in electronic manufacturing in general. In addition to electronic manufacturing technologies, the report covers technology and manufacturing infrastructure, electronics manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry, and successful product realization strategies. The panel found that Japan leads the United States in almost every electronics packaging technology. Japan clearly has achieved a strategic advantage in electronics production and process technologies. Panel members believe that Japanese competitors could be leading U.S. firms by as much as a decade in some electronics process technologies. Japan has established this marked competitive advantage in electronics as a consequence of developing low-cost, high-volume consumer products. Japan's infrastructure, and the remarkable cohesiveness of vision and purpose in government and industry, are key factors in the success of Japan's electronics industry. Although Japan will continue to dominate consumer electronics in the foreseeable future, opportunities exist for the United States and other industrial countries to capture an increasingly large part of the market. The JTEC panel has identified no insurmountable barriers that would prevent the United States from regaining a significant share of the consumer electronics market; in fact, there is ample evidence that the United States needs to aggressively pursue high-volume, low-cost electronic assembly, because it is a critical path leading to high-performance electronic systems.

  18. consumer preparedness, knowledge, and opinions about practices and regulations of the funeral industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garman, E T; Kidd, C A

    1983-01-01

    This study focuses on consumers' level of knowledge, opinions, and degree of preparedness concerning selected practices and regulations of the funeral industry. Questionnaires were returned by 75 percent of the sample of faculty and staff at a large university. Opinions of respondents rejected the status quo concerning various practices and regulations of the funeral industry, indicating a desire to support newly suggested changes in the industry. Preparedness scores indicated that almost 9 out of 10 of the respondents were quite unprepared for their own funerals. The mean achievement score regarding knowledge as measured by the Consumer Funeral Test, which was developed for this study, was 4.0, representing 57 percent correct. Significant statistical relationships existed between knowledge scores and the age, education, and sex of the respondents; those who were older and had more education scored higher, and men scored higher than women. No relationships existed, however, among knowledge, opinion, and preparedness scores and the demographic variables of age, education, income, sex, and religion, raising the fundamental question of the value of funeral information programs for consumers.

  19. An investigation of used electronics return flows: A data-driven approach to capture and predict consumers storage and utilization behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sabbaghi, Mostafa, E-mail: mostafas@buffalo.edu [Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, 437 Bell Hall, Buffalo, NY (United States); Esmaeilian, Behzad, E-mail: b.esmaeilian@neu.edu [Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Raihanian Mashhadi, Ardeshir, E-mail: ardeshir@buffalo.edu [Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, 437 Bell Hall, Buffalo, NY (United States); Behdad, Sara, E-mail: sarabehd@buffalo.edu [Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, 437 Bell Hall, Buffalo, NY (United States); Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, State University of New York, University at Buffalo, 437 Bell Hall, Buffalo, NY (United States); Cade, Willie, E-mail: willie@pcrr.com [PC Rebuilder and Recyclers, 4734 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60651-3322 (United States)

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • We analyzed a data set of HDDs returned back to an e-waste collection site. • We studied factors that affect the storage behavior. • Consumer type, brand and size are among factors which affect the storage behavior. • Commercial consumers have stored computers more than household consumers. • Machine learning models were used to predict the storage behavior. - Abstract: Consumers often have a tendency to store their used, old or un-functional electronics for a period of time before they discard them and return them back to the waste stream. This behavior increases the obsolescence rate of used still-functional products leading to lower profitability that could be resulted out of End-of-Use (EOU) treatments such as reuse, upgrade, and refurbishment. These types of behaviors are influenced by several product and consumer-related factors such as consumers’ traits and lifestyles, technology evolution, product design features, product market value, and pro-environmental stimuli. Better understanding of different groups of consumers, their utilization and storage behavior and the connection of these behaviors with product design features helps Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and recycling and recovery industry to better overcome the challenges resulting from the undesirable storage of used products. This paper aims at providing insightful statistical analysis of Electronic Waste (e-waste) dynamic nature by studying the effects of design characteristics, brand and consumer type on the electronics usage time and end of use time-in-storage. A database consisting of 10,063 Hard Disk Drives (HDD) of used personal computers returned back to a remanufacturing facility located in Chicago, IL, USA during 2011–2013 has been selected as the base for this study. The results show that commercial consumers have stored computers more than household consumers regardless of brand and capacity factors. Moreover, a heterogeneous storage behavior is

  20. An investigation of used electronics return flows: A data-driven approach to capture and predict consumers storage and utilization behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabbaghi, Mostafa; Esmaeilian, Behzad; Raihanian Mashhadi, Ardeshir; Behdad, Sara; Cade, Willie

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We analyzed a data set of HDDs returned back to an e-waste collection site. • We studied factors that affect the storage behavior. • Consumer type, brand and size are among factors which affect the storage behavior. • Commercial consumers have stored computers more than household consumers. • Machine learning models were used to predict the storage behavior. - Abstract: Consumers often have a tendency to store their used, old or un-functional electronics for a period of time before they discard them and return them back to the waste stream. This behavior increases the obsolescence rate of used still-functional products leading to lower profitability that could be resulted out of End-of-Use (EOU) treatments such as reuse, upgrade, and refurbishment. These types of behaviors are influenced by several product and consumer-related factors such as consumers’ traits and lifestyles, technology evolution, product design features, product market value, and pro-environmental stimuli. Better understanding of different groups of consumers, their utilization and storage behavior and the connection of these behaviors with product design features helps Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and recycling and recovery industry to better overcome the challenges resulting from the undesirable storage of used products. This paper aims at providing insightful statistical analysis of Electronic Waste (e-waste) dynamic nature by studying the effects of design characteristics, brand and consumer type on the electronics usage time and end of use time-in-storage. A database consisting of 10,063 Hard Disk Drives (HDD) of used personal computers returned back to a remanufacturing facility located in Chicago, IL, USA during 2011–2013 has been selected as the base for this study. The results show that commercial consumers have stored computers more than household consumers regardless of brand and capacity factors. Moreover, a heterogeneous storage behavior is

  1. Empirical Study of Consumers' Purchase Intentions in C2C Electronic Commerce

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    HE Dehua; LU Yaobin; ZHOU Deyi

    2008-01-01

    Electronic commerce is becoming increasingly important in business, but lack of intention to purchase has become a main barrier in the development of electronic commerce. Thus, effective measures are needed to promote consumers' intentions to purchase in online consumer to consumer (C2C) stores. This paper postulates that five factors, the perceived ease of use of the website, perceived usefulness of the website, vendor competence, introduction and recommendations of third parties, and vendors' attitude toward customers, influence consumers' intentions to purchase in online C2C stores and this intention directly leads to their action to purchase from online C2C stores. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to analyze empirical data, supporting these hypotheses except for the effect of vendor competence.

  2. Calorimetry at industrial electron accelerators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miller, Arne; Kovacs, A.

    1985-01-01

    Calorimetry is a convenient way to measure doses at industrial electron accelerators, where high absorbed doses (1-100 kGy) are delivered at dose rates of 102-105 Gy s-1 or even higher. Water calorimeters have been used for this purpose for several years, but recently other materials such as grap......Calorimetry is a convenient way to measure doses at industrial electron accelerators, where high absorbed doses (1-100 kGy) are delivered at dose rates of 102-105 Gy s-1 or even higher. Water calorimeters have been used for this purpose for several years, but recently other materials...

  3. Impact of entrepreneurial education on consumer loyalty in tourism industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petrović Pero

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Each educational activity in tourism is a vital tool of development. In most industries during the late 20th and early 21st century, the growing intensity of competition and dynamic development, has led to changes in the objectives of doing business, and this is especially true for the tourism industry. In the past, the focus was on attracting new customers, while marketing strategies now focus on retaining existing customers and winning their loyalty. The main reason for this new approach is the awareness of the economic impact of tourism customer loyalty. Travel and tourism companies with a higher share of consumer loyalty benefit from the growing rate of repurchase, increased tolerance to higher prices, positive advertisements on the basis of recommendations from satisfied tourist consumers and less tendency to switch to competitors. In order to achieve customer loyalty and all the benefits that implies, tourism companies must be aware of the factors that determine loyalty. Therefore, the subject of this paper analyzes the factors that influence consumer loyalty to tourism, in order to come to the knowledge of the type, intensity and mode of influence of individual factors on long-term customer loyalty. The quality of the training and education of entrepreneurship procure sub­sequent impact on customer loyalty. The paper points out the importance of entrepreneurship education in the European Union with a focus on the quality of educational programs. In turn, the number and quality of the coverage factor of success in a wholesome entrepreneurial economy is expanded, especially in the tourism industry as its most dynamic part.

  4. The industrial policy experience of the electronics industry in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Rasiah, Rajah

    2015-01-01

    Despite the use of industrial policies to stimulate economic growth by several successful developers, latecomers have faced mixed experiences. Hence, this paper analyses the industrial policy experience of the electronics industry in Malaysia. A blend of institutions have guided technological upgrading in the industry, especially in the state of Penang. Smooth co-ordination between the state government, multinational corporations, national firms, and the federal government helped stimulate te...

  5. Household energy consumption and consumer electronics: The case of television

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crosbie, Tracey

    2008-01-01

    In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of consumer electronics in households. These new technologies and the services that support them enable new highly energy intensive behaviours. Using in-depth interview data collected from 20 households in 2006, this paper explores these energy intensive behaviours, using the example of the use of televisions. In doing so, it illustrates how the design and marketing of consumer electronics, and the services which support them, actively encourage energy intensive behaviours and how householders are reconfiguring their homes and lifestyles to fit these behaviours. This latter point is significant because, as householders change their homes and daily lives to fit energy intensive consuming behaviours, it will become increasingly difficult to encourage people to reduce their household energy consumption. This paper concludes with the implications of the research findings for policies designed to reduce household energy consumption

  6. Integration of heterogeneous industrial consumers to provide regulating power to the smart grid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahnama, Samira; Stoustrup, Jakob; Rasmussen, Henrik

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a framework to utilize the flexibility of consumers in the future smart grid with a high share of fluctuating power. Focus is on industrial cases, where a total power consumption of a few number of consumers are large enough in order to bid in the market. Heterogeneous...

  7. Redesigning a collection system for 'small' consumer electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melissen, Frans W.

    2006-01-01

    This paper establishes that the collection system within the recycling scheme for consumer electronics in the Netherlands has not been entirely successful in convincing consumers to hand in their used appliances by means of dedicated collection routes. Particularly regarding small appliances, consumers are persisting in their habit of discarding their appliances by means of the refuse bag/bin for regular household waste. Therefore, the current collection system has been unable to direct consumer behavior in the desired direction. Consequently, the layout of the current system is reviewed and redesigned in order to tackle this problem. This design effort applies the Triad model (behavioral model) in the analysis stage and the Morphological Chart method (design tool) in the synthesis stage, and results in a concrete proposal for a new system. Finally, the applicability of this design approach beyond the specific circumstances of the case study presented in this paper is discussed. This case represents only one example of the broader, worldwide challenge to design appropriate collection systems to direct consumer behavior in desired directions. It is argued that the approach presented in this paper could be a valuable contribution to research dealing with this challenge

  8. 77 FR 21584 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same; Institution of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-10

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Inv. No. 337-TA-836] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display... electronics and display devices and products containing same by reason of infringement of certain claims of U... importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of certain consumer electronics and...

  9. Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandle, Jessie; Tugendhaft, Aviva; Michalow, Julia; Hofman, Karen

    2015-01-01

    To identify peer-reviewed research on consumers' usage and attitudes towards the nutrition label and the food industry's response to labelling regulations outside Europe, North America, and Australia and to determine knowledge gaps for future research. Narrative review. This review identified nutrition labelling research from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Consumers prefer that pre-packaged food include nutrition information, although there is a disparity between rates of use and comprehension. Consumer preference is for front-of-pack labelling and for information that shows per serving or portion as a reference unit, and label formats with graphics or symbols. Research on the food and beverage industry's response is more limited but shows that industry plays an active role in influencing legislation and regulation. Consumers around the world share preferences with consumers in higher income countries with respect to labelling. However, this may reflect the research study populations, who are often better educated than the general population. Investigation is required into how nutrition labels are received in emerging economies especially among the urban and rural poor, in order to assess the effectiveness of labelling policies. Further research into the outlook of the food and beverage industry, and also on expanded labelling regulations is a priority. Sharing context-specific research regarding labelling between countries in the global South could be mutually beneficial in evaluating obesity prevention policies and strategies.

  10. Do you really know your consumers? : analyzing the impact of consumer knowledge on use and failure evaluation of consumer electronics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keijzers, J.

    2010-01-01

    The field of Consumer Electronics (CE) can be characterized by continuous technological innovation, fierce global competition, strong pressure on time-to-market, fast adoption cycles and increasingly complex business processes. In this context it is increasingly challenging for product designers and

  11. Industry and Consumers Awareness for Effective Management of Functional Animal-based Foods in South Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Wi, Seo-Hyun; Park, Jung-Min; Wee, Sung-Hwan; Park, Jae-Woo; Kim, Jin-Man

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, manufacturers of animal-based foods with health claims have encountered difficulties in the labeling of their products because of a lack of regulation on defining the functionality of animal-based foods. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish the basic requirements for the development of a definition for functional animal-based foods by investigating consumer and industry awareness. Survey data were collected from 114 industry representatives and 1,100 consumers. Th...

  12. Consumer and food industries education on food irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Othman, Z.

    2001-01-01

    A survey was conducted on Malaysian food industries to determine the interest and potential applications of food irradiation as an alternative or to complement existing food preservation treatments. A total of 37 food processors representing 5 subsectors of the food industry participated in the survey. Information collected showed that majority of respondents were aware of food irradiation but the level of knowledge was low. Half of respondents perceived food irradiation as safe and 23% will consider using it for commercial purposes. Main concerns of the food processors were safety of the process, safety of irradiated food, efficacy of the process and consumer acceptance. Food irradiation applications considered to have the most potential for use by the food industry, were those which would improve the hygienic quality of food products. Despite the limited knowledge, respondents strongly supported the need to promote food irradiation technology in Malaysia. In view of this finding. various promotional activities have been continuously carried out to increase public awareness and understanding of the technology so as to facilitate acceptance of food irradiation in Malaysia. (author)

  13. Two-Year Operational Evaluation Of A Consumer Electronics-Based Data Acquisition System For Equipment Monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Hoy, Blake W. [ORNL; Phillips, Larry D. [ORNL; Wetherington Jr, G Randall [ORNL; Damiano, Brian [ORNL; Green, Craig [ORNL

    2017-04-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has performed a two-year evaluation of the performance of an in-house developed consumer electronics-based data acquisition system (DAS). The main advantage of this approach compared to conventional instrumentation grade systems is cost; instrument grade data acquisition systems average costs range from $800 to $2,000 per channel compared to a range of $200 - $400 per channel for a consumer electronics-based system. The DAS is operated as a full-time in-situ vibration monitor. The resulting data stream is streamed over the ORNL network, at an aggregate rate of approximately 2 megabytes/s, to a Linux server. The server includes the capability to implement event-triggered data stores, as well as real-time files for the implementation of continuous display monitoring of the spectra. Detailed spectral analysis is performed post event. The DAS is installed on a large industrial chiller and cooling water pump associated with ORNL’s Titan supercomputer. These mechanical systems include rotating components that operate at fundamental frequencies within the range of 30 Hz to over 3 KHz. Evaluation of the DAS data over a two-year operating period leads to the conclusion that for many industrial processes this system could form the basis for a cost effective means of obtaining operating health data in real time from rotating machinery. The deployment has also shown that the DAS technology is reliable. Furthermore, because the cost of the DAS is low, the other significant advantage of this approach is that the DAS can be deployed in a dedicated manner and operated on a full-time basis.

  14. Postponed variety creation: case study in consumer electronics retail

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Appelqvist, Patrik; Gubi, Ebbe

    2005-01-01

    Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design/methodology/approach – Improve...... modular product architecture can be utilised to improve operational supply chain performance.......Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design....../methodology/approach – Improvement potential is first evaluated qualitatively through interviews with dealers of the case company. Next, the benefit of postponement is evaluated quantitatively using discrete-event simulation with data from operational ERP systems. The conclusions identify conditions under which postponement...

  15. 77 FR 18860 - Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and Tablets; Notice of Receipt of Complaint...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-28

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2885] Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and.... International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile... electronics, including mobile phones and tablets. The complaint names as respondents ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. of...

  16. Energy use of U.S. consumer electronics at the end of the 20th century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, Karen; Meier, Alan

    2000-01-01

    The major consumer electronics in U.S. homes accounted for over 10 percent of U.S. residential electricity consumption, which is comparable to the electricity consumed by refrigerators or lighting. We attribute 3.6 percent to video products, 3.3 percent to home office equipment, and 1.8 percent to audio products. Televisions use more energy than any other single product category, but computer energy use now ranks second and is likely to continue growing. In all, consumer electronics consumed 110 THw in the U.S. in 1999, over 60 percent of which was consumed while the products were not in use

  17. Consumer cooperatives as an alternative form of governance: the case of the broadband industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sadowski, B.M.

    2017-01-01

    With a growing number of consumer cooperatives in non-agrarian industries such as energy and broadband, there is a need to better understand their emergence as a viable form of governance. In this context, the paper uses Mikami’s (2010) model on consumer cooperatives to explain their emergence as a

  18. The electron accelerator in industry - safety aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirthi, K.N.

    1993-01-01

    Electron beam accelerators are being used in increasing numbers in a variety of important applications. Commercial uses include radiography, food preservation, product sterilisation and radiation processing of materials. Since most of the industrial applications involve products, some that can be treated with electrons and others that require photons, electron accelerators serve this dual purpose economically. Although industrial accelerators are now regarded as standard products, finished installations show considerable diversity, reflecting the users, needs and planning. Because of the high radiation output, proper planning regarding safety is warranted. This paper discusses the hazards, safety and planning required during design and operation of the electron beam accelerators. (author). 4 refs., 1 fig

  19. Customers' Beliefs Behind Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce

    OpenAIRE

    Nena Lim

    2001-01-01

    With the rising importance of electronic commerce, it is important for researchers and company executives to understand customers' beliefs behind online shopping behaviour. This proposed study extends the technology acceptance model (TAM) to test the influence of experience, self-efficacy, perceived risk, and social influence on customers' acceptance of the business-to consumer (b2c) e-commerce.

  20. Mobilizing Public Opinion for the Tobacco Industry: The Consumer Tax Alliance and Excise Taxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Richard; Balbach, Edith D.

    2009-01-01

    Background Tobacco industry funding was instrumental in creating and financing the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 as an ostensibly organization that relied upon extensive media outreach to build opposition to excise taxes as a regressive form of taxation. By obscuring its own role in this effort, the tobacco industry undermined the public’s reasonable expectations for transparency in the policy making process. Aim To examine the formation and activities of the Consumer Tax Alliance as a “hybrid” form of interest group in order to provide tobacco control and public health advocates with a better understanding of unanticipated tobacco industry coalitions and facilitate appropriate counter measures. Methods Document searches through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and through Tobacco Documents Online and review of background literature. Results The Tobacco Institute actively sought liberal allies beginning in the mid-1980s in seeking to build public opposition to cigarette excise tax increases by promoting them as a regressive form of taxation. The creation of the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 was expressly intended to turn labor and middle class opinion against prospective excise tax increases in federal budget deficit negotiations, without divulging the tobacco industry’s role in its formation. Conclusion It is important to understand the dynamic by which trusted organizations can be induced to alter their agendas in response to funding sources. Advocates need to understand this form of interest group behavior so that they are better able to negotiate the policy arena by diagnosing and exposing this influence where it occurs and, by doing so, be better prepared to take appropriate counter measures. What this paper adds The tobacco industry’s political strategies for utilizing third party efforts to contest cigarette excise tax increases have not been extensively studied. While there has been some attention to industry sponsorship of third parties, the

  1. Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessie Mandle

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: To identify peer-reviewed research on consumers’ usage and attitudes towards the nutrition label and the food industry's response to labelling regulations outside Europe, North America, and Australia and to determine knowledge gaps for future research. Design: Narrative review. Results: This review identified nutrition labelling research from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Consumers prefer that pre-packaged food include nutrition information, although there is a disparity between rates of use and comprehension. Consumer preference is for front-of-pack labelling and for information that shows per serving or portion as a reference unit, and label formats with graphics or symbols. Research on the food and beverage industry's response is more limited but shows that industry plays an active role in influencing legislation and regulation. Conclusions: Consumers around the world share preferences with consumers in higher income countries with respect to labelling. However, this may reflect the research study populations, who are often better educated than the general population. Investigation is required into how nutrition labels are received in emerging economies especially among the urban and rural poor, in order to assess the effectiveness of labelling policies. Further research into the outlook of the food and beverage industry, and also on expanded labelling regulations is a priority. Sharing context-specific research regarding labelling between countries in the global South could be mutually beneficial in evaluating obesity prevention policies and strategies.

  2. Nutrition labelling: a review of research on consumer and industry response in the global South

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandle, Jessie; Tugendhaft, Aviva; Michalow, Julia; Hofman, Karen

    2015-01-01

    Background To identify peer-reviewed research on consumers’ usage and attitudes towards the nutrition label and the food industry's response to labelling regulations outside Europe, North America, and Australia and to determine knowledge gaps for future research. Design Narrative review. Results This review identified nutrition labelling research from 20 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Consumers prefer that pre-packaged food include nutrition information, although there is a disparity between rates of use and comprehension. Consumer preference is for front-of-pack labelling and for information that shows per serving or portion as a reference unit, and label formats with graphics or symbols. Research on the food and beverage industry's response is more limited but shows that industry plays an active role in influencing legislation and regulation. Conclusions Consumers around the world share preferences with consumers in higher income countries with respect to labelling. However, this may reflect the research study populations, who are often better educated than the general population. Investigation is required into how nutrition labels are received in emerging economies especially among the urban and rural poor, in order to assess the effectiveness of labelling policies. Further research into the outlook of the food and beverage industry, and also on expanded labelling regulations is a priority. Sharing context-specific research regarding labelling between countries in the global South could be mutually beneficial in evaluating obesity prevention policies and strategies. PMID:25623608

  3. Customers' Beliefs Behind Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nena Lim

    2001-11-01

    Full Text Available With the rising importance of electronic commerce, it is important for researchers and company executives to understand customers' beliefs behind online shopping behaviour. This proposed study extends the technology acceptance model (TAM to test the influence of experience, self-efficacy, perceived risk, and social influence on customers' acceptance of the business-to consumer (b2c e-commerce.

  4. Consumer guidance in product innovation: Conceptualisation of a measurement instrument for the fast-moving consumer goods industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Ana I. A.

    Recent meta-analysis of the impact of market-orientation on business performance yielded a significant positive correlation between market-orientation and new product performance (.35) and innovativeness (.45) (Kirca, Jayachandran & O'Bearden, 2005) Behavioral perspective of market-orientation: a......Recent meta-analysis of the impact of market-orientation on business performance yielded a significant positive correlation between market-orientation and new product performance (.35) and innovativeness (.45) (Kirca, Jayachandran & O'Bearden, 2005) Behavioral perspective of market......-orientation: a set of organizational activities that are related to the generation and dissemination of and responsiveness to market intelligence (Kohli, Jaworski & Kumar, 1993) Market-orientation comprises three behavioral components - customer-orientation, competitor-orientation and inter-functional coordination...... and innovativeness across different types of FMCG manufacturers? One way of approaching these questions in the context of innovation in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry is to apply the concept of consumer-led new product development. Consumer-led product development was introduced in the early 90's...

  5. The commoditization of consumer electronics products and its influence on packaging design

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, R.; Boks, C.; Stevels, A.

    2008-01-01

    The traditional purpose of packaging for consumer electronics (CE) products was to get them in one piece from the factory to the consumers home. It was purely focused on the physical distribution. In that time, buying a CE product could be considered a major family investment. However, times have

  6. A study of customer value co-creation in fashion industry: A consumer perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Chan, Yan Yee Ashley

    2010-01-01

    The globalisation of the market for luxury brands has given the luxury fashion industry an ever expanding market and a huge number of consumers yet brand owners are facing challenges in ensuring sufficient customer value in their brands to differentiate themselves. Recent marketing research suggested the traditional good-dominant economy has shifted to service-dominant economy that focuses on personalised brand experiences and value creation processes involving the brand owners and consumers....

  7. The effect of electronic word of mouth communication and brand image on purchase intention: A case of consumer electronics in Haripur, Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anees Kazmi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to focus on the purchase intention of the consumer specifically the millennial age group with respect to the effect of Electronic word of mouth communication and brand image. The study is performed among the students of the University of Haripur. Study reveals that the effect of Electronic word of mouth and brand image for the purchase of consumer electronics products have positively correlated and the effect is significant, which means that the Word of mouth communication can positively respond to the purchase of the said products in case when the products are branded and have certain image in the mind of consumer.

  8. Performance Measurement Model for the Consumer Industry Listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange: DEA and SFA Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T.Handono Eko Prabowo

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This  research  attempts  to  provide  performance  measurement  model  for  the  consumer industry listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX by  using the data envelopment analysis (DEA and the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA. There were 36 panel irms analyzed over the period of 2000-2005 or 216 pooled observations. The output variable was total sales and input variables were labor, inventory, ixed assets and capital. Z-variables are age of the irm, size  of  the  irm,  market  share  and  time  period.  Empirical  indings  reveal  that  the  average technical  eficiency  (mean  TE  for  consumer  industry  was  0.6630.  The  study  indicates  the existence of output slacks (output deicits and input slacks (input wastages in the consumer industry's  operation.  The  study  also  shows  that  the  joint  effect  of  four  z-variables  on  the technical  ineficiencies  of  the  consumer  industry  was  signiicant  although  the  individual effects of one or more variables might not be statistically signiicant. ";} // -->activate javascript

  9. Efficient Consumer Response (ECR: a survey of the Australian grocery industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Swatman

    1998-05-01

    Full Text Available Efficient consumer response (ECR is a U.S. supply chain management strategy which attempts to address the inefficiencies which have led to excessive inventory and unnecessary costs at all levels within the grocery industry supply chain. This paper discusses the traditional grocery store format, the supermarket, and the ways in which inefficient business practices developed in the U.S. grocery supply chain; and discusses the major business activities needed for successful implementation of ECR. The paper then presents a brief summary of the results of a survey of ECR knowledge and usage within the Australian grocery industry, which is the initial phase of a long term research project whose main purpose is to evaluate ECR as it applies to that industry.

  10. Continuous Improvement and its Barriers in Electrical and Electronic Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Md Fauzi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Continuous improvement is one of the core strategies for manufacturing excellent and it is considered vital in today’s business environment. Continuous improvement is an important factor in TQM implementation. However, manufacturers in Electrical and Electronic Industry is facing variety of challenges such as, time constraint, quality issue, headcount issue, human issue and competition in domestic as well as the global market. This paper presents total quality management practices in Electrical and Electronic (EE Industry. These manufacturers have to keep improving in key activities and processes to cope the challenges. Therefore, EE industry realize the importance of continuous improvement in helping the industries by setting clear goals and priorities for the area of improvement. The aims of this study are to determine the main factor in implementing continuous improvement practices, identify tools of continuous improvement that have been used and their obstacle in implementing continuous improvement practices. 200 questionnaires had been distributed to the employees in Electrical and Electronic Industry located at Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia. A total of 41 questionnaires were answered which represented about 20.5% response rates. Survey result shows that teamwork and training and learning are respectively the importance factor and the most practices factor in Electrical and Electronic Industry. Most of the Electrical and Electronic Industry emphasis is on using Lean Manufacturing as the tool of continuous improvement practices. Besides that, Electrical and Electronic Industry faced the problems of lack of budget and lack of worker commitment.

  11. Industrial applications of electron beam accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braid, W.G. Jr.

    1976-01-01

    The use of electron beam accelerators for crosslinking polyolefins for shrinking food packaging is discussed. Irradiation procedures, accelerator characteristics, and industrial operations are described

  12. Electronic flight bag (EFB) : 2010 industry survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    This document provides an overview of Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) systems and capabilities, as of June 2010. This document updates and replaces the April 2007 EFB Industry Review (Yeh and Chandra, 2007). As with the previous industry survey, the focu...

  13. Heating hub and power hub models for optimal performance of an industrial consumer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soudmand, Behnam Maleki; Esfetanaj, Naser Nourani; Mehdipour, Soleiman; Rezaeipour, Roshanak

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Multi-objective framework is proposed for large industrial consumer. • Weighted sum method is used to solve the proposed multi-objective model. • Fuzzy satisfying technique is used to select the trade-off solution. • Demand response program is employed to reduce cost and emission of large consumer. - Abstract: In addition to economic objectives that has always been considered to be the first priority in the scheduling and planning of power systems, concerns over emission of greenhouse gases due to energy consumption of industrial consumers have made policy makers consider environmental issues in the scheduling of such systems. In this paper, a multi-objective framework has been proposed for environmental and economic performance of large consumer in the presence of demand response program (DRP). In order to solve proposed multi-objective model, weighted sum technique is employed and trade-off solution satisfying conflicting objective functions is selected using fuzzy satisfying approach. DRP is employed to shift load from peak periods to off-peak periods to reduce total operation cost and emission. In order to model the proposed problem, a mixed-integer linear program has been employed and GAMS software has been utilized to solve it. Different case studies have been studied and the results have been presented to validate the effectiveness of proposed methods.

  14. Postponed variety creation: case study in consumer electronics retail

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Appelqvist, Patrik; Gubi, Ebbe

    2004-01-01

    Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design/methodology/approach – Improve......Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design...... is beneficial in retail. Findings – In the case company, shop inventory is necessary for high-volume and low-variety products. Postponing variety creation to shops has the potential to decrease inventories for these products by 40-80 per cent. The benefits of postponement depend on delivery speed requirement......, product value, product variety and shop size. Research limitations/implications – Many contributions on postponement have been conceptual. This study contains a quantitative test. The study considers both the spatial dimension (where) and the temporal dimension (when) of postponement. Practical...

  15. Postponed variety creation: case study in consumer electronics retail

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Appelqvist, Patrik; Gubi, Ebbe

    2005-01-01

    Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design/methodology/approach – Improve......Purpose – Postponement is known as a way to reduce risk and inventories while still providing high product variety and acceptable response times. The paper is a case study that uses simulation for quantifying these benefits for a consumer electronics company. Design...... is beneficial in retail. Findings – In the case company, shop inventory is necessary for high-volume and low-variety products. Postponing variety creation to shops has the potential to decrease inventories for these products by 40-80 per cent. The benefits of postponement depend on delivery speed requirement......, product value, product variety and shop size. Research limitations/implications – Many contributions on postponement have been conceptual. This study contains a quantitative test. The study considers both the spatial dimension (where) and the temporal dimension (when) of postponement. Practical...

  16. The impact of software growth on the electronics industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Genuchten, van M.J.I.M.

    2007-01-01

    Software growth has significantly impacted the computer industry and is changing many other electronics industries. It is not a question of whether intellectual property will be sold in the form of software, but which companies will do it successfully. The actions electronics companies take today

  17. Factors affecting willingness to share electronic health data among California consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Katherine K; Sankar, Pamela; Wilson, Machelle D; Haynes, Sarah C

    2017-04-04

    Robust technology infrastructure is needed to enable learning health care systems to improve quality, access, and cost. Such infrastructure relies on the trust and confidence of individuals to share their health data for healthcare and research. Few studies have addressed consumers' views on electronic data sharing and fewer still have explored the dual purposes of healthcare and research together. The objective of the study is to explore factors that affect consumers' willingness to share electronic health information for healthcare and research. This study involved a random-digit dial telephone survey of 800 adult Californians conducted in English and Spanish. Logistic regression was performed using backward selection to test for significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) associations of each explanatory variable with the outcome variable. The odds of consent for electronic data sharing for healthcare decreased as Likert scale ratings for EHR impact on privacy worsened, odds ratio (OR) = 0.74, 95% CI [0.60, 0.90]; security, OR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.66, 0.98]; and quality, OR = 0.59, 95% CI [0.46-0.75]. The odds of consent for sharing for research was greater for those who think EHR will improve research quality, OR = 11.26, 95% CI [4.13, 30.73]; those who value research benefit over privacy OR = 2.72, 95% CI [1.55, 4.78]; and those who value control over research benefit OR = 0.49, 95% CI [0.26, 0.94]. Consumers' choices about electronically sharing health information are affected by their attitudes toward EHRs as well as beliefs about research benefit and individual control. Design of person-centered interventions utilizing electronically collected health information, and policies regarding data sharing should address these values of importance to people. Understanding of these perspectives is critical for leveraging health data to support learning health care systems.

  18. Electricity pricing: optimal operation and investment by industrial consumers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Outhred, H.R.; Kaye, R.J.; Sutanto, D.; Manimaran, R.; Bannister, C.H.; Lee, Y.B.

    1988-08-01

    Ongoing research in the areas of economically efficient electricity pricing and industrial consumer response is described. A new electricity pricing theory is described that incorporates future uncertainty and intertemporal linkages between decisions. It indicates that electricity prices should contain two terms - short-run marginal cost plus a term that reflects how each particular decision is likely to affect future global welfare. A practical implementation using spot prices and forward contracts plus financial instruments for risk sharing and decision coordination is explored, and a procedure for developing long-term pricing policy is considered. The operation of industrial plant has been investigated and models developed to optimize plant behaviour in response to spot prices and forward contracts for electricity. These models are described and results of simulation studies discussed. The economic efficiency and risk sharing advantages of this advanced tariff structure compared with a conventional time-of-use tariff are illustrated.

  19. Mobilising public opinion for the tobacco industry: the Consumer Tax Alliance and excise taxes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, R; Balbach, E D

    2008-10-01

    Tobacco industry funding was instrumental in creating and financing the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 as an organisation that relied upon extensive media outreach to build opposition to excise taxes as a regressive form of taxation. By obscuring its own role in this effort, the tobacco industry undermined the public's reasonable expectations for transparency in the policy-making process. To examine the formation and activities of the Consumer Tax Alliance as a "hybrid" form of interest group in order to provide tobacco control and public health advocates with a better understanding of unanticipated tobacco industry coalitions and facilitate appropriate countermeasures. Document searches through the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and through Tobacco Documents Online and review of background literature. The Tobacco Institute actively sought liberal allies beginning in the mid-1980s in seeking to build public opposition to cigarette excise tax increases by promoting them as a regressive form of taxation. The creation of the Consumer Tax Alliance in 1989 was expressly intended to turn labour and middle-class opinion against prospective excise tax increases in federal budget deficit negotiations, without divulging the tobacco industry's role in its formation. It is important to understand the dynamic by which trusted organisations can be induced to alter their agendas in response to funding sources. Advocates need to understand this form of interest group behaviour so that they are better able to negotiate the policy arena by diagnosing and exposing this influence where it occurs and, by doing so, be better prepared to take appropriate countermeasures.

  20. Customers’ adoption of electronic banking: An investigation on the commercial banking industry in Zimbabwe.

    OpenAIRE

    Makosana, Musa

    2014-01-01

    The advent of electronic banking offers banking firms a new frontier of opportunities and challenges. This study investigates how social factors, awareness, consumer perceptions and attitudes towards electronic banking influence the adoption of electronic banking in Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe little is known and understood about the emergence of electronic banking, this is because electronic banking is new, and so consumer acceptance and use of electronic banking is still limited. This study has r...

  1. Industry Responsibilities in Tackling Direct-to-Consumer Marketing of Unproven Stem Cell Treatments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Master, Z; Fu, W; Paciulli, D; Sipp, D

    2017-08-01

    The direct-to-consumer marketing of unproven stem cell interventions (SCIs) is a serious public health concern. Regulations and education have had modest impact, indicating that different actors must play a role to stop this unfettered market. We consider the role of the biotech industry in tackling unproven SCIs. Grounded in the concept of corporate social responsibility, we argue that biotech companies should screen consumers to ensure that products and services are being used appropriately and educate employees about unproven SCIs. © 2017 ASCPT.

  2. Industrial garnet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, D.W.

    2000-01-01

    The state of the global industrial garnet industry in 1999 is discussed. Industrial garnet mined in the U.S., which accounts for approximately one-third of the world's total, is usually a solid-solution of almandine and pyrope. The U.S. is the largest consumer of industrial garnet, using an estimated 47,800 st in 1999 as an abrasive and as a filtration medium in the petroleum industry, filtration plants, aircraft and motor vehicle manufacture, shipbuilding, wood furniture finishing operations, electronic component manufacture, ceramics manufacture, and glass production. Prices for crude concentrates ranged from approximately $50 to $110/st and refined garnet from $50 to $215/st in 1999, depending on type, source, quantity purchased, quality, and application.

  3. Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, Betsy; Carlson, Samantha C; Moilanen, Molly; Schillo, Barbara A

    2016-12-01

    Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646) were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%), content on tobacco company websites (39.1%), and tobacco coupons (15.7%). Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52-2.37). Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.

  4. Reaching consumers: How the tobacco industry uses email marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Betsy Brock

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Tobacco companies are restricted from engaging in many traditional forms of marketing. Direct marketing is one way tobacco companies can reach consumers while complying with regulation and avoiding negative public perception. There is little research on this type of opt-in marketing, which includes mail marketing, email marketing, web marketing, and mobile marketing, and its impact is not well understood. This study examined 6990 tobacco company emails received by individuals living in the state of Minnesota, US between January 2010 and May 2015 to determine email frequency by brand. These emails were gathered as part of ongoing surveillance of tobacco industry direct marketing. A subset of these emails received between October 2014 and May 2015 (n = 1646 were content analyzed to identify the purpose of the email communication along with type of product promoted. Tobacco companies use email to communicate with consumers on a regular basis. This communication was observed to be as frequent as nine times per month. Emails are most commonly used to promote contests (54.1%, content on tobacco company websites (39.1%, and tobacco coupons (15.7%. Email promotion of menthol-flavored tobacco products was common and was associated with promotion of coupons. Emails promoting menthol had a 1.9 times higher prevalence of also promoting coupons (95% CI: 1.52–2.37. Little is known about tobacco company email marketing and this study fills an identified research gap. A deeper understanding of this type of marketing is needed in order to counter tobacco industry messaging and advance tobacco control.

  5. Technology and application of two sets of industrial electron accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hua Degen

    2000-01-01

    The radiation industry in China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP) has had a big scale, and the two sets of industrial electron accelerators play important roles. The Electron Processing System (E.P.S), which was introduced in 1987, is a powerful electron accelerator. And the 10 MeV Accelerator, which is a traveling wave linear electron accelerator, has the higher electron energy. Both of the stes are equipped the driving devices under the beam, and has made a considerable economic results. This article describes the technology and application of the two electron accelerators. (author)

  6. Accelerators in industrial electron beam processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, R.C.

    1984-01-01

    High power electron beam accelerators are being used for a variety of industrial processes. Such machines can process a wide range of products at very high thruput rates and at very low unit processing costs. These industrial accelerators are now capable of producing up to 200 kW of electron beam power at 4.0 MV and 100 kW at 5.0 MV. At this writing, even larger units are contemplated. The reliability of these high power devices also makes it feasible to consider bremsstrahlung (x-ray) processing as well. In addition to the advance of accelerator technology, microprocessor control systems now provide the capability to coordinate all the operations of the irradiation facility, including the accelerator, the material handling system, the personnel safety system and various auxiliary services. Facility designs can be adapted to many different industrial processes, including use of the dual purpose electron/x-ray accelerator, to ensure satisfactory product treatment with good dose uniformity, high energy efficiency and operational safety and simplicity. In addition, equipment manufacturers like RDI are looking beyond their conventional DC accelerator technology; looking at high power 10-12 MeV linear accelerators with power levels up to 25 kW or more. These high power linear accelerators could be the ideal processing tool for many sterilization and food irradiation applications. (author)

  7. Load curves of industrial consumers: aggregation with other loads; Curvas de carga de consumidores industriais - agregacao com outras cargas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casolari, Ronaldo Pedro; Jardini, Jose Antonio

    1996-07-01

    This work presents a methodology for load curves of industrial consumers, considering voltages up to 13.8 kV and inclusive. Initially, load curves representing the most significant activities were obtained, by performing a research of the industrial consumers from a survey of consumers and the respective month basis electric power consumption. The analysis similarity among the curves of various activities was conducted without using of any appropriated software, in accordance with the results obtained from the study of the commercial area. A computer program was developed for the determination of the expected loading in primary transformers and feeders, from representative curves and the month basis consumption of the consumers connected to those systems, considering the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The test of the proposed methodology, for evaluation of loading of transformers and feeders, was performed by comparing the obtained curves with the measurements conducted by the electric power utilities in a transformer and a feeder.

  8. Industrial wastewater treatment with electron beam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Bumsoo; Ko, Jaein; Kim, Jinkyu; Kim, Yuri; Chung, Wooho [Central Research Institute of Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Taejon (Korea)

    2001-03-01

    Global withdrawals of water to satisfy human demands have grown dramatically in this century. Between 1900 and 1945, water consumption increased by over six times, more than double the rate of population growth. This rapid growth in water demand is due to the increasing reliance on irrigation to achieve food security, the growth of industrial uses, and the increasing use per capita for domestic purposes. Given the seriousness of the situation and future risk of crises, there is an urgent need to develop the water-efficient technologies including economical treatment methods of wastewater and polluted water. In the Central Research Institute of Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), many industrial wastewater including leachate from landfill area, wastewater from papermill, dyeing complex, petrochemical processes, etc. are under investigation with electron beam irradiation. For the study of treating dyeing wastewater combined with conventional facilities, an electron beam pilot plant for treating 1,000m{sup 3}/day of wastewater from 80,000m{sup 3}/day of total dyeing wastewater has constructed and operated in Taegu Dyeing Industrial Complex. A commercial plant for re-circulation of wastewater from Papermill Company is also designed for S-paper Co. in Cheongwon City, and after the successful installation, up to 80% of wastewater could be re-used in paper producing process. (author)

  9. Industrial wastewater treatment with electron beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Bumsoo; Ko, Jaein; Kim, Jinkyu; Kim, Yuri; Chung, Wooho

    2001-01-01

    Global withdrawals of water to satisfy human demands have grown dramatically in this century. Between 1900 and 1945, water consumption increased by over six times, more than double the rate of population growth. This rapid growth in water demand is due to the increasing reliance on irrigation to achieve food security, the growth of industrial uses, and the increasing use per capita for domestic purposes. Given the seriousness of the situation and future risk of crises, there is an urgent need to develop the water-efficient technologies including economical treatment methods of wastewater and polluted water. In the Central Research Institute of Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), many industrial wastewater including leachate from landfill area, wastewater from papermill, dyeing complex, petrochemical processes, etc. are under investigation with electron beam irradiation. For the study of treating dyeing wastewater combined with conventional facilities, an electron beam pilot plant for treating 1,000m 3 /day of wastewater from 80,000m 3 /day of total dyeing wastewater has constructed and operated in Taegu Dyeing Industrial Complex. A commercial plant for re-circulation of wastewater from Papermill Company is also designed for S-paper Co. in Cheongwon City, and after the successful installation, up to 80% of wastewater could be re-used in paper producing process. (author)

  10. The emerging "fans economy" marketing mode in digital consuming products industry in China

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Chao

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis was to identify the new marketing mode in the consuming products industry and to discuss its feasibility to apply the emerging marketing mode into other industries or countries. The new marketing mode is called the “Fans economy” marketing mode. The objectives of the thesis are comparing the new marketing mode with the traditional one rather than challenging it, so that the thesis can make the analysis about the advantages and the disadvantages of the new marketing ...

  11. Supply chain performance attributes for the fast moving consumer goods industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhu Bala

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This research paper identifies the supply chain performance attributes that are relevant to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG industry. The FMCG supply chains are analysed from the perspective of processes, components and typology. The typical issues faced by the FMCG supply chains are also explored. Three supply chain operational models are compared and identify SCOR as the one best suited for the FMCG industry. The survey, conducted with the respondents from four research cases across two product categories, demonstrates the acceptance and the usage of the performance attributes for the FMCG supply chains. The results also include the analysis of the typology of the research cases across two product categories.

  12. American Gadgets: Cybernetics, Consumer Electronics, and Twentieth-Century US Fiction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simeone, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Challenging the argument that liberal humanism faces extinction in the face of ubiquitous digital technologies, my dissertation analyzes the ways in which consumer electronics reinscribe the human subject as a privileged category in the information age. Through spaces like the Matrix, Windows 7, or even the single row of play controls on a…

  13. Communication and Industrial Electronics. Trade and Industrial Education Trade Preparatory Training Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebraska State Dept. of Education, Lincoln. Div. of Vocational Education.

    One of a series of curriculum guides prepared for the electricity/electronics occupations cluster, this guide identifies the essentials of the communication and industrial electronics trade as recommended by the successful electrical servicemen. An instructional program based upon the implementation of the guide is expected to prepare a student to…

  14. Space power plants and power-consuming industrial systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Latyshev, L.; Semashko, N.

    1996-01-01

    An opportunity to create the space power production on the basis of solar, nuclear and fusion energies is analyzed. The priority of solar power production as the most accessible and feasible in comparison with others is emphasized. However, later on, it probably will play an auxiliary role. The possibilities of fusion power production, as a basic one in future, are also considered. It is necessary to create reactors using the fueling cycle with helium-3 (instead of tritium and deuterium, later on). The reaction products--charged particles, mainly--allow one to organize the system of direct fusion energy conversion into electricity. The produced energy is expected not to be transmitted to Earth, but an industry in space is expected to be produced on its basis. The industrial (power and science-consuming) objects located on a whole number of space apparatus will form a single complex with its own basic power plant. The power transmission within the complex will be realized with high power density fluxes of microwave radiation to short distances with their receivers at the objects. The necessary correction of the apparatus positions in the complex will be done with ion and plasma thrusters. The materials present on the Moon, asteroids and on other planets can serve as raw materials for industrial objects. Such an approach will help to improve the ecological state on Earth, to eliminate the necessity in the fast energy consumption growth and to reduce the hazard of global thermal crisis

  15. Views of health journalists, industry employees and news consumers about disclosure and regulation of industry-journalist relationships: an empirical ethical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipworth, Wendy; Kerridge, Ian; Morrell, Bronwen; Forsyth, Rowena; Jordens, Christopher F C

    2015-03-01

    Bioethicists and policymakers are increasingly concerned about the effects on health journalism of relationships between journalists and private corporations. The concern is that relationships between journalists and manufacturers of medicines, medical devices, complementary medicines and food can and do distort health reporting. This is a problem because health news is known to have a major impact on the public's health-related expectations and behaviour. Commentators have proposed two related approaches to protecting the public from potential harms arising from industry-journalist interactions: greater transparency and external regulation. To date, few empirical studies have examined stakeholders' views of industry-journalist relationships and how these should be managed. We conducted interviews with 13 journalists and 12 industry employees, and 2 focus groups with consumers. Our findings, which are synthesised here, provide empirical support for the need for greater transparency and regulation of industry-journalist relationships. Our findings also highlight several likely barriers to instituting such measures, which will need to be overcome if transparency and regulation are to be accepted by stakeholders and have their intended effect on the quality of journalism and the actions of news consumers. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  16. Electronic commerce: wiring the coal industry for new data technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carter, R.A.

    1998-07-01

    Industry pundits predict that coal by wire may some day replace much of the industry`s long-distance shipping requirements and their attendant costs, but data by wire, also known as electronic commerce (EC) can today offer coal producers and customers the means to gather and send large volumes of data cheaply and quickly. EC`s major components - electronic data interchange (EDI), bar-coding, smart codes, radio frequency `D`, and the internet - can reduce costs in equipment-intensive industries such as mining. The US National Mining Association sponsored a forum to discuss these alternatives at its 1998 Electronic Commerce Summit held in Tuscon, Arizona, 18-20 May. A report is given of discussions at the forum and contacts are given for sources of EDI information.

  17. Consumer Information in the Electronic Media: Neutral Information, Advertising, Selling. Working Paper No. 4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepstrup, Preben; Olander, Folke

    This paper presents a self-contained summary in English of the results of a research project conducted for the Nordic Council of Ministers to define problems, advantages, and disadvantages of the electronic dissemination of information for consumers, and to determine whether consumer organizations should adapt their information activities and…

  18. Group-Oriented Services: A Shift towards Consumer-Managed Relationships in the Telecom Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrdoljak, Luka; Bojic, Iva; Podobnik, Vedran; Jezic, Gordan; Kusek, Mario

    Today, telecom operators face a threefold challenge: a social challenge dealing with the evolution of the consumer lifestyle, a technological challenge dealing with ever changing ICT trends and a business challenge dealing with the need for innovative business models. This paper introduces an idea of group-oriented services, a special type of personalized telecom services, as a possible solution for all three of these challenges. A proof-of-concept service, called Agent-Based Mobile Content Brokerage, is presented and elaborated with the aim to demonstrate a shift towards consumer-managed relationships, a novel provisioning paradigm within the telecom industry.

  19. Managing Product Usability: How companies deal with usability in the development of electronic consumer products

    OpenAIRE

    Van Kuijk, J.I.

    2010-01-01

    Problem statement: Even though there is a large amount of methods for user-centred design, the usability of electronic consumer products (e.g., portable music players, washing machines and mobile phones) is under pressure. Usability is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use. That the usability of electronic consumer products is under pressure is attributed to an incre...

  20. Mass Customization in the Electronics Industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvam, Lars

    2006-01-01

    This article describes how Amercian Power Conversion (APC), a company in the electronics industry, has used the principles of mass customization to achieve major improvements of its efficiency and performance. APC sells, designs, produces, delivers, and installs large complex infrastructure systems...

  1. Mass Customization in the electronics industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvam, Lars

    2006-01-01

    American Power Conversion (APC), a company in the electronics industry, has used the principles of mass customisation to achieve major improvements in its efficiency and performance. APC sells, designs, produces, delivers, and installs large complex infrastructure systems for data centres...

  2. Power electronics applied to industrial systems and transports

    CERN Document Server

    Patin, Nicolas

    2015-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive overview of power electronic converters (DC / DC, DC / AC, AC / DC and AC / AC) conventionally used in industrial and transportation applications, specifically for the supply of electric machines with variable speed drop off window. From the perspective of design and sizing, this book presents the different functions encountered in a modular way for power electronics.Power Converters and Their Control details less traditional topics such as matrix converters and multilevel converters. This book also features a case study design of an industrial controller, wh

  3. Space Station - The base for tomorrow's electronic industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naumann, Robert J.

    1985-01-01

    The potential value of space material processing on the Space Station for the electronics industry is examined. The primary advantages of the space environment for producing high-purity semiconductors and electrooptical materials are identified as the virtual absence of gravity (suppressing buoyancy-driven convection in melts and density segregation of alloys) and the availabilty of high vacuum (with high pumping speed and heat rejection). The recent history of material development and processing technology in the electronics industry is reviewed, and the principal features of early space experiments are outlined.

  4. Power electronics for renewable energy systems, transportation and industrial applications

    CERN Document Server

    Malinowski, Mariusz; Al-Haddad, Kamal

    2014-01-01

    Power Electronics for Renewable Energy, Transportation, and Industrial Applications combines state-of-the-art global expertise to present the latest research on power electronics and its application in transportation, renewable energy, and different industrial applications. This timely book aims to facilitate the implementation of cutting-edge techniques to design problems offering innovative solutions to the growing power demands in small- and large-size industries. Application areas in the book range from smart homes and electric and plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEVs), to smart distribution and intelligence operation centers where significant energy efficiency improvements can be achieved through the appropriate use and design of power electronics and energy storage devices.

  5. The Critical Factors Of Corporate Social Responsibility CSR That Contribute Towards Consumer Behavior In The Ready-Made Garments RMG Industry Of Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoebur Rahman

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Ethical gaps in the Ready-Made Garment industry of Bangladesh has emerged as a growing concern for the nation and the economy. The industry that is regarded as the backbone of the economy has come under global criticism for negligence in the fields of Corporate Social Responsibility. Although recent catastrophes has led to improvements in compliance there needs to be further understanding of what areas of CSR needs to addressed intensely with regard to sustaining the industry in the competitive global markets. This paper analyses the relationship of the critical factors of internal and external factors of CSR linked to consumer behavior in the RMG industry of Bangladesh. The study has been developed using a myriad of supporting information gathered from consumers at notable stores located at Dhaka Bangladesh. A vast pool of publications has been reviewed and evaluated to identify the key CSR factors that impact consumer behavior and a survey has been conducted with 110 respondents to accumulate realistic insights regarding the consumer trends in the industry with correspondence to CSR initiatives of the firms.

  6. Employment changes in U.S. hardwood lumber consuming industries during economic expansions and contractions since 1991

    Science.gov (United States)

    William G. Luppold; Matt Bumgardner

    2016-01-01

    Understanding employment trends is important for discerning the economic vitality of U.S. hardwood lumber users. After a period of growth in the 1990s, employment in industries consuming hardwood lumber has declined in the 21st century. The wood household furniture industry has experienced the greatest decline, with North Carolina, Virginia, and California being the...

  7. Superconducting analogue electronics for research and industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winkler, D

    2003-01-01

    This paper gives a brief review of superconducting electronics in research and industry. Examples will show how science benefits from the development and how superconducting devices have found their way into industry and to some commercial products. Impact in terms of enabling new research in other fields (e.g. radio astronomy, medicine), in industry (certification, safety, metrology, etc) and in terms of market will be addressed. From the examples, two fields will be emphasized: superconducting detectors for astronomy and the superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) employed for different applications

  8. Workshop on scientific and industrial applications of free electron lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Difilippo, F.C.; Perez, R.B.

    1990-05-01

    A Workshop on Scientific and Industrial Applications of Free Electron Lasers was organized to address potential uses of a Free Electron Laser in the infrared wavelength region. A total of 13 speakers from national laboratories, universities, and the industry gave seminars to an average audience of 30 persons during June 12 and 13, 1989. The areas covered were: Free Electron Laser Technology, Chemistry and Surface Science, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Condensed Matter, and Biomedical Applications, Optical Damage, and Optoelectronics

  9. Electronic data interchange in the Canadian natural gas industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheinfield, J.

    1995-01-01

    The concept of electronic data interchange (EDI) in the gas industry was discussed. EDI as a champion of costumer service and as a powerful management tool was defined, and the process of electronic information transfer was explained. EDI was then placed in the context of the business process, and its benefits in providing efficient service and product improvement were enumerated. North American Gas EDI standards, and industry initiatives were explored in detail

  10. Consumer-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce: A Distinct Research Stream

    OpenAIRE

    Kiku Jones; Lori N.K. Leonard

    2007-01-01

    Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce is a growing area of e-commerce. However, according to a meta-analysis of critical themes of e-commerce, C2C e-commerce was only represented in the area of online auctions (Wareham, Zheng, & Straub, 2005). C2C e-commerce can encompass much more than just auctions. The question then becomes, “is C2C e-commerce a different research area that deserves its own stream of research?†This study adapts constructs from a business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce st...

  11. Consumer protection act for digital products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hampel, Viktor E.

    1996-03-01

    This report proposes a `Consumer Protection Act for Digital Products' to support electronic commerce and to control the increasing abuse and lack of security on the national information highways. Patterned after the `Food and Drug Act of 1906 (21 USC)' and subsequent legislation, a new agency similar to that of the FDA would have the authority `to develop administrative policy with regard to the safety, effectiveness, and labeling of digital products and their communications for human use, and to review and evaluate new applications of such products.' Specifically, it is proposed that standards, originally developed by the defense industry for the labeling, enveloping, and authentication of digital products delivered to the Government, be extended to promote global electronic commerce by protecting the intellectual property rights of producers, establishing their liability for the end-use of digital products, and give consumers means for informed decision making and purchase.

  12. The Triumph of the Industrial-Consumer Paradigm and English as the Global Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spring, Joel

    2007-01-01

    This article considers the role of English as the global language within the industrial-consumer paradigm. In the 21st century, the English language plays a different function in the global economy than it did during the 19th century when it was used as an instrument of cultural imperialism. Today, English serves as a vehicle for participation in…

  13. Electron-processing technology: A promising application for the viscose industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanik, T. M.; Rajagopal, S.; Ewing, D.; Whitehouse, R.

    1998-06-01

    In marketing its IMPELA ® line of high power, high-throughput industrial accelerators, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) is working with viscose (rayon) companies world-wide to integrate electron-processing technology as part of the viscose manufacturing process. The viscose industry converts cellulose wood pulp into products such as staple fiber, filament, cord, film, packaging, and non-edible sausage casings. This multibillion dollar industry is currently suffering from high production costs, and is facing increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The use of electron-treated pulp can significantly lower production costs and can provide equally significant environmental benefits. This paper describes our current understanding of the benefits of using electron-treated pulp in this process, and AECL's efforts in developing this technology.

  14. SP@CE - An SP-based programming model for consumer electronics streaming applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Varbanescu, Ana Lucia; Nijhuis, Maik; Escribano, Arturo González; Sips, Henk; Bos, Herbert; Bal, Henri

    2007-01-01

    Efficient programming of multimedia streaming applications for Consumer Electronics (CE) devices is not trivial. As a solution for this problem, we present SP@CE, a novel programming model designed to balance the specific requirements of CE streaming applications with the simplicity and efficiency

  15. Industrial applications of electron beam technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan

    1997-01-01

    Electron beam technology was first introduced in Malaysia in 1989 with the conclusion of the bilateral cooperation between the Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT) and Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) on Radiation Application Projects. Two electron beam accelerators with energy of 3.0 MeV and 200 keV were installed at MINT. These two accelerators pave the way for R and D to be carried out in radiation processing of polymers for cross-linking and surface curing. In 1994, another electron beam accelerator was installed in the private sector for cross-linking of home appliance wires. Since then, two more accelerators were installed in the private sector for cross-linking of heat shrinkable plastic films. Recently, a local company has acquired a low energy electron beam machine for cross-linking of plastic film. Within a period of 7 years, industrial applications of electron beam technology in Malaysia have increased significantly

  16. Electricity consumers under the state and the private sector: comparing the price performance of the French and UK electricity industries 1990-2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Percebois, Jacques; Wright, Philip

    2001-01-01

    Particularly because a preoccupation with process has tended to dominate the debate about electricity privatisation and liberalisation, this paper focuses on price outcomes by comparing the relative price performance of the French and UK electricity industries between 1990 and 2000. The main conclusion is that in 1990 the state-owned French electricity industry was performing better for most consumers than the state-owned UK industry, and a decade later it was still doing so with respect to the privately-owned UK industry. While this conclusion could be qualified by saying that, heavily prompted or assisted by the Regulator, the UK privately-owned industry has shown itself capable of achieving faster reductions in prices to close the gap between itself and the French, this achievement has been concentrated in the industrial market and even there the very significant gains were mainly restricted to the very largest consumers. In the context of the European Union the UK is shown to have performed relatively poorly for the smallest domestic consumers and, while both countries did much better in the rankings of industrial prices, they were still a long way behind the top performers. (Author)

  17. Forces Shaping the Electronic Publishing Industry of the 1990s.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Donald T.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Reviews the conventional publishing industry, and discusses a study of the electronic publishing industry and its products and processes. Discusses seven major forces affecting it--technology, economics, demographics, social trends, government policies, applications growth, and industry trends--and outlines principles to follow for success in…

  18. Balancing Environmental Performance with Sales Functionalities in Packaging for Consumer Electronic Products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, R.; Boks, C.; Stevels, A.

    2006-01-01

    Two major changes are currently taking place in the world of Consumer Electronics. They are, first, the relocation of production to low-wage countries, in particularly China. This results in longer distribution distances, which lead to a higher relative importance of this phase in the entire life

  19. 77 FR 31876 - Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same Determination Not...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-30

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 337-TA-836] Certain Consumer Electronics and Display Devices and Products Containing Same Determination Not To Review Initial Determination To Amend... electronics and display devices and products containing the same by reason of infringement of U.S. Patent Nos...

  20. Current state and prospects of industrial application of electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Washio, Masakazu

    2000-01-01

    This paper reviewed the low energy, medium energy, and high energy accelerators used for the industrial application of electron beams. Next, it described the absorption of electron beam energy, distribution of the absorbed dose of electron beams in a substance, and the basis of electron beam reaction. Furthermore, as the industrial application examples of electron beams, it briefly described about the reforming and curing of polymers, irradiation effect of inorganic material (characteristic control of semiconductors), and sterilization. Regarding curing, as examples using mainly low energy electron beams (300 keV or below), this paper briefly explained the manufacture of thermosensitive recording materials, electron beam cured silicone for release papers, tunnel metal interior finishing board, high gloss - high smooth paper. Finally, it looked at latest trends and prospects of electron beam generators. (A.O.)

  1. Tools for Consumer Rights Protection in the Prediction of Electronic Virtual Market and Technological Changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikuláš Gangur

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Electronic virtual markets can serve as an alternative tool for collecting information that is spread among numerous experts. This is the principal market functionality from the operators’ point of view. On the other hand it is profits that are the main interest of the market participants. What they expect from the market is liquidity as high as possible and the opportunity for unrestricted trading. Both the operator and the electronic market participant can be considered consumers of this particular market with reference to the requirements for the accuracy of its outputs but also for the market liquidity. Both the above mentioned groups of consumers (the operators and the participants themselves expect protection of their specific consumer rights, i.e. securing the two above mentioned functionalities of the market. These functionalities of the electronic market are, however, influenced by many factors, among others by participants’ activity. The article deals with the motivation tools that may improve the quality of the prediction market. In the prediction electronic virtual market there may be situations in which the commonly used tools for increasing business activities described in the published literature are not significantly effective. For such situations we suggest a new type of motivation incentive consisting in penalizing the individual market participants whose funds are not placed in the market. The functionality of the proposed motivation incentive is presented on the example of the existing data gained from the electronic virtual prediction market which is actively operated.

  2. Electronics manufacturing and assembly in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kukowski, John A.; Boulton, William R.

    1995-02-01

    In the consumer electronics industry, precision processing technology is the basis for enhancing product functions and for minimizing components and end products. Throughout Japan, manufacturing technology is seen as critical to the production and assembly of advanced products. While its population has increased less than 30 percent over twenty-five years, Japan's gross national product has increase thirtyfold; this growth has resulted in large part from rapid replacement of manual operations with innovative, high-speed, large-scale, continuously running, complex machines that process a growing number of miniaturized components. The JTEC panel found that introduction of next-generation electronics products in Japan goes hand-in-hand with introduction of new and improved production equipment. In the panel's judgment, Japan's advanced process technologies and equipment development and its highly automated factories are crucial elements of its domination of the consumer electronics marketplace - and Japan's expertise in manufacturing consumer electronics products gives it potentially unapproachable process expertise in all electronics markets.

  3. Two-stage discrete-continuous multi-objective load optimization: An industrial consumer utility approach to demand response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdulaal, Ahmed; Moghaddass, Ramin; Asfour, Shihab

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •Two-stage model links discrete-optimization to real-time system dynamics operation. •The solutions obtained are non-dominated Pareto optimal solutions. •Computationally efficient GA solver through customized chromosome coding. •Modest to considerable savings are achieved depending on the consumer’s preference. -- Abstract: In the wake of today’s highly dynamic and competitive energy markets, optimal dispatching of energy sources requires effective demand responsiveness. Suppliers have adopted a dynamic pricing strategy in efforts to control the downstream demand. This method however requires consumer awareness, flexibility, and timely responsiveness. While residential activities are more flexible and schedulable, larger commercial consumers remain an obstacle due to the impacts on industrial performance. This paper combines methods from quadratic, stochastic, and evolutionary programming with multi-objective optimization and continuous simulation, to propose a two-stage discrete-continuous multi-objective load optimization (DiCoMoLoOp) autonomous approach for industrial consumer demand response (DR). Stage 1 defines discrete-event load shifting targets. Accordingly, controllable loads are continuously optimized in stage 2 while considering the consumer’s utility. Utility functions, which measure the loads’ time value to the consumer, are derived and weights are assigned through an analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The method is demonstrated for an industrial building model using real data. The proposed method integrates with building energy management system and solves in real-time with autonomous and instantaneous load shifting in the hour-ahead energy price (HAP) market. The simulation shows the occasional existence of multiple load management options on the Pareto frontier. Finally, the computed savings, based on the simulation analysis with real consumption, climate, and price data, ranged from modest to considerable amounts

  4. Electric restructuring and consumer choice: lessons from other network industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crandall, R. W.

    1999-01-01

    The advantages of the U.S. model of private markets with limited regulation as the best alternative for delivering goods and services to consumers are discussed by citing examples from deregulated industries such as transportation, primary energy and financial markets. In all these cases deregulation has been extraordinarily successful. Experiences from these industries are examined in an effort to extract lessons that might be useful in predicting the likely evolution of competition in the electricity and telecommunications industries. A warning is sounded that deregulating these industries without opening access to the infrastructure (which is owned by carriers) could create major problems of natural-monopoly exploitation by the incumbents that would negate any productive and allocative efficiency gains conferred by deregulation. One obvious choice for liberalizing a network industry with natural-monopoly infrastructure is simply to separate the infrastructure from the delivery of the service as was done with railroads in the United Kingdom. A similar, but less far-reaching example might be the solution devised for natural gas pipelines in the U.S. where pipeline owners opened their infrastructure to competitors, albeit at regulated rates. In the electricity industry, separating power generation from transmission and distribution appears to be fairly simple, provided access to transmission and distribution network is granted. In the telecommunication industry where there is no generation, the natural monopoly may be in the local distribution of traffic to subscribers, hence separation of local distribution from national or regional distribution is the normal way to open up the market to new service providers. Experiences in the U. S., the U. K., Canada and New Zealand in electricity and telecommunications industry deregulation are examined and various pitfalls in current approaches are pointed out. It is the author's contention that announcing a date for the end

  5. Electron beam processing of materials-R and D and industrial utilization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarma, K.S.S.

    2005-01-01

    The early sixties witnessed the beginning of Electron Beam (EB) processing of materials using high-energy electrons and has emerged as a well established technology, presently being adapted by the industry. The process and the processed materials showed definite and distinct advantages/characteristics over the available conventional methods. Even though the commercial exploitation started initially in polymer modifications for better (and suitable) performance through polymerization, cross-linking, degradation and grafting, the processing fields are now diverged to sterilization of health care, food irradiation, controlled defects in semiconductor devices and semi and/or precious stones, waste water/flue gas treatment etc. The availability of electron accelerators that operate as per the requirement of the industrial needs, easy maintenance, expertise availability etc brought the EB processing industry into a multi dollar business world wide. In USA and Japan there are more than 1200 accelerators currently operative in automobile tire, wire and cable and heat shrinkable industry. Output beam powers exceeding 400 kW with electron energy ranging from few hundred keV up to 10 MeV are made available to the industry. In BARC EB processing started with the 2MeV/20 kW electron accelerator and suitable processing techniques have been developed for applications like polymer cross linking (heat resistant LDPE O-rings, wire and cable insulation), color enhancement in precious stones (diamonds) on industrial scale and polymer curing, grafting, degradation on R and D/pilot scale. The commercial success of the process enabled the private cable industry to set up accelerators at their factories. On research and development front, the accelerator is being utilized to develop new polymer blends for high temperature applications, for solid and liquid waste treatment, polypropylene grafting experiments for uranium extraction from sea water, surface curing etc. This paper gives

  6. The Principles of the Consumer Right Protection in Electronic Trade: A Comparative Law Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Elena Anatolyevna Kirillova, Elena Anatolyevna Shergunova1, Elena Stepanovna Ustinovich, Nikolay Nikolaevich Nadezhin, Lyubov Borisovna Sitdikova

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates the speci嘜cs of electronic trade and the issues of protecting the rights of online-consumers, considers their rights and obligations, since we all face a radically new phenomenon in the sphere of trade – An unprecedented boom of electronic trade (e-commerce), based on the use of the Internet for concluding transactions and operations in the systems of wholesale and retail trade. The means of electronic communication provide broad opportunities for direct co...

  7. Perceptions of chronically ill and healthy consumers about electronic personal health records: a comparative empirical investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocosila, Mihail; Archer, Norm

    2014-07-23

    To develop a model of consumer perceptions of electronic personal health records (PHRs) and validate it in a comparative study between consumers who report having a chronic illness and those who report being well. A model of PHR use motivators and barriers was built and tested through a national survey across Canada. Data were collected from 800 individuals, 18 years or older. Half reported having a chronic illness or disability and half reported being well. Analyses were performed with structural equation modelling techniques. A total of 389 answers from chronically ill and 383 from well participants were collected. Perceived usefulness was the key explanation of the intention to use PHRs for both ill and well people (total effect of 0.601 and 0.565, respectively) followed by security, privacy and trust in PHRs (total effect of 0.377 and 0.479, respectively). Conversely, computer anxiety was perceived as a significant barrier (total effect of -0.327 for ill individuals and -0.212 for well individuals). The model proposed was appropriate in explaining key consumer positive and negative perceptions on electronic PHR use. We found little difference in perceptions of electronic PHRs between chronically ill and well individuals, although self-reporting their health status might have influenced the results. To increase the adoption rate of electronic PHRs among both chronically ill and well consumers it is necessary to reinforce consumer perceptions of the usefulness of and trust in these eHealth technologies while mitigating their anxieties about computer use in general. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  8. Electron beam technology as a new industrial processing tool in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaman, K.

    1996-01-01

    Electron beam cross-linked products such as heat resistant automobile and home appliance wires, heat shrinkable tubes, sleeves, end caps for power and electronic industries, plastic packaging and semiconductors are commercially available in Malaysia and most of them are imported products. However, recently there are three newly established in-house industrial electron beam accelerators, in operation in Malaysia for cross-linking of home appliance wires and plastic packaging. Another electron beam accelerator of 3.0 MV, 90 kW is stationed in MINT which is used for research as well as for irradiation services. Research on electron beam cross-linking of natural polymer is one of the main subjects of interest. (author)

  9. 77 FR 35299 - Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-13

    ... Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles,\\2\\ a program covering most major household... polluting than sources that must be used during peak demand times. The utilities indicated that a survey... customarily treated as confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is generally known by or...

  10. E-commerce within the South African electronic component distribution industry

    OpenAIRE

    2012-01-01

    M.B.A. This dissertation looks at E-Commerce in the South African electronic component distribution industry. With this in mind, various questions were defined and these were used to help understand the current situation, determine the future that ECommerce should have in the industry and find a mechanism to go from the current to the future situation, the questions are as follows: Has the traditional electronic component distribution channel been made obsolete by E-Commerce? What does the...

  11. A "Democratization" of Markets? Online Consumer Reviews in the Restaurant Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Mellet

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the promise of market democratization conveyed by consumer rating and review websites in the restaurant industry. Based on interviews with website administrators and data from the main French platforms, we show that review websites contribute to the democratization of restaurant criticism, which first started in the 1970s, both by including a greater variety of restaurants in the reviews, and by broadening participation, opening restaurant reviewing to all. However, this twofold democratic ambition conflicts with the need to produce fair and helpful recommendations, leading review websites to seek compromises between these two dimensions.

  12. 75 FR 63810 - Grant of Authority for Subzone Status; SICK, Inc. (Photo-Electronic Industrial Sensors...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-18

    ... Status; SICK, Inc. (Photo- Electronic Industrial Sensors); Bloomington, MN Pursuant to its authority... to establish a special- purpose subzone at the photo-electronic industrial sensor manufacturing and... manufacturing and distribution of photo-electronic industrial sensors at the SICK, Inc., facility located in...

  13. Sustainable packaging design for consumer electronics products : Balancing marketing, logistics and environmental requirements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, R.; Boks, C.B.; Pratama, I.; Stevels, A.L.N.

    2007-01-01

    Packaging design for consumer electronic products is a challenge because contradictory demands from a distribution perspective and a marketing perspective have to be balanced. With several company departments involved and powerful external stakeholders this is a complicated matter. As the level of

  14. Design and construction of the first Iranian powerful industrial electron accelerator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AM Poursaleh

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In This paper we will introduce the process of design and manufacturing an electron accelerator with 10MeV energy and 100kW power as the first Iranian powerful industrial electron accelerator. This accelerator designed based on modeling of one of the most powerful industrial accelerator called Rhodotron. But the design of the accelerator in a way that can be localize by relying on domestic industries. So although it looks like a Rhodotron accelerator structure but has some different in design and manufacture of components, the results are satisfactory

  15. Current situation of energy conservation in high energy-consuming industries in Taiwan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, D.Y.-L.; Yang, K.-H.; Hsu, C.-H.; Chien, M.-H.; Hong, G.-B.

    2007-01-01

    Growing concern in Taiwan has arisen about energy consumption and its adverse environmental impact. The current situation of energy conservation in high energy-consuming industries in Taiwan, including the iron and steel, chemical, cement, pulp and paper, textiles and electric/electrical industries has been presented. Since the energy consumption of the top 100 energy users (T100) comprised over 50% of total industry energy consumption, focusing energy consumption reduction efforts on T100 energy users can achieve significant results. This study conducted on-site energy audits of 314 firms in Taiwan during 2000-2004, and identified potential electricity savings of 1,022,656 MWH, fuel oil savings of 174,643 kiloliters (KL), steam coal savings of 98,620 ton, and natural gas (NG) savings of 10,430 kilo cubic meters. The total potential energy saving thus was 489,505 KL of crude oil equivalent (KLOE), representing a reduction of 1,447,841 ton in the carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide absorption capacity of a 39,131-ha plantation forest

  16. Aggregate industrial energy consumer response to wholesale prices in the restructured Texas electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zarnikau, Jay; Hallett, Ian

    2008-01-01

    The aggregate response of consumers to wholesale price signals is very limited in the restructured Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. An overall average own-price elasticity of demand of - 0.000008 for industrial energy consumers served at transmission voltage is estimated using a Symmetric Generalized McFadden cost function model. To date, ERCOT has sought to promote demand response to price signals without reliance on 'stand alone' demand response programs, but with a market structure that is designed to facilitate economic demand response. This very limited responsiveness to wholesale price signals may prove problematic in light of policy decisions to pursue an 'energy only' resource adequacy mechanism for ERCOT. (author)

  17. Some electron beam welding equipments for the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helm, H.; Rodier, R.; Sayegh, G.

    1978-01-01

    Results of various electron beam welding equipment developed for the nuclear industry obtained from a 100 kW electron beam machine to weld thick plates made of stainless steel and reactor steel, and from some equipment with local vacuum to weld pipes onto a pipe wall. (orig.) [de

  18. An Overview of the Electronic Information Industry in 2008

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Ji Yang

    2009-01-01

    @@ With European,American and Japanese economies still in recession,external demand remaining weak,total revenues of China's electronic information industry witnessed a decline in the first four months of 2009,sliding 2.2 percent year-on-year,according to statistics released by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 22.

  19. Consumer reports [electronic resource

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1942-01-01

    ... only. A limited number of selected reports, advice on product selection and safety alerts are freely available, as are a five year listing of product recalls, a listing of major consumer product...

  20. Industrial applications or electron beams; Aplicaciones industriales de la irradiacion como servicio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, J. I.

    2001-07-01

    Industrial use of electron beams began in the 1950's with the crosslinking of polyethylene film and wire insulation. Today the number of electron beam Processing Systems installed for industrial applications throughout the world has grown to more than six hundred stations in over 35 countries. Total installed power is now approaching 40 megawatts (over 8 million tons of products per year). Electron beam is now utilized by many major industries including plastics, automotive, rubber goods, wire and cable, electrical insulation, semiconductor, medical, packaging, or pollution control. The principal effect of high-energy electrons is to produce ions in the materials treated, resulting in the liberation of orbital electrons. As a result, the original molecule is modified and the ree radicals combine to form new molecules with new chemical reactions or dis organisation od the DNA chains of living organisms (insects, fungus, microorganisms, etc.). (Author) 8 refs.

  1. Consumer involvement profiles: An application of consumer involvement in mobile industry

    OpenAIRE

    Homa Rahbarian; Fattaneh Alizadeh Meshkani

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates consumer involvement profile among people who intend to purchase mobile devises. The study considers the effects of various factors influencing on purchase intention including consumers’ personal characteristics such as age, gender, income as well as some external factors including advertisement. The study uses a questionnaire in Likert scale, originally developed by O’Cass (2000) [O’Cass, A. (2000). An assessment of consumers' product, purchase decision, advertising a...

  2. Consumer Value Creation in the Consumption of Luxury Goods: A Consumer Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Benvie-Ferreiros, Lidia

    2008-01-01

    The globalisation of the luxury market has presented the industry with an ever expanding and broad range of global consumers that are facilitating significant growth to the industry. In light of the downturn in Western economies, the extension and demand for luxury goods in booming Eastern economies present the luxury industry with a rosy future, estimated to be worth over $450 billion by 2012. The nature of this growth has been down to changing consumption behaviour of consumers; no longer e...

  3. Comparative studies of utilization of industrial electron accelerators and adsorption with activated carbon for industrial effluent treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sampa, Maria Helena de O.; Rela, Paulo R.; Duarte, Celina Lopes; Las Casas, Alexandre; Mori, Manoel Nunes; Omi, Nelson M.

    2005-01-01

    A technical and economical feasibility study was performed comparing the use electron beam and activated charcoal for treatment of industrial wastewater. In this study was used synthetic solutions, prepared in laboratory with organic compounds standards, where the composition was focused on the critical organic contaminants usually presented in wastewater from petrochemical industry. For the sample irradiation was used an industrial electron beam from Radiation Dynamics Inc. 1.5 MeV - 37.5 kW setup in IPEN. The doses ranged from 5 kGy to 100 kGy. A common granulated activated charcoal in a fixed-bed absorber glass column was used to study the pollutants absorption performance. The results show that if the adequate irradiation dose was delivered to the organic pollutant, it is possible to conclude for the studied compounds that the Electron Beam Process is, in aspect of organic removal efficiency, similar to the activated carbon process. (author)

  4. Consumer goods and food industry, local industry of the western region of ussr in the times of «developed socialist society»

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleh M. Malyarchuk

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The economy of the Ukrainian SSR and the western region, according to most indicators, continued to develop on its own basis, solving ordinary socio-political and socio-economic challenges. In 1960-1980s of the twentieth century the two types of reproduction were combined: extensive sources of growth (exploitation of new natural and labour resources, and intensive ones which improved production structure and management system. Western region of the republic developed rapidly, engineering and instrumentation grew, as well as oil and gas and chemical industries, together with consumer goods and food industry, local industry. However, low quality, inadequate technologies reduced the positive impact of these industries on economic efficiency. In addition, other problems arose. As a result tasks of economic development planned by the third Programme of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union turned out to be unfulfilled. Despite a slight increase in industrial growth its rate declined. A large-scale restructuring of the economy on resource conservation, introduction of new technologies began in industrialized countries. Scientific progress in the USSR stalled. It should be noted that attempts to improve the situation were done over and over, but they were not in the economic and scientific spheres but in the political one. The crisis in industry and agriculture of the USSR in the second half of 1980s went far beyond purely production problems, took on socio-economic character and became threatening as for the provision of the country with necessary goods and food, creating social tension. In the late 1980s food consumption per capita decreased, and deficit in manufactured goods increased. Investing activities of villages almost stopped. Employees from the village began to massively lose stable jobs and reliable source of income. The decline in agricultural production led to idle capacity of the food and consumer goods industry, decline in employment

  5. Consumer Innovativeness Model of Indonesian Young People in Adopting Electronic Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Ashari Nasution

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available It is important for marketers to understand how innovators respond to the introduction of new products. This paper investigates consumer innovativeness (CI from meta-analysis study as suggested by Nasution and Garnida [2011] and examines the simultaneous impacts of CI on new product adoption. Nasution and Garnida [2010] proposed three different perspectives in conceptualizing the CI model. First, the generalist stream that represents a generalized personality trait that engenders consumers to adopt new product. Second, the particularist stream that focuses on product adoption behavior within a specific domain of interest. Third, the integrator perspective that proposes to integrate these two streams by putting domain-specific innovativeness as a mediating factor in relationship between general innovativeness trait and new product adoption.A structural equation model is used to test hypotheses using empirical data from 607 respondents in electronic products adoption. The result shows that the integrator perspective provides the best model in representing the empirical data. The finding of the integrator perspective reveals that domain specific CI mediates the relationship between general innovativeness trait and new product adoption. Specifically, subjective knowledge and hedonic idea shopping enhances the actuality of new products.The findings provide an explanation to the less than consistent relationship between consumer innovativeness and new product adoption. However, a single research context of electronic products and student sample may become one of the limitations and future studies needed to replicate the perspective of CI in different research contexts for greater generalizability and the use of non-student sample. The findings have implications for the innovation adoption theory, for managers involved in the introduction of new products, and for future research on innovation adoption.

  6. Prototype of industrial electrons accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, V.H.; Valdovinos, A.M.

    1992-01-01

    The interest and the necessity of Mexico's industry in the use of irradiation process has been increased in the last years. As examples are the irradiation of combustion gases (elimination of NO x and SO 2 ) and the polymer cross-linking between others. At present time at least twelve enterprises require immediately of them which have been contacted by electron accelerators suppliers of foreign countries. The first project step consisted in to identify the electrons accelerator type that in can be constructed in Mexico with the major number of possible equipment, instruments, components and acquisition materials local and useful for the major number of users. the characteristics of the accelerator prototype are: accelerator type transformer with multiple secondary insulated and rectifier circuits with a potential of 0.8 MV of voltage, the second step it consisted in an economic study that permitted to demonstrate the economic feasibility of its construction. (Author)

  7. Reducing NOx and SOx pollutants in an industrial units using electron accelerator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Nouri

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Electron beam accelerators technology has made significant progress in environmental applications in recent years. Including some environmental applications of industrial accelerators, is clearing the air from oxides of nitrogen and sulfur(NOx , SOx produced by industrial facilities. Combustion  of coal, oil, natural gas and other gases that are produced in power plant, refineries and industrial factories, produce high extent of these oxides wshich exceed the limit in most cases. Clearing by irradiation involves adding amounts of ammonia to output gases and irradiation by Electron beam accelerators. Irradiation produces radicals that interact again with  NOx , SOx  and produced the related gases. Due to the ammonia, these acids transform into ammonium sulfate ((NH42SO4 and ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3 are precipitated by electrostatic precipitators, and are used as chemical fertilizer. Cosidering purification process of pollutant  gases by electron beam and the importance of electron accelerator in industrial plants that are polluting the environment in Iran, can be a suitable sollution for this environmental problem

  8. HD-DVD: the next consumer electronics revolution?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topiwala, Pankaj N.

    2003-11-01

    The DVD is emerging as one of the world's favorite consumer electronics product, rapidly replacing analog videotape in the US and many other markets at prodigious rates. It is capable of offering a full feature-length, standard-definition movie in crisp rendition on TV. TV technology is itself in the midst of switching from analog to digital TV, with high-definition being the main draw. In fact, the US government has been advocating that switch over to digital TC, with both carrot and stick approaches, for nearly two decades, with only modest results--about 2% penetration. Under FCC herding, broadcasters are falling in the digital line--slowly, and sans profit. Meanwhile, delivery of HD content on portable media would be a great solution. Indeed, a new disk technology based on blue lasers is coming; but its widespread adoption may yet be four to five yeras away. But a promising new video codec--H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, the latest coding standard jointly developed by the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) of ITU-T and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) of ISO/IEC, just might be the missing link. It offers substantial coding gains over MPEG-2, used in today's DVDs. With H.264, it appears possible to put HD movies on today's red-laser DVDs. Since consumers love DVDs, and HD--when they can see it, can H.264 and HD-DVD ignite a new revolution, now? It may have a huge impact on (H)DTV adoption rates.

  9. Consumer involvement profiles: An application of consumer involvement in mobile industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Homa Rahbarian

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates consumer involvement profile among people who intend to purchase mobile devises. The study considers the effects of various factors influencing on purchase intention including consumers’ personal characteristics such as age, gender, income as well as some external factors including advertisement. The study uses a questionnaire in Likert scale, originally developed by O’Cass (2000 [O’Cass, A. (2000. An assessment of consumers' product, purchase decision, advertising and consumption involvement in fashion clothing. Journal of Economic Psychology, 21, 545-576.]. The questionnaire has been distributed among 385 people, randomly who purchased mobile devices from a mall in city of Tehran, Iran. Using Pearson correlation test, the study has concluded that oral advertisement as well as consumer purchase involvement have positive and strong relationship with consumer’s purchase intention. In terms of age, people aged 20-30 maintained the highest purchase intention. In addition, in terms of gender, men had more purchase involvement than women did.

  10. Quantitation of tetrabromobisphenol-A from dust sampled on consumer electronics by dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Napoli-Davis, Gina; Owens, Janel E.

    2013-01-01

    Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) is a brominated flame retardant used worldwide. Despite its widespread use, there are few data concerning environmental concentrations of TBBPA. Thus, the objective of this work was to optimize an ultrasound-assisted dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method to analyze swabbed surfaces of consumer electronics to determine TBBPA concentrations. Upon sample preparation with DLLME, TBBPA was derivatized with acetic anhydride and then analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Using a 13 C 12 -TBBPA internal standard to improve precision and quantitation, a recovery study was performed. At concentrations of 250–1000 ng/mL, recoveries were 104–106%. Sample preparation with solid phase extraction had comparable recoveries, although overall, improved analyte recovery and precision were achieved with DLLME. In a small survey study, TBBPA concentrations in dust collected from 100 cm 2 areas on electronic surfaces (monitor, microwave, refrigerator, and TV) were determined to range from less than the LOQ to 523 ng/mL. -- Highlights: •Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) concentrations in dust samples were determined. •Dust samples were collected from surfaces of consumer electronics. •Dispersed liquid-liquid microextraction was used to prepare samples for GC/MS. •A 13 C 12 -labeled internal standard was used to improve precision and quantitation. •TBBPA was found in dust samples at levels below LOQ to 523 ng/mL. -- This work describes the analysis of the brominated flame retardant, tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), from dust sampled on surfaces of consumer electronics

  11. Electronic Commerce Resource Centers. An Industry--University Partnership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulledge, Thomas R.; Sommer, Rainer; Tarimcilar, M. Murat

    1999-01-01

    Electronic Commerce Resource Centers focus on transferring emerging technologies to small businesses through university/industry partnerships. Successful implementation hinges on a strategic operating plan, creation of measurable value for customers, investment in customer-targeted training, and measurement of performance outputs. (SK)

  12. Software product line engineering for consumer electronics : Keeping up with the speed of innovation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartmann, Herman

    2015-01-01

    During the last decade consumer electronics products have changed radically. Traditionally these products were used for a few dedicated tasks, and were implemented through hardware. Nowadays, these products are used for a variety of tasks and are largely implemented through software. Furthermore

  13. Brand Mentions in Social Media as a Key Performance Indicator in the German Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga AZARKINA

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to explore correlations between consumer-generated social media activity and the level of sales of German brands from the fast moving consumer goods industry. In particular, the objective was to examine whether there is a correlation between the number of brand mentions in social media and the sales of these products. The results indicate that the number of brand mentions and sales correlate positively in relation to products from the food and beverages category while this is not the case with respect to the non-food product category. Hence, marketers need to promote consumer-generated social media activity particularly for food and beverages.

  14. Application of electron beams irradiation in science and industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilmy, N.; Razzak, M.T.; Chosdu, R.; Soebianto, Y.S.

    1996-01-01

    The research and development of radiation technology in Indonesia is mainly conducted at the Center for Application of Isotopes and Radiation of the National Atomic Energy Agency (CAIR-BATAN). During the past 10 years, the center has gained a great progress in the development of gamma irradiation techniques for industrial processing, food preservation, health care products sterilization, and waste treatment. A low energy (300 keV, 50 mA) electron beam accelerator has been installed in cooperation with IAEA/UNDP as a training and demonstration facility for wood surface coating. In spite of the advantages of radiation curing, this technique is still unacceptable in the industries due to the uneconomical reasons and inferiority of the products. The research and development using this facility is also considered expensive, due to the high cost of the liquid nitrogen consumed by the accelerator. The medium energy (2 MeV, 10 mA) accelerator has been installed recently. This is a multipurpose irradiator provided with a belt conveyer, but also designed for wire and cable irradiation. The main technical parameters have been measured under different operating conditions during its commissioning, and the nominal dose measurement has been performed using alanine polyethylene, ethanol-chlorobenzene solution, and FWT-60 film dosimeters. Research and development of polymer cross-linking and shrinkable tubes have become the concern of the accelerator application. The radiation curable polyethylene compound for the cable insulation has been formulated with a characteristic of high voltage and heat resistant. Dosimetry of spices with 0.3-0.6 g/cm 3 density and health care products of 0.2-0.3 g/cm 3 density have been carried out for the promising food preservation and radiation sterilization, energy beam on micro-organism, and surface modification of some synthetic and natural polymers are also carried out. (J.P.N.)

  15. Brand Mentions in Social Media as a Key Performance Indicator in the German Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Olga AZARKINA; Monyédodo KPOSSA; Erhard LICK

    2014-01-01

    This research aims to explore correlations between consumer-generated social media activity and the level of sales of German brands from the fast moving consumer goods industry. In particular, the objective was to examine whether there is a correlation between the number of brand mentions in social media and the sales of these products. The results indicate that the number of brand mentions and sales correlate positively in relation to products from the food and beverages category while this ...

  16. Traceability the New Eco-Label in the Slow-Fashion Industry?—Consumer Perceptions and Micro-Organisations Responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia E. Henninger

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on eco-labels from the point of view of consumers and experts/owner-managers of micro-organisations. The analysis maps the 15 most common standardisations within the UK’s fashion industry and elaborates on their commonalities and differences, before exploring the perceptions held by both consumers and micro-companies. This paper presents preliminary findings of a wider research project with emphasis on the potential for future research and marketing implications. The study is interpretative in nature and provides detailed results that contribute to an understudied area.

  17. Power electronics applied to industrial systems and transports

    CERN Document Server

    Patin, Nicolas

    2015-01-01

    If the operation of electronic components switching scheme to reduce congestion and losses (in power converters in general and switching power supplies in particular), it also generates electromagnetic type of pollution in its immediate environment. Power Electronics for Industry and Transport, Volume 4 is devoted to electromagnetic compatibility. It presents the sources of disturbance and the square wave signal, spectral modeling generic perturbation. Disturbances propagation mechanisms called ""lumped"" by couplings such as a common impedance, a parasitic capacitance or a mutual and ""dis

  18. Electronic waste recovery in Finland: Consumers' perceptions towards recycling and re-use of mobile phones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ylä-Mella, Jenni; Keiski, Riitta L; Pongrácz, Eva

    2015-11-01

    This paper examines consumers' awareness and perceptions towards mobile phone recycling and re-use. The results are based on a survey conducted in the city of Oulu, Finland, and analysed in the theoretical framework based on the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and value-belief-norm (VBN). The findings indicate that consumers' awareness of the importance and existence of waste recovery system is high; however, awareness has not translated to recycling behaviour. The survey reveals that 55% of respondents have two or more unused mobile phones at homes. The more phones stored at homes, the more often reasons 'I don't know where to return' and/or 'have not got to do it yet' were mentioned. This indicates that proximity and the convenience of current waste management system are inadequate in promoting the return of small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). To facilitate re-use, and the highest level of recovery, consumers will need to be committed to return end-of-use electronics to WEEE collection centres without delays. Further, the supply and demand of refurbished mobile phones do not meet at this moment in Finland due to consumer's storing habits versus expectations of recent features under guarantee and unrealistic low prizes. The study also points out that, in order to change current storing habits of consumers, there is an explicit need for more information and awareness on mobile phone collection in Finland, especially on regarding retailers' take-back. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Consumer Perceptions of Seafood Industries in the Wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

    OpenAIRE

    McKendree, Melissa G.S.; Ortega, David L.; Widmar, Nicole Olynk; Wang, H. Holly

    2013-01-01

    The impact of environmental disasters on consumers’ perceptions and preferences for specific food items has seldom been studied in the applied economics literature. Recent aquatic disasters, namely the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, have had profound impacts on fisheries serving US consumers and on agribusinesses within the aquaculture industry. This study explores consumer preferences using a nation-wide representative sample, and finds that twenty-nine p...

  20. Consumer attitudes to different pig production systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    de Barcellos, Marcia Dutra; Grunert, Klaus G; Zhou, Yanfeng

    2013-01-01

    In many Western countries, consumers have shown an increasing interest to the way in which food products are being produced. This study investigates Chinese consumers' attitudes towards different pig production systems by means of a conjoint analysis. While there has been a range of studies...... on Western consumers' attitudes to various forms of food production, little is known about the level of Chinese consumers' attitudes. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 472 participants in six Chinese cities. Results indicate that Chinese consumers prefer industrial pig production systems, where...... from Cluster 1 focus almost exclusively on the food safety aspect (food safety focused). Consumers from cluster 2 (indifferent) show generally weak attitudes to pig production systems in general. Cluster 3 (industrial production oriented) stands out by being very positive about industrial, large size...

  1. Power electronics applied to industrial systems and transports

    CERN Document Server

    Patin, Nicolas

    2015-01-01

    Some power electronic converters are specifically designed to power equipment under a smoothed DC voltage. Therefore, the filtering part necessarily involves the use of auxiliary passive components (inductors and capacitors). This book deals with technical aspects such as classical separation between isolated and non-isolated power supplies, and soft switching through a special converter. It addresses the problem of regulating the output voltage of the switching power supplies in terms of modeling and obtaining transfer of SMPS functions.Power Electronics for Industry and Transport, Volume 3,

  2. Consumer Electronics Processors for Critical Real-Time Systems: a (Failed) Practical Experience

    OpenAIRE

    Fernandez , Gabriel; Cazorla , Francisco; Abella , Jaume

    2018-01-01

    International audience; The convergence between consumer electronics and critical real-time markets has increased the need for hardware platforms able to deliver high performance as well as high (sustainable) performance guarantees. Using the ARM big.LITTLE architecture as example of those platforms, in this paper we report our experience with one of its implementations (the Qualcomm SnapDragon 810 processor) to derive performance bounds with measurement-based techniques. Our theoretical and ...

  3. Radiation effects and hardness of semiconductor electronic devices for nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Payat, R.; Friant, A.

    1988-01-01

    After a brief review of industrial and nuclear specificity and radiation effects in electronics components (semiconductors) the need for a specific test methodology of semiconductor devices is emphasized. Some studies appropriate for nuclear industry at D. LETI/DEIN/CEN-SACLAY are related [fr

  4. Optimal Remanufacturing Certification Contracts in the Electrical and Electronic Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huihui Liu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available While remanufacturing is highly encouraged worldwide, some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs in the electrical and electronics industry are still not willing to embrace remanufacturing, for fear of expensive investment or the cannibalization of existing products. Meanwhile, third-party remanufacturers’ (TPRs remanufactured products are developing quickly. Due to quality reasons, consumers usually have a higher preference for OEM-certified remanufactured products than uncertified ones. As such, remanufacturing certification has become a strategy that OEMs can use to benefit from product remanufacturing. Our paper focuses on the remanufacturing certification contract between an OEM and a TPR. Once certified, the TPR makes payments to the OEM. These payment terms will affect their enthusiasm for participating in remanufacturing certification. By establishing game models among an OEM, a certified TPR, and an uncertified TPR, our paper explores three certification contracts, namely, the lump-sum payment, profit-sharing payment, and piece-rate payment. We identify the conditions for the OEM and certified TPR to reach a win-win outcome. Our results show that when TPRs have a high profit margin and there is no significant difference in consumers’ preferences between certified and non-certified remanufacturing channels, the profit-sharing payment contract yields the highest profit; otherwise, the piece-rate payment contract is best for the OEM.

  5. The Influence of Consumers€™ Tie Strength, Homophily and Source Credibility Toward Electronic Word-of-mouth (Ewom) Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Oroh, Winda Lely

    2014-01-01

    Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the form of online product reviews can influence the sales of a product and/or service, and that informational€based determinants are very important to consumers when evaluating reviews. The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of consumers€™ tie strength, homophily, and source credibility toward electronic word-of-mouth behavior (eWOM). This research used quantitative analyze. The method used to analyze the data is the Multiple Regression A...

  6. The politics and strategy of industry self-regulation: the pharmaceutical industry's principles for ethical direct-to-consumer advertising as a deceptive blocking strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Denis G; Oakley, James L

    2013-06-01

    As the pharmaceutical industry lobbies European regulators to permit direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the European Union, we found that five leading companies violated industry-developed and -promulgated standards for ethical advertising in the United States. Utilizing multiple data sources and methods, we demonstrate a consistent failure by companies that market erectile dysfunction drugs to comply with the industry's guiding principles for ethical DTCA over a four-year period despite pledges of compliance by company leaders. Noncompliance resulted in children being exposed to sexually themed promotional messages more than 100 billion times. We argue that the guidelines are a coordinated effort by the industry to prevent unwanted federal regulation, and we introduce the concept of a blocking strategy to explain company behavior and to advance theoretical understanding of firms' public affairs strategies. We recommend policy responses to prevent deceptive practices, protect children from adult content, and promote genuine health care education.

  7. Perception of performance and importance to consumers agro-industry of family companies in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Breitenbach

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to identify the strategic direction of agroprocessing enterprises and the level of compliance with consumer requirements, as well as the position of agro-industry enterprises in relation to their primary competitors. To this end, a survey was performed, which included nine family agro-industry enterprises from the Northern region of Rio Grande do Sul (RS and their respective buyers. For this research, the Importance-Performance Matrix methodology described by SLACK (2002 was used. The strategy of the analyzed agro-industry enterprises relies on differentiation, presenting most of the items studied in accordance with consumers’ demands. Consequently, they are not at a disadvantage to their competitors in most criteria that consumers consider fundamental at the time of purchase.

  8. Electron beam processing in food industry - technology and costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallien, Cl.L.; Ferradini, C.; Paquin, J.; Sadat, T.

    1985-01-01

    After nearly 40 years of research and thousands of positive experimentations, the fact that ionising radiations could be used for food preservation has been taken into account by the joint Expert Committee of the UN agencies, FAO, WHO and IAEA, who recommended this type of treatment in 1981 allowing doses up to 10 kGy. The market for irradiated food is actually small, but it could develop rapidly. National authorities who establish the regulations are becoming very active: so, in 1984, the US FDA has issued a proposed rule to regulate the commercial applications of food irradiation. It is timely to propose a MODEL that should really convince administration, food industry executives and consumers organizations that food irradiation is more than academic speculation: an industrial processing and an economical imperative. To this aim, we have defined an integrated model assembling (a) a sample product; (b) the optimal treatment conditions for this product, including a reliable dosimetry control system; and (c) a most efficient and competitive treatment unit that can suit a wide range of industrial needs. (author)

  9. The impacts of electronic word of mouth in social media on consumers` purchase intentions

    OpenAIRE

    Evans, C; Erkan, I

    2014-01-01

    The influence of Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) on consumers` purchase intentions has been known for a long time. However, eWOM has gained a new dimension with the advent of social media. Before this new phenomenon, people were able to talk with anonymous people on the Internet. Social media enable people to talk with friends and acquaintances, on the Internet. This new way of eWOM might be more powerful in terms of triggering purchase intention. This study discusses the electronic word of m...

  10. 77 FR 24514 - Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and Tablets; Institution of Investigation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-24

    ..., Including Mobile Phones and Tablets; Institution of Investigation Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1337 AGENCY: U.S... mobile phones and tablets, by reason of infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 5,854,893... after importation of certain consumer electronics, including mobile phones and tablets, that infringe...

  11. Consumer responses to promotional tools in hotels: A case study of Chinese consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Ma, Jenny Wei-Chen; Mohsen, Marwa Gad

    2016-01-01

    The rapid growth of the Chinese tourism has stimulated competition within tourism-related industries, such as the hospitality industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the Chinese consumer reaction to different promotional tools used by hotels in China and, thus, to provide a deeper understanding for marketers of how to use sales promotion effectively to generate appropriate consumer responses. An experimental survey was administered yielding a total sample of 319 Chinese customers, w...

  12. THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMER RIGHTS FOR AVIATION SAFETY AND SECURITY IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annalisa Yahanan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia and Malaysia have a good potency for cooperation in aviation industry. It can be seen in the establishing two aviation companies namely PT. Indonesia Air Asia and Malindo which both are low-cost carrier. These aviation industries are categorized as low-cost carrier, however safety and security are absolute factors because these are rights for consumers. This article will describe further about safety and security standard; protecting the rights for consumers in connection with safety aviation in Indonesia and Malaysia from the Consumer Protection Law and the Aviation Law. As a result of the research shows that safety standard passenger for air transportation in airport covers information and safety facility in the shape of availability of the emergency safety tools (fires, accidents and natural disasters; information, area and health facility; and healthcare workers. Moreover, safety standards for passenger in an aircraft include information and safety facility in the shape of availability information and the emergency safety tools for passenger in an aircraft. The protection for consumer rights for safety flight in Indonesia as follows: aviation industry has obligation to fulfill minimum standard of safety and security; consumers must be safety from false information which raises concern; aircraft operation which endanger of the passenger; and consumer protection in operating the electronic device which endanger flight. On the other hand, the law of consumer rights in Malaysia relating to aviation are ruled under the Aviation Law as a result of the Warsaw Convention 1929. In conclusion, the verdict of consumer rights related to security aviation begins when the passenger enter to an aircraft, in the aircraft, and by the time they get off the plane.

  13. The benefit of manufacturing postponement in consumer electronics distribution and retailing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Appelqvist, P.; Gubi, Ebbe

    2004-01-01

    is required to balance the savings in shops with additional efforts in product development and the complexity of maintaining additional supply chain concepts. The case company is a manufacturer of consumer electronics with over 1200 dedicated retail outlets worldwide. We first interviewed case company....... Results indicate that shop inventory is necessary for high-volume, low-variety products. Manufacturing postponement seems most beneficial when: 1) Customers require a delivery time that is too short to enable ship to order from a central location 2) Product value is high enough to justify additional...

  14. Improving extreme-scale problem solving: assessing electronic brainstorming effectiveness in an industrial setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dornburg, Courtney C; Stevens, Susan M; Hendrickson, Stacey M L; Davidson, George S

    2009-08-01

    An experiment was conducted to compare the effectiveness of individual versus group electronic brainstorming to address difficult, real-world challenges. Although industrial reliance on electronic communications has become ubiquitous, empirical and theoretical understanding of the bounds of its effectiveness have been limited. Previous research using short-term laboratory experiments have engaged small groups of students in answering questions irrelevant to an industrial setting. The present experiment extends current findings beyond the laboratory to larger groups of real-world employees addressing organization-relevant challenges during the course of 4 days. Employees and contractors at a national laboratory participated, either in a group setting or individually, in an electronic brainstorm to pose solutions to a real-world problem. The data demonstrate that (for this design) individuals perform at least as well as groups in producing quantity of electronic ideas, regardless of brainstorming duration. However, when judged with respect to quality along three dimensions (originality, feasibility, and effectiveness), the individuals significantly (p industrial reliance on electronic problem-solving groups should be tempered, and large nominal groups may be more appropriate corporate problem-solving vehicles.

  15. A Study on the Training Mode of Electronic Application-Oriented Undergraduate with Industry Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhonghua; Cheng, Lifang; Wang, Hao

    2017-01-01

    Electronic industry is an economic pillar in China. Due to the Moore's Law, the industry requires continuous development and innovation. In order to achieve these goals, the cultivation of electronic application-oriented undergraduate is essential. However, at current, the innovative educational concepts and teaching methods are lagging behind so…

  16. Market structure, industrial organisation and technological development: the case of the Japanese electronics-based nc-machine tool industry.

    OpenAIRE

    Watanabe, S

    1983-01-01

    ILO pub-WEP pub. Working paper on the impact of market structure and business organization on technological change in the automatic control machine tool industry in Japan - based on a 1982 sample survey of 40 industrial enterprises, discusses research and development trends, demand, production, subcontracting, competition, etc.; investigates the impact of electronics Innovation on small scale industry, the international division of labour and on developing countries. Bibliography and graphs.

  17. The Role of Social Media Advertising in Consumer Buying Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adnan Veysel Ertemel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available P Consumer buying behavior is known also as consumer decision making is the process by which individuals search for, select, purchase, use, and dispose of goods and services to satisfy require needs. This study has been designed to answer main question about the role of social media advertising on consumer buying behavior in very active field which is fashion retail industry, then determine the differences if existed in this relation regarding to the name of the brands and consumer demographics factors. By electronic questionnaires conducted for consumers live in Istanbul-Turkey, findings showed weak relation between social media advertising and consumer need recognition, no relation at all with search for information, strong relation with evaluate the alternatives, and moderate relation for both buying decision and post-purchase behavior, as those steps represent the five steps need recognition model in consumer buying behavior. Moreover, findings showed no changes in this relation regarding to consumer’s age, and education level. However, there were changes between Females and males in the relation with consumer need recognition, and search for information. In addition, another changes regarding to income between social media advertising and evaluate the alternatives especially for consumers earn more than 5.000TL among other income groups.

  18. DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR NEW PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NINKO KOSTOVSKI

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In any contemporary business, decision makers are confronted with increasing amount of information, not necessarily incorporated properly into decision making process. Moreover, decision makers show several cognitive limitations and biases. Managerial decision support systems are intended to assist decision makers in taking advantage of available information. Research proved that that these systems could compensate for the relative weaknesses of the managers as decision makers. They prevent common biases of human decision-making and foster objective and reliable information. With number of variables that must be taken into consideration, internal and external, technological, financial and market related, the new product development and the specifics of that process in fast moving consumer goods industries is perfect for application of computerized decision support system. The results of implementation of such system based on Exsys Corvid in processed food industry are presented with review of overall impressions for the usefulness of the new software, provided by the managers involved in the process. They found that the system consistently offers realistic decisions, that the system is convenient for capturing the institutional knowledge of the process, but also that the system not always follows the standard procedure. They think that the system is user-friendly. However, the implemented system will be useful and consistently outperform expectations only if the company is ready to continuously upgrade the embedded tacit institutional knowledge and experience. However, doing so, the company should never neglect the consumers changing preferences as the most important environmental domain of information critical for new product development.

  19. Applications in Electronics Pervading Industry, Environment and Society

    CERN Document Server

    2016-01-01

    This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. A wide spectrum of application domains are covered, from automotive to space and from health to security, and special attention is devoted to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication, and control. The book is based on the 2014 APPLEPIES Conference, held in Rome, which brought together researchers and stakeholders to consider the most significant current trends in the field of applied electronics and to debate visions for the future. Areas covered by the conference included information communication technology; biotechnology and biomedical imaging; space; secure, clean, and efficient energy; the environment; and smart, green, and integrated transport. As electronics technology continues to develop apace, constantly meeting previously unthinkable targets, further attention needs to be directed toward the electronics applications and th...

  20. Electron Beam Scanning in Industrial Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jongen, Yves; Herer, Arnold

    1996-05-01

    Scanned electron beams are used within many industries for applications such as sterilization of medical disposables, crosslinking of wire and cables insulating jackets, polymerization and degradation of resins and biomaterials, modification of semiconductors, coloration of gemstones and glasses, removal of oxides from coal plant flue gasses, and the curing of advanced composites and other molded forms. X-rays generated from scanned electron beams make yet other applications, such as food irradiation, viable. Typical accelerators for these applications range in beam energy from 0.5MeV to 10 MeV, with beam powers between 5 to 500kW and scanning widths between 20 and 300 cm. Since precise control of dose delivery is required in many of these applications, the integration of beam characteristics, product conveyance, and beam scanning mechanisms must be well understood and optimized. Fundamental issues and some case examples are presented.

  1. Electronic Noses and Tongues in Wine Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Luz Rodriguez-Mendez

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The quality of wines is usually evaluated by a sensory panel formed of trained experts or traditional chemical analysis. Over the last few decades, electronic noses and electronic tongues have been developed to determine the quality of foods and beverages. They consist of arrays of sensors with cross-sensitivity, combined with pattern recognition software, which provide a fingerprint of the samples that can be used to discriminate or classify the samples. This holistic approach is inspired by the method used in mammals to recognize food through their senses. They have been widely applied to the analysis of wines, including quality control, aging control or the detection of fraudulence, among others. In this paper, the current status of research and development in the field of electronic noses and tongues applied to the analysis of wines is reviewed. Their potential applications in the wine industry are described. The review ends with a final comment about expected future developments.

  2. Perceptions of chronically ill and healthy consumers about electronic personal health records: a comparative empirical investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Cocosila, Mihail; Archer, Norm

    2014-01-01

    Objective To develop a model of consumer perceptions of electronic personal health records (PHRs) and validate it in a comparative study between consumers who report having a chronic illness and those who report being well. Materials and methods A model of PHR use motivators and barriers was built and tested through a national survey across Canada. Data were collected from 800 individuals, 18 years or older. Half reported having a chronic illness or disability and half reported being well. An...

  3. Critical Success Factors for Electronic Commerce in Chinese Electronic Information Industry

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2005-01-01

    Critical success factors (CSF) for electronic commerce (EC) are important for enterprises.This research discusses both assessment indicators and impact factors for EC success to help Chinese enterprises to achieve successful EC implementations. On the basis of literature review and experts survey, the research suggests some assessment indicators and impact factors for EC success. A hypothesis is proposed that leadership, strategy, management, organization, technology, customers,and suppliers factors would affect EC success. Furthermore, the research conducts an empirical study on the Chinese Electronic Information Industry to verify the hypothesis. Using factor analysis and regression analysis, the research finds out several critical factors--leadership, strategy, and organization--and critical sub-factors, such as leadership belief and organization management. These findings indicate the usefulness of this research model, especially for Chinese enterprises.

  4. Implementing the GISB standards in Canada - electronic gas trading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, I.

    1999-01-01

    Standards promulgated by the Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) in the United States, its objective and applicability in Canada are discussed. The standards, while sponsored by an American trade organization, have had significant Canadian input, and are considered applicable throughout North America, although implementation in Canada is voluntary. In developing the standards, the intent of the GISB was to developing business practice and electronic commerce standards for the natural gas industry. Despite voluntary application in Canada, Canadians are affected by the standards since some 50 per cent of Canadian gas is exported to U.S. consumers, and U.S. gas is imported for Canadian consumers in certain parts of the country. In actual fact. a Canadian GISB Implementation Task Force has been established to develop recommendations for Canadian implementation. The task force is broadly representative of the industry and published its report in March of 1997. It explains the nature of the standards and provides details about the definition of 'gas day' , nomination schedules, accounting issues, electronic delivery mechanisms, capacity release, standard unit of measure for nominations, confirmations, scheduling, measurement reports and invoicing. Questions regarding electronic contracting and enforceability of electronic contracts also have been reviewed. Details are currently under consideration by a Working Group. Status of contracts under the Statute of Frauds, the Evidence Act and the Interpretation Act is reviewed, and legislative requirements in Canada to make electronic commerce legally enforceable are outlined. At present electronic transactions would likely be enforceable provided they are preceded by a paper-based Electronic Commerce Trading Partner Agreement

  5. 27 CFR 6.96 - Consumer promotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS âTIED-HOUSEâ Exceptions § 6.96 Consumer promotions. (a) Coupons. The act by an industry member of furnishing to consumers coupons which are redeemable at a retail establishment... such coupons; and (2) An industry member may not reimburse a retailer for more than the face value of...

  6. Determinants of Corporate Governance and Corporate Performance among Consumer Product Industry in Malaysia: A Theoretical Model

    OpenAIRE

    Kogilavani Apadore; Siti Subaryani Binti Zainol

    2014-01-01

    This study discusses on the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and corporate performance of public listed companies in Bursa Malaysia among the consumer product industry. It investigates the corporate governance mechanisms such as ownership concentration, audit quality, board independence and CEO duality, are used to test on the relationship between both corporate governance and corporate performance. The proposed model indicates that the proportion of independent non-execut...

  7. ASPECTS ON THE EFFICIENCY OF MOBILE TEAM INTERVENTIONS ON ELECTRICAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION EQUIPMENT TOWARDS DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL CONSUMERS

    OpenAIRE

    Cristinel POPESCU

    2017-01-01

    The paper aims at presenting how to coordinate intervention teams in the event of failure regimes in electric power distribution installations to domestic and industrial low voltage consumers. The work was theoretically and practically supported by an application implemented within the Faculty of Engineering and coordinated by the author.

  8. Consumer Directed Health Care

    OpenAIRE

    John Goodman

    2006-01-01

    Consumer driven health care (CDHC) is a potential solution to two perplexing problems: (1) How to choose between health care and other uses of money, and (2) how to allocate resources in an industry where normal market forces have been systemically suppressed. In the consumer-driven model, consumers occupy the primary decision-making role regarding the health care that they receive. From an employee benefits perspective, consumer driven health care in the broadest sense may refer to limited e...

  9. Benefits and Risks of Electronic Medical Record (EMR): An Interpretive Analysis of Healthcare Consumers' Perceptions of an Evolving Health Information Systems Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Chester D.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore healthcare consumers' perceptions of their Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). Although there have been numerous studies regarding EMRs, there have been minimal, if any, research that explores healthcare consumers' awareness of this technology and the social implications that result. As consumers' health…

  10. A Literature Review of Word of Mouth and Electronic Word of Mouth: Implications for Consumer Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Huete-Alcocer, Nuria

    2017-01-01

    The rise and spread of the Internet has led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM): electronic word of mouth (eWOM), considered one of the most influential informal media among consumers, businesses, and the population at large. Drawing on these ideas, this paper reviews the relevant literature, analyzing the impact of traditional WOM and eWOM in the field of consumer behavior and highlighting the main differences between the two types of recommendations, with a view to contrib...

  11. ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING AND THE EVOLVING INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIME

    OpenAIRE

    D. Langenberg

    2000-01-01

    As we leave the Industrial Age behind us and move into the Information Age, the transition from “bricks and mortar” commerce to electronic commerce and from paper to electronic publishing pose major challenges for international intellectual property regimes. Electronic commerce has taken off. Whatever concerns about consumer acceptance there were five years ago have given way to “click and mortar” business models where e-commerce has an established role complementing traditional commerce. The...

  12. Sustainable packaging design for consumer electronics products: Balancing marketing, logistics and environmental requirements

    OpenAIRE

    Wever, R.; Boks, C.B.; Pratama, I.; Stevels, A.L.N.

    2007-01-01

    Packaging design for consumer electronic products is a challenge because contradictory demands from a distribution perspective and a marketing perspective have to be balanced. With several company departments involved and powerful external stakeholders this is a complicated matter. As the level of sophistication of data concerning a packagings marketing performance is limited, decisions are often strongly based on beliefs. This is reflected in inconsistencies in packaging that is currently in...

  13. Explicating consumer segmentation and brand positioning in the islamic financial services industry: A Malaysian perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Muhamad, R; Syed Alwi, SF

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the current research on the Islamic financial services industry attempts to classify its consumers and provide a fresh and critical insight into the retail Islamic banking market segmentation to harness and enhance understanding, as well as provide a guideline for a better segmentation to bank marketers. Design/methodology/approach – This study is conceptual in nature. Based on Qur’anic verses and previous literature, the authors aim t...

  14. 78 FR 54629 - Consumer Advisory Board meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-05

    ... consumer financial products or services industry, including regional trends, concerns, and other relevant... consumer financial products or services industry, including regional trends, concerns, and other relevant... business so requires; in such event, the public will be given notice at the earliest practicable time. (3...

  15. Managing Product Usability : How companies deal with usability in the development of electronic consumer products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Kuijk, J.I.

    2010-01-01

    Problem statement: Even though there is a large amount of methods for user-centred design, the usability of electronic consumer products (e.g., portable music players, washing machines and mobile phones) is under pressure. Usability is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to

  16. How consumers evaluate eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) messages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doh, Sun-Jae; Hwang, Jang-Sun

    2009-04-01

    This experiment explored how consumers evaluate electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) messages about products. Each participant was exposed a 10-message set in a single board. Five groups were manipulated in terms of their ratios of positive and negative messages. The result showed significant differences across various sets of eWOM messages. Although more positive sets showed higher scores in many cases, this was not true in all situations, especially for the case of credibility. Involvement and prior knowledge partially moderated the relationship between the ratio of messages and the eWOM effect. The credibility of Web sites and eWOM messages can be damaged in the long run if all of the eWOM messages are positive.

  17. 10 MeV RF electron linac for industrial applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-01-01

    Electron linacs have found numerous applications in the field of radiation processing on an industrial scale. High power RF electron linacs are commonly used for food irradiation, medical sterilization, cross-linking of polymers, etc. For this purpose, the 10 MeV RF linac has been indigenously designed, developed, commissioned and is being used regularly at 3 kW beam power. This paper gives a brief description of the linac and its utilization for various applications. Safety considerations and regulatory aspects of the linac are also discussed

  18. Supply chain collaboration and responsiveness : a comparison between Thai automotive and electronics industries

    OpenAIRE

    Ueki, Yasushi

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines factors that promote firms to develop supply chain collaborations (SCC) with their partners and relationships between SCC and supply chain operational performances (SCOP), using a questionnaire survey on Thai automotive and electronics industries in 2012. This paper also carries out a comparative study on these questions between the electronics and automotive industries. Two-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions verifY that supplier evaluation and audit is a foundation fo...

  19. A Literature Review of Word of Mouth and Electronic Word of Mouth: Implications for Consumer Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huete-Alcocer, Nuria

    2017-01-01

    The rise and spread of the Internet has led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM): electronic word of mouth (eWOM), considered one of the most influential informal media among consumers, businesses, and the population at large. Drawing on these ideas, this paper reviews the relevant literature, analyzing the impact of traditional WOM and eWOM in the field of consumer behavior and highlighting the main differences between the two types of recommendations, with a view to contributing to a better understanding of the potential of both.

  20. The Importance of Informatics for Health Care Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah Talha Kabakuş

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available There is no industry that does not benefit from the advantages of information technology (IT. Health care industry is no different from them. IT solutions are used to minimize the human resource required for labor-intensive or time consuming tasks by automating them, benefit from the intelligent software solutions that not just store the data in electronic format but also ease the decision making process, accelerate the business processes by providing services simultaneously, and provide maintainable and consistent services. Despite all of these advantages, health care industry spends only 2% of its revenues on technology, which is very limited when it is compared to other industries that spend around 10%.

  1. The Impact of Electronic Commerce on the Publishing Industry: Towards a Business Value Complementarity Framework of Electronic Publishing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scupola, Ada

    1999-01-01

    Discussion of the publishing industry and its use of information and communication technologies focuses on the way in which electronic-commerce technologies are changing and could change the publishing processes, and develops a business complementarity model of electronic publishing to maximize profitability and improve the competitive position.…

  2. Trends for Electron Beam Accelerator Applications in Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machi, Sueo

    2011-02-01

    Electron beam (EB) accelerators are major pieces of industrial equipment used for many commercial radiation processing applications. The industrial use of EB accelerators has a history of more than 50 years and is still growing in terms of both its economic scale and new applications. Major applications involve the modification of polymeric materials to create value-added products, such as heat-resistant wires, heat-shrinkable sheets, automobile tires, foamed plastics, battery separators and hydrogel wound dressing. The surface curing of coatings and printing inks is a growing application for low energy electron accelerators, resulting in an environmentally friendly and an energy-saving process. Recently there has been the acceptance of the use of EB accelerators in lieu of the radioactive isotope cobalt-60 as a source for sterilizing disposable medical products. Environmental protection by the use of EB accelerators is a new and important field of application. A commercial plant for the cleaning flue gases from a coal-burning power plant is in operation in Poland, employing high power EB accelerators. In Korea, a commercial plant uses EB to clean waste water from a dye factory.

  3. One size does not fit all: how the tobacco industry has altered cigarette design to target consumer groups with specific psychological and psychosocial needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Benjamin Lê; Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris; Keithly, Lois; Connolly, Gregory

    2003-11-01

    To identify whether the tobacco industry has targeted cigarette product design towards individuals with varying psychological/psychosocial needs. Internal industry documents were identified through searches of an online archival document research tool database using relevancy criteria of consumer segmentation and needs assessment. The industry segmented consumer markets based on psychological needs (stress relief, behavioral arousal, performance enhancement, obesity reduction) and psychosocial needs (social acceptance, personal image). Associations between these segments and smoking behaviors, brand and design preferences were used to create cigarette brands targeting individuals with these needs. Cigarette brands created to address the psychological/psychosocial needs of smokers may increase the likelihood of smoking initiation and addiction. Awareness of targeted product development will improve smoking cessation and prevention efforts.

  4. Low energy electron beams for industrial and environmental applications

    CERN Document Server

    Skarda, Vlad

    2017-01-01

    EuCARD-2 Workshop, 8-9 December 2016, Warsaw, Poland. Organizers: Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK CERN - The European Organization for Nuclear Research, Switzerland, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Poland, Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology, Germany, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. An article presents short information about EuCARD-2 Workshop “Low energy electron beams for industrial and environmental applications”, which was held in December 2016 in Warsaw. Objectives, main topics and expected output of meeting are described. List of organizers is included.

  5. Electron beam agrobionanotechnologies for agriculture and food industry enabled by electron accelerators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlov, Y. S.; Revina, A. A.; Souvorova, O. V.; Voropaeva, N. L.; Chekmar, D. V.; Abkhalimov, E. V.; Zavyalov, M. A.; Filippovich, V. P.

    2017-12-01

    Electron beam (EB) radiation technologies have been employed to increase efficiency of biologically active nanochips developed for agricultural plants seed pre-treatment with purpose of enhancing crop yield and productivity. Iron-containing nanoparticles (NPs), synthesized in reverse micelles following known radiation-chemical technique, have served as a multifunctional biologically active and phytosanitary substance of the chips. Porous chip carriers activation has been performed by EB ionization (doze 20kGy) of the active carbons (AC) prepared from agricultural waste and by-products: Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) straw, rape (Brassica napus L. ssp. oleifera Metzg) straw, camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) straw, wheat (Triticum aestivum) straw. Three methods, UV-VIS spectrophotometry, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV) have been used for process control and characterization of radiation-activated and NPs-modified ACs. The results show a notable effect of ACs activation by electron beam radiation, evidenced by FeNPs-adsorption capacity increase. Studies of the impact of Fe NPs-containing nanochip technology on enhancement of seeds germination rate and seedlings vigour suggest that reported electron beam radiation treatment techniques of the ACs from selected agricultural residues may be advantageous for industrial application.

  6. Development of applications for Indian industry using electron beam technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarma, K.S.S.; Khader, S.A.; Sabharwal, S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a report on the industrial applications that have been developed and demonstrated to the Indian industry using 2MeV/20kW Electron Beam accelerator at BARC-BRIT in the field of polymer modifications (crosslinking and degradation), gem stone coloration etc. Technological scale demonstration of the applications citing the benefits in terms of clean technology and better economics, encouraged three companies in private industry to set up EB facilities for the treatment of cable insulations, heat shrinkable products, diamond and gem stones during the last five years. Recent work on EB processing of automobile rubber tires is also included. (author)

  7. Direction of CRT waste glass processing: electronics recycling industry communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Julia R; Boehm, Michael W; Drummond, Charles

    2012-08-01

    Cathode Ray Tube, CRT, waste glass recycling has plagued glass manufacturers, electronics recyclers and electronics waste policy makers for decades because the total supply of waste glass exceeds demand, and the formulations of CRT glass are ill suited for most reuse options. The solutions are to separate the undesirable components (e.g. lead oxide) in the waste and create demand for new products. Achieving this is no simple feat, however, as there are many obstacles: limited knowledge of waste glass composition; limited automation in the recycling process; transportation of recycled material; and a weak and underdeveloped market. Thus one of the main goals of this paper is to advise electronic glass recyclers on how to best manage a diverse supply of glass waste and successfully market to end users. Further, this paper offers future directions for academic and industry research. To develop the recommendations offered here, a combination of approaches were used: (1) a thorough study of historic trends in CRT glass chemistry; (2) bulk glass collection and analysis of cullet from a large-scale glass recycler; (3) conversations with industry members and a review of potential applications; and (4) evaluation of the economic viability of specific uses for recycled CRT glass. If academia and industry can solve these problems (for example by creating a database of composition organized by manufacturer and glass source) then the reuse of CRT glass can be increased. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Electronic fraud (cyber fraud risk in the banking industry, Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shewangu Dzomira

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper explores forms of electronic fraud which are being perpetrated in the banking industry and the challenges being faced in an attempt to combat the risk. The paper is based on a descriptive study which studied the cyber fraud phenomenon using content analysis. To obtain the data questionnaires and interviews were administered to the selected informants from 22 banks. Convenience and judgemental sampling techniques were used. It was found out that most of the cited types of electronic fraud are perpetrated across the banking industry. Challenges like lack of resources (detection tools and technologies, inadequate cyber-crime laws and lack of knowledge through education and awareness were noted. It is recommended that the issue of cyber security should be addressed involving all the stakeholders so that technological systems are safeguarded from cyber-attacks

  9. CSR in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Retail Industry of Brunei Darussalam and its Influence on Supply Chain Management

    OpenAIRE

    Mohd Suria, Siti Fatimah Masayu

    2008-01-01

    This dissertation is on the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR), specifically looking at CSR in one of Brunei Darussalam's industries, to shed some light on the state of CSR in the country. The Fast moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) retail industry is chosen and three of the largest local firms are involve in the study. The main objective of the study is to find out the extent of CSR in these companies and to see if CSR has permeated into their supply chain management. A qualitative m...

  10. Electron beam accelerator at BARC-BRIT complex - electron beam processing of materials and industrial utilization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khader, S.A.; Patkari, R.K.; Sharma, K.S.S.

    2013-01-01

    During the last decade, the 2MeV/20kW electron beam (EB) accelerator located at BARC-BRIT complex, Vashi has been successfully utilised for non-thermal applications to develop speciality products useful for the industry. Polymer materials are exposed to high energy electrons to induce crosslinking and degradation reactions in a number of industrial products without the use of external chemicals and additives. Various EB crosslinked products viz. PE O-rings, automotive components, automobile tyres, electrical insulations, etc have been found to be much superior in quality compared to those produced conventionally. A process has been developed to enhance colours in the polished diamonds and gem stones using EB irradiation at the facility which has attracted much attention in the Indian diamond industry as a value-addition process. Recycling of polymer waste processed under EB to produce microfine PTFE powder, to reuse in automobile industry etc. has shown good potential for the industrial use. The process feasibility both in terms of economics and technology have been amply demonstrated on a technological scale by installing special conveyors at our facility for irradiating various industrial products. Around 100 km cable insulations, 1.5 million PE O-rings and more than 40000 carats of polished diamonds have been processed in our facility over a period of time on commercial scale. Encouraged with the results, Indian private entrepreneurs have set up dedicated EB machines in some of the most significant industries producing wire and cables, electrical gadgets based on polymer composites, automobile tyres and diamonds. The products are unique in properties and are in some cases, became import substitutes. The industry is now fully geared up to adapt the technology by realising the advantages viz ease in adaptability, convenient, safe and environmental-friendly nature. Encouraged by the process demonstrations, while five EB accelerators were setup and are in operation

  11. Consumer attitudes towards radurisation in South Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Olst, M.W.

    1985-01-01

    To gain any insight into consumer attitudes towards radurization in South Africa, it is first of all necessary to pinpoint the consumer. The consumer has to be reached at all levels and must be convinced that radurization is a harmless process. All the indications are there that South African consumer acceptance will come readily once the positive benefits of irradiated food have been adequately publicized. Label and package information create untold problems for the grocery manufacturing and packaging industry. The radiation industry cannot afford to lose consumer confidence. The question is: Must a label be attached to a radurized product or not? The results of the trial marketing campaign have shown that if the correct information is supplied at the right time, the consumer is prepared to accept irradiated food

  12. A History of Drug Advertising: The Evolving Roles of Consumers and Consumer Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohue, Julie

    2006-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system. PMID:17096638

  13. A history of drug advertising: the evolving roles of consumers and consumer protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohue, Julie

    2006-01-01

    Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system.

  14. Compositional changes in industrial hemp biomass (Cannabis sativa L.) induced by electron beam irradiation Pretreatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung, Yong Joo; Shin, Soo-Jeong

    2011-01-01

    The effects of electron beam irradiation on chemical decomposition of industrial hemp biomass were evaluated at doses of 150, 300, and 450 kGy. The quantity of decomposed components was indirectly estimated by measuring changes in alkaline extraction. The more severe degradation of structural components induced by higher irradiation doses resulted in larger amounts of alkaline extract. Carbohydrate compositional analysis using 1 H-NMR spectroscopy was applied to quantitatively investigate changes in the polysaccharides of the industrial hemp. The xylose peak intensity in the NMR spectra decreased with increasing electron irradiation dose, indicating that xylan was more sensitive to electron beam irradiation than cellulose. -- Highlights: → The more severe degradation of structural components induced by higher irradiation. → Carbohydrate analysis was applied to quantitatively investigate changes in the industrial hemp. → Xylan was more sensitive to electron beam irradiation than cellulose.

  15. Compositional changes in industrial hemp biomass (Cannabis sativa L.) induced by electron beam irradiation Pretreatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sung, Yong Joo [Department of Biobased Materials, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Soo-Jeong [Department of Wood and Paper Science, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763 (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-07-15

    The effects of electron beam irradiation on chemical decomposition of industrial hemp biomass were evaluated at doses of 150, 300, and 450 kGy. The quantity of decomposed components was indirectly estimated by measuring changes in alkaline extraction. The more severe degradation of structural components induced by higher irradiation doses resulted in larger amounts of alkaline extract. Carbohydrate compositional analysis using {sup 1}H-NMR spectroscopy was applied to quantitatively investigate changes in the polysaccharides of the industrial hemp. The xylose peak intensity in the NMR spectra decreased with increasing electron irradiation dose, indicating that xylan was more sensitive to electron beam irradiation than cellulose. -- Highlights: {yields} The more severe degradation of structural components induced by higher irradiation. {yields} Carbohydrate analysis was applied to quantitatively investigate changes in the industrial hemp. {yields} Xylan was more sensitive to electron beam irradiation than cellulose.

  16. Comparison of Skin Moisturizer: Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE Factors in Clusters Based on Consumer Ethnocentrism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yossy Hanna Garlina

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze relevant factors contributing to the four dimensions of consumer-based brand equity in skin moisturizer industry. It is then followed by the clustering of female consumers of skin moisturizer based on ethnocentrism and differentiating each cluster’s consumer-based brand equity dimensions towards a domestic skin moisturizer brand Mustika Ratu, skin moisturizer. Research used descriptive survey method analysis. Primary data was obtained through questionnaire distribution to 70 female respondents for factor analysis and 120 female respondents for cluster analysis and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA. This research employed factor analysis to obtain relevant factors contributing to the five dimensions of consumer-based brand equity in skin moisturizer industry. Cluster analysis and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA were to see the difference of consumer-based brand equity between highly ethnocentric consumer and low ethnocentric consumer towards the same skin moisturizer domestic brand, Mustika Ratu skin moisturizer. Research found in all individual dimension analysis, all variable means and individual means show distinct difference between the high ethnocentric consumer and the low ethnocentric consumer. The low ethnocentric consumer cluster tends to be lower in mean score of Brand Loyalty, Perceived Quality, Brand Awareness, Brand Association, and Overall Brand Equity than the high ethnocentric consumer cluster. Research concludes consumer ethnocentrism is positively correlated with preferences towards domestic products and negatively correlated with foreign-made product preference. It is, then, highly ethnocentric consumers have positive perception towards domestic product.

  17. A Literature Review of Word of Mouth and Electronic Word of Mouth: Implications for Consumer Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuria Huete-Alcocer

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The rise and spread of the Internet has led to the emergence of a new form of word of mouth (WOM: electronic word of mouth (eWOM, considered one of the most influential informal media among consumers, businesses, and the population at large. Drawing on these ideas, this paper reviews the relevant literature, analyzing the impact of traditional WOM and eWOM in the field of consumer behavior and highlighting the main differences between the two types of recommendations, with a view to contributing to a better understanding of the potential of both.

  18. Electronic word-of-mouths påverkan på CRM : En fallstudie av en organisation inom kulturbranschen

    OpenAIRE

    Klasén, Sara; Swebilius, Karin

    2017-01-01

    Social media has increased the possibilities for consumers to gather and share consumption related experiences with other consumers through electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). eWOM affects the relationship between customer and business, and therefore also affects customer relationship management (CRM). Therefore, the research question of this study is: “How does electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) affect customer relationship management (CRM) at an organization in the creative industry?”. The purpos...

  19. Making sense of the "clean label" trends: A review of consumer food choice behavior and discussion of industry implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asioli, Daniele; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Caputo, Vincenzina; Vecchio, Riccardo; Annunziata, Azzurra; Næs, Tormod; Varela, Paula

    2017-09-01

    Consumers in industrialized countries are nowadays much more interested in information about the production methods and components of the food products that they eat, than they had been 50years ago. Some production methods are perceived as less "natural" (i.e. conventional agriculture) while some food components are seen as "unhealthy" and "unfamiliar" (i.e. artificial additives). This phenomenon, often referred to as the "clean label" trend, has driven the food industry to communicate whether a certain ingredient or additive is not present or if the food has been produced using a more "natural" production method (i.e. organic agriculture). However, so far there is no common and objective definition of clean label. This review paper aims to fill the gap via three main objectives, which are to a) develop and suggest a definition that integrates various understandings of clean label into one single definition, b) identify the factors that drive consumers' choices through a review of recent studies on consumer perception of various food categories understood as clean label with the focus on organic, natural and 'free from' artificial additives/ingredients food products and c) discuss implications of the consumer demand for clean label food products for food manufacturers as well as policy makers. We suggest to define clean label, both in a broad sense, where consumers evaluate the cleanliness of product by assumption and through inference looking at the front-of-pack label and in a strict sense, where consumers evaluate the cleanliness of product by inspection and through inference looking at the back-of-pack label. Results show that while 'health' is a major consumer motive, a broad diversity of drivers influence the clean label trend with particular relevance of intrinsic or extrinsic product characteristics and socio-cultural factors. However, 'free from' artificial additives/ingredients food products tend to differ from organic and natural products. Food

  20. The Level of Brand Awareness in Consumer Electronic Products: The Example of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kutay Oktay

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Brand awareness which is considered as one of the most important factor affecting the consumer purchasing preferences has been investigated by both academics and practitioners in the field of marketing in recent years. The current study investigated brand awareness in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan regarding consumer electronic products, such as laptop computers, tablet computers, and cell phones. To determine brand awareness, data were obtained by using suitable market analysis methods, andthen analyzed by using the Spearman correlation and the chi-square test for independence.Based on the study results, it was observed that the level brand awareness was high for laptop computers and cell phones, while being comparatively lower for tablet computers.

  1. Radiation Field Forming for Industrial Electron Accelerators Using Rare-Earth Magnetic Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ermakov, A. N.; Khankin, V. V.; Shvedunov, N. V.; Shvedunov, V. I.; Yurov, D. S.

    2016-09-01

    The article describes the radiation field forming system for industrial electron accelerators, which would have uniform distribution of linear charge density at the surface of an item being irradiated perpendicular to the direction of its motion. Its main element is non-linear quadrupole lens made with the use of rare-earth magnetic materials. The proposed system has a number of advantages over traditional beam scanning systems that use electromagnets, including easier product irradiation planning, lower instantaneous local dose rate, smaller size, lower cost. Provided are the calculation results for a 10 MeV industrial electron accelerator, as well as measurement results for current distribution in the prototype build based on calculations.

  2. The long journey of social media marketing in the fashion industry. From companies' strategies to consumer responses

    OpenAIRE

    Hernández García, Ángel

    2017-01-01

    This work-in-progress research project aims to cover different aspects of social media marketing in the fashion industry, starting with the creation of a framework for social media marketing strategies deployed by fashion companies. The research defines specific social media strategic actions, in terms of contents posted in different social media platforms, and analyzes their effect on consumers' perceptions and responses. The research features qualitative and quantitative data collected from...

  3. Making texts in electronic health records comprehensible to consumers: a prototype translator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng-Treitler, Qing; Goryachev, Sergey; Kim, Hyeoneui; Keselman, Alla; Rosendale, Douglas

    2007-10-11

    Narrative reports from electronic health records are a major source of content for personal health records. We designed and implemented a prototype text translator to make these reports more comprehensible to consumers. The translator identifies difficult terms, replaces them with easier synonyms, and generates and inserts explanatory texts for them. In feasibility testing, the application was used to translate 9 clinical reports. Majority (68.8%) of text replacements and insertions were deemed correct and helpful by expert review. User evaluation demonstrated a non-statistically significant trend toward better comprehension when translation is provided (p=0.15).

  4. Consumer protection: how much and who decides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowgill, C.A.

    1975-01-01

    Some topics discussed are: safety characteristics of electronic products such as color television sets and microwave ovens; impossibility of lay consumer determining frequency, severity, and probability of injury from radiation emissions; leakage of x radiation from color television sets; costs of safety standards to consumer; user habits and attitudes such as ignoring directions in instruction booklets; and consumer participation such as Consumers Union petition to amend the federal microwave standard and meetings of the technical electronic products radiation safety standards committee

  5. AECL IMPELA electron beam industrial irradiators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Labrie, J.P.; Drewell, N.H.; Ebrahim, N.A.; Lawrence, C.B.; Mason, V.A.; Ungrin, J.; White, B.F.

    1989-01-01

    A family of industrial irradiators is being developed by AECL to cover an electron-beam energy range from 5 to 18 MeV at beam powers between 20 and 250 kW. The IMPELA family of irradiators is designed for push button, reliable operation. The major irradiator components are modular, allowing for later upgrades to meet increased demands in either electron or X-ray mode. Interface between the control system, irradiator availability and dose quality assurance is in conformance with the most demanding specifications. The IMPELA irradiators use a klystron-driven, standing-wave, L-band accelerator structure with direct injection from a rugged, triode electron gun. Direct control of the accelerating field during the beam pulse ensures constant output beam energy, independent of beam power. The first member of the family, the IMPELA 10/50 (10 MeV, 50 kW), is in the final stages of assembly at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. The IMPELA 10/50 is constructed around a 3.25 m long, high-power-capacity accelerator structure operated at a duty factor of 5%. Beam loading exceeds 60%. The rf power is provided by a 2 MW/150 kW modulated-anode klystron protected from load mismatches by a circulator. This prototype will be used to demonstrate the reliability and dose uniformity targets of the IMPELA family. Full beam operation of the IMPELA 10/50 is scheduled for early 1989. (orig.)

  6. Review of methodologies and polices for evaluation of energy efficiency in high energy-consuming industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Ming-Jia; Tao, Wen-Quan

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The classification of the industrial energy efficiency index has been summarized. • The factors of energy efficiency and their implement in industries are discussed. • Four main evaluation methodologies of energy efficiency in industries are concluded. • Utilization of the methodologies in energy efficiency evaluations are illustrated. • Related polices and suggestions based on energy efficiency evaluations are provided. - Abstract: Energy efficiency of high energy-consuming industries plays a significant role in social sustainability, economic performance and environmental protection of any nation. In order to evaluate the energy efficiency and guide the sustainability development, various methodologies have been proposed for energy demand management and to measure the energy efficiency performance accurately in the past decades. A systematical review of these methodologies are conducted in the present paper. First, the classification of the industrial energy efficiency index has been summarized to track the previous application studies. The single measurement indicator and the composite index benchmarking are highly recognized as the modeling tools for power industries and policy-making in worldwide countries. They are the pivotal figures to convey the fundamental information in energy systems for improving the performance in fields such as economy, environment and technology. Second, the six factors that influence the energy efficiency in industry are discussed. Third, four major evaluation methodologies of energy efficiency are explained in detail, including stochastic frontier analysis, data envelopment analysis, exergy analysis and benchmarking comparison. The basic models and the developments of these methodologies are introduced. The recent utilization of these methodologies in the energy efficiency evaluations are illustrated. Some drawbacks of these methodologies are also discussed. Other related methods or influential indicators

  7. Utility shopping: are consumers ready?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrados, A.

    1999-01-01

    This report provides an overview of public readiness to deal with deregulation of the electric power industry , based on an analysis of public reaction to the deregulation of the transportation, telecommunications and natural gas industries which already have taken place. The report also examines the reasons why residential consumers have reason to be wary of deregulation. These include the likelihood of slow development of the intended competition, the consequent limits on consumer choices, the possibility of increased prices, decreased quality of service and erosion of social values such as affordability and accessibility. The report concludes with a number of recommendations aimed at ensuring the existence of workable competition for residential consumers, that reliable and meaningful information is available as competition in deregulated markets gets underway, that independent sources of information are widely available, and that basic consumer protection against deceptive and borderline marketing practices, a regulatory oversight mechanism and public reporting mechanisms are in place before competition begins. 33 refs

  8. The impact of semiconductor, electronics and optoelectronic industries on downstream perfluorinated chemical contamination in Taiwanese rivers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Angela Yu-Chen; Panchangam, Sri Chandana; Lo, Chao-Chun

    2009-01-01

    This study provides the first evidence on the influence of the semiconductor and electronics industries on perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) contamination in receiving rivers. We have quantified ten PFCs, including perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs: PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs: PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA) in semiconductor, electronic, and optoelectronic industrial wastewaters and their receiving water bodies (Taiwan's Keya, Touchien, and Xiaoli rivers). PFOS was found to be the major constituent in semiconductor wastewaters (up to 0.13 mg/L). However, different PFC distributions were found in electronics plant wastewaters; PFOA was the most significant PFC, contributing on average 72% to the effluent water samples, followed by PFOS (16%) and PFDA (9%). The distribution of PFCs in the receiving rivers was greatly impacted by industrial sources. PFOS, PFOA and PFDA were predominant and prevalent in all the river samples, with PFOS detected at the highest concentrations (up to 5.4 μg/L). - The semiconductor, electronics and optoelectronic industries are the primary source of PFC contamination in downstream aqueous environments

  9. Industrial plant for electron beam flue gas treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmielewski, A.G.; Iller, E.; Tyminnski, B.; Zimek, Z; Ostapczuk, A.; Licki, J.

    2001-01-01

    The electron beam flue gas treatment technology was invented many years ago. Research on the process has been carried out in Japan, USA, Germany and Poland. However, the recent fidings, based on the experiments performed at pilot plant at Electric Power Station Kaweczyn, led to developments which made process mature just at the dawn of the XXI century. The process is being implemented in the full industrial scale at Electric Power Station Pomorzany (Dolna Odra EPS Group). Other developments are reported in Japan and after Nagoya's pilot plant experiments, an industrial plant has been built in China and another one is constructed in Japan. There are remarkable differences in technological and design solutions applied in all these installations. Developments achieved at EPS Kaweczyn pilot plant and INCT laboratory unit were the basis for the project realized at EPS Pomorzan

  10. Integration of Large-scale Consumers in Smart Grid

    OpenAIRE

    Rahnama, Samira

    2015-01-01

    A prominent feature of the smart grid is to involve the consumer side in balancing effort, rather than placing the entire burden of maintaining this balance on the producers. This thesis investigates the utilization of flexible consumers in the future smart grid. The focus of this work is on industrial consumers. We propose a three-level hierarchical control framework, in which a so-called “Aggregator” is located between a number of flexible industrial demands and a grid operator. The aggrega...

  11. Electronics Industry

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ginter, Michael J; Andersen, James L; Becker, John A; Belliveau, Gerald E; Eppich, Frank J; Awai, Herman T; Hanko, David J; Hughes, Bob; Jones, Douglas; Larson, Kelly J

    2007-01-01

    .... area, New York State, Silicon Valley (California), Taiwan, and China. This approach provides a wide range of perspectives from which to examine the selected industry's current condition, outlook, and challenges...

  12. The QWERTY/EE concept, Quantifying Recyclability and Eco-Efficiency for End-of-Life Treatment of Consumer Electronic Products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huisman, J.

    2003-01-01

    The QWERTY/EE concept addresses recyclability and eco-efficiency of take-back and recycling of consumer electronic products, a topic currently receiving large international attention. Through the environmental part of the concept an alternative for usual weight based recycling percentages is

  13. Decomposition of organic pollutants in industrial Effluent induced by advanced oxidation process with Electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duarte, C.L.; Sampa, M.H.O.; Rela, P.R.; Oikawa, H.; Silveira, C.G.

    2001-01-01

    Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) by electron beam irradiation induce the decomposition of pollutants in industrial effluent. Experiments were conducted using a Radiation Dynamics Electron Beam Accelerator with 1.5 MeV energy and 37 Kew power. Experiments were conducted using samples from a Governmental Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) that receives about 20% of industrial wastewater, with the objective of use the electrons beam technology to destroy the refractory organic pollutants. Samples from WTP main Industrial Receiver Unit influent (IRU), Coarse Bar Screens effluent (CBS), Medium Bar Screens effluent (MBS), Primary Sedimentation effluent (PS) and Final Effluent (FE), were collected and irradiated in the electron beam accelerator in a batch system. The delivered doses were 5.0kGy, 10.0kGy and 20.0kGy. The electron beam irradiation showed be efficient on destroying the organic compounds delivered in these effluents mainly chloroform, dichloroethane, methyl isobutyl ketone, benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol. The necessary dose to remove 90% of the most organic compounds from industry effluent was 20 kGy. The removal of organic compounds from this complex mixture were described by the destruction G value (Gd) that were obtained for those compounds in different initial concentration and compared with literature

  14. Official report to the government 2000:13. Electronic trading and business management in the oil- and gas industry. Consequences and possibilities for the Norwegian oil- and gas industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    This report includes (1) a discussion of the development of electronic trading in general, (2) the development of electronic trading in the oil- and gas industry and (3) the role of the authorities in electronic trading and business management. It is realized that electronic trading and business management will quickly and profoundly change the trading among companies. The petroleum industry is expected to be among the leading industries in using electronic trading and many of the work processes that now characterize this sector will soon change. A number of public measures are already in effect to facilitate the use of electronic trading and the use of the Internet. Special attention has been given to legal issues and security aspects in trading over the Internet. No special need is seen for public measures with regard to standardization

  15. Educated consumers don’t believe artificial meat is the solution to the problems with the meat industry

    OpenAIRE

    Hocquette , Aurélie; Lambert , Carla; Sinquin , Clémentine; Peterolff , Laure; Wagner , Zoé; ,; Lebert , André; Hocquette , Jean-François

    2015-01-01

    The production of in vitro meat by cell culture has been suggested by some scientists as one solution to address the major challenges facing our society. Firstly, consumers would like the meat industry to reduce potential discomfort of animals on modern farms, or even to avoid killing animals to eat them. Secondly, citizens would like meat producers to reduce potential environmental deterioration by livestock and finally, there is a need to reduce world hunger by increasing pro...

  16. Conceptual design of industrial free electron laser using superconducting accelerator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saldin, E.L.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Ulyanov, Yu.N. [Automatic Systems Corporation, Samara (Russian Federation)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    Paper presents conceptual design of free electron laser (FEL) complex for industrial applications. The FEL complex consists of three. FEL oscillators with the optical output spanning the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) wave-lengths ({lambda} = 0.3...20 {mu}m) and with the average output power 10 - 20 kW. The driving beam for the FELs is produced by a superconducting accelerator. The electron beam is transported to the FELs via three beam lines (125 MeV and 2 x 250 MeV). Peculiar feature of the proposed complex is a high efficiency of the. FEL oscillators, up to 20 %. This becomes possible due to the use of quasi-continuous electron beam and the use of the time-dependent undulator tapering.

  17. USSR Report, Consumer Goods and Domestic Trade, No. 35

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1982-01-01

    PARTIAL CONTENTS: CONSUMER GOODS PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION - Deputy Gosplan Chairman Lakhtin on Consumer Demand, Consumer Co-ps and State Trade Urged To Improve Service, Stepped Up Light Industry Construction Urged...

  18. Perception of fashion brands by consumers in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ostojić Ivana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Fashion phenomenon has always attracted attention, but this topic has never been as popular as it is now. Fashion industry permeates all the aspects of human society and it portrays the time we live in the best way. Globalization of fashion and internalisation of doing business in fashion industry have conditioned moving all the important business functions to the countries with noticeably cheaper price of all the resources which has influenced reduction of the cost of fashion products. Textile industry in Serbia, once successful branch of the processing industry, is faced with foreign competition which has succeeded in positioning in the domestic market and attracting wide range of consumers. The research concerning consumers' preferences about fashion brands by determining which factors influence consumers the most while shopping will present the current situation in fashion industry of Serbia. By taking all brand characteristics into account (quality, price, design, commodity, prestige, we can determine the differences in evaluating the factors which apply to choosing garments by examinees regarding their gender, age and market they buy the products on. The case study showing how the consumers from Serbia and abroad see Mona fashion brand will be presented in the research.

  19. 2015 Applications in Electronics Pervading Industry, Environment and Society Conference

    CERN Document Server

    2017-01-01

    This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. It covers a broad spectrum of application domains, from automotive to space and from health to security, while devoting special attention to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication and control. The book is based on the 2015 ApplePies Conference, held in Rome, which brought together researchers and stakeholders to consider the most significant current trends in the field of applied electronics and to debate visions for the future. Areas addressed by the conference included information communication technology; biotechnology and biomedical imaging; space; secure, clean and efficient energy; the environment; and smart, green and integrated transport. As electronics technology continues to develop apace, constantly meeting previously unthinkable targets, further attention needs to be directed toward the electronics applications and the ...

  20. Direction of CRT waste glass processing: Electronics recycling industry communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, Julia R.; Boehm, Michael W.; Drummond, Charles

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Given a large flow rate of CRT glass ∼10% of the panel glass stream will be leaded. ► The supply of CRT waste glass exceeded demand in 2009. ► Recyclers should use UV-light to detect lead oxide during the separation process. ► Recycling market analysis techniques and results are given for CRT glass. ► Academic initiatives and the necessary expansion of novel product markets are discussed. - Abstract: Cathode Ray Tube, CRT, waste glass recycling has plagued glass manufacturers, electronics recyclers and electronics waste policy makers for decades because the total supply of waste glass exceeds demand, and the formulations of CRT glass are ill suited for most reuse options. The solutions are to separate the undesirable components (e.g. lead oxide) in the waste and create demand for new products. Achieving this is no simple feat, however, as there are many obstacles: limited knowledge of waste glass composition; limited automation in the recycling process; transportation of recycled material; and a weak and underdeveloped market. Thus one of the main goals of this paper is to advise electronic glass recyclers on how to best manage a diverse supply of glass waste and successfully market to end users. Further, this paper offers future directions for academic and industry research. To develop the recommendations offered here, a combination of approaches were used: (1) a thorough study of historic trends in CRT glass chemistry; (2) bulk glass collection and analysis of cullet from a large-scale glass recycler; (3) conversations with industry members and a review of potential applications; and (4) evaluation of the economic viability of specific uses for recycled CRT glass. If academia and industry can solve these problems (for example by creating a database of composition organized by manufacturer and glass source) then the reuse of CRT glass can be increased.

  1. Radioactive consumer products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Otomaru

    1981-01-01

    Present situation of utilizing the radioactive consumer products and exposure dose were reviewed with published data. Practically, consumer products are divided into three categories, (1) radioactive nuclides intentionally incorporated into radioluminous dye, ionization chambers for smoke detector, eliminator of static electricity, and glow lamp (2) natural radioactive nuclides contained in false teeth, porcelain, glass, and gas mantle (3) natural radioactive nuclides accumulated as industrial waste at the consumption of coal, petroleum, and natural gas or in fertilizer and materials for construction. (Nakanishi, T.)

  2. New electron beam facility for R&D and production at acsion industries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopata, V. J.; Barnard, J. W.; Saunders, C. B.; Stepanik, T. M.

    2003-08-01

    Since its incorporation in 1998, Acsion Industries Inc. has been working with clients to develop industrial uses of electron processing for improving products and manufacturing processes. Acsion has promoted this technology for sterilizing medical devices and pharmaceuticals, for treating wood pulp in the viscose/rayon process, for reducing pathogens in food and animal feed, and for curing advanced composites for the aerospace industry. As a result of significant developments in its composite curing programs, Acsion has recently made major modifications to its facility to increase its production and R&D capabilities. These modifications are described in this paper.

  3. Impact of Advertising: Implications for Consumer Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Zena; And Others

    This report reviews and analyzes the effects advertising has on consumer choice, national values, and life styles. It is intended to aid consumer educators and others in related fields. The report's focus is on two central issues: consumer sovereignty and patterns of personal, industrial, and national resource allocation. The first of four…

  4. Consumer Energy Atlas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-06-01

    This first edition of the Atlas provides, in reference form, a central source of information to consumers on key contacts concerned with energy in the US. Energy consumers need information appropriate to local climates and characteristics - best provided by state and local governments. The Department of Energy recognizes the authority of state and local governments to manage energy programs on their own. Therefore, emphasis has been given to government organizations on both the national and state level that influence, formulate, or administer policies affecting energy production, distribution, and use, or that provide information of interest to consumers and non-specialists. In addition, hundreds of non-government energy-related membership organizations, industry trade associations, and energy publications are included.

  5. Evaluating Electronic Customer Relationship Management Performance: Case Studies from Persian Automotive and Computer Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Safari, Narges; Safari, Fariba; Olesen, Karin; Shahmehr, Fatemeh

    2016-01-01

    This research paper investigates the influence of industry on electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) performance. A case study approach with two cases was applied to evaluate the influence of e-CRM on customer behavioral and attitudinal loyalty along with customer pyramid. The cases covered two industries consisting of computer and automotive industries. For investigating customer behavioral loyalty and customer pyramid companies database were computed while for examining custome...

  6. Design and development of 3 MeV, 30 kW DC industrial electron accelerator at Electron Beam Centre, Kharghar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mittal, K.C.; Nanu, K.; Jain, A.

    2006-01-01

    High power electron beam accelerators are becoming an important tool for industrial radiation process applications. Keeping this in mind, a 3 MeV, 10 mA, 30 kW DC industrial electron accelerator has been designed and is in advanced stage of development at Electron Beam Center, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. The operating range of this accelerator is 1 MeV to 3 MeV with maximum beam current of 10 mA. Electron beam at 5 keV is generated in electron gun with LaB 6 cathode and is injected into accelerating column at a vacuum of 10 -7 torr. After acceleration the beam is scanned and taken out in air through a 100 cm X 7 cm titanium window for radiation processing applications. The high voltage accelerating power supply is based on a capacitive coupled parallel fed voltage multiplier scheme operating at 120 kHz. A 50 kW oscillator feeds power to high voltage multiplier column. The electron gun, accelerating column and high voltage multiplier column are housed in accelerator tank filled with SF 6 gas insulation at 6 kg/cm 2 . The accelerator is located in a RCC building with product conveyor for handling products. A central computerized control system is adopted for operation of the accelerator. Accelerator is in the advance stage of commissioning. Many of the subsystems have been commissioned and tested. This paper describes the design details and current status of the accelerator and various subsystems. (author)

  7. Women as Video Game Consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Kiviranta, Hanna

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this Thesis is to study women as video game consumers through the games that they play. This was done by case studies on the content of five video games from genres that statistically are popular amongst women. To introduce the topic and to build the theoretical framework, the key terms and the video game industry are introduced. The reader is acquainted with theories on consumer behaviour, buying processes and factors that influence our consuming habits. These aspects are...

  8. Electronic word of mouth influence on consumer purchase intention ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This type of e-marketing affects consumer on its purchase intention of product or service. ... influence and how these factors influence the buying decisions of consumers. ... This paper is expedient for marketers in creating effective promotional ...

  9. Using the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct to Evaluate Green Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Study of Taiwan’s Computer Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Ching Liu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Electronics companies throughout Asia recognize the benefits of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM for gaining competitive advantage. A large majority of electronics companies in Taiwan have recently adopted the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC Code of Conduct for defining and managing their social and environmental responsibilities throughout their supply chains. We surveyed 106 Tier 1 suppliers to the Taiwanese computer industry to determine their environmental performance using the EICC Code of Conduct (EICC Code and performed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA on the 63/106 questionnaire responses collected. We test the results to determine whether differences in product type, geographic area, and supplier size correlate with different levels of environmental performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze questionnaire data on supplier adoption to optimize the implementation of GSCM. The results suggest that characteristic classification of suppliers could be employed to enhance the efficiency of GSCM.

  10. Automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the electronic health record using consumer technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Rajiv B; Goren, Nira D; Stark, David E; Wall, Dennis P; Longhurst, Christopher A

    2016-05-01

    The diabetes healthcare provider plays a key role in interpreting blood glucose trends, but few institutions have successfully integrated patient home glucose data in the electronic health record (EHR). Published implementations to date have required custom interfaces, which limit wide-scale replication. We piloted automated integration of continuous glucose monitor data in the EHR using widely available consumer technology for 10 pediatric patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. Establishment of a passive data communication bridge via a patient's/parent's smartphone enabled automated integration and analytics of patient device data within the EHR between scheduled clinic visits. It is feasible to utilize available consumer technology to assess and triage home diabetes device data within the EHR, and to engage patients/parents and improve healthcare provider workflow. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

  11. The Next Technology Revolution - Nano Electronic Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turlik, Iwona

    2004-03-01

    Nanotechnology is a revolutionary engine that will engender enormous changes in a vast majority of today's industries and markets, while potentially creating whole new industries. The impact of nanotechnology is particularly significant in the electronics industry, which is constantly driven by the need for higher performance, increased functionality, smaller size and lower cost. Nanotechnology can influence many of the hundreds of components that are typically assembled to manufacture modern electronic devices. Motorola manufactures electronics for a wide range of industries and communication products. In this presentation, the typical components of a cellular phone are outlined and technology requirements for future products, the customer benefits, and the potential impact of nanotechnology on many of the components are discussed. Technology needs include reliable materials supply, processes for high volume production, experimental and simulation tools, etc. For example, even routine procedures such as failure characterization may require the development of new tools for investigating nano-scale phenomena. Business needs include the development of an effective, high volume supply chain for nano-materials and devices, disruptive product platforms, and visible performance impact on the end consumer. An equally significant long-term industry need is the availability of science and engineering graduates with a multidisciplinary focus and a deep understanding of the fundamentals of nano-technology, that can harness the technology to create revolutionary products.

  12. Food irradiation and the consumer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, P.A.

    1990-01-01

    The poster presents a review of research work undertaken on the perception and understanding that consumers have of food irradiation. Food irradiation is not a revolutionary new food processing technique, in fact it is probably one of the most investigated methods presently available. Many countries such as Belgium, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States of America permit food irradiation. In Britain it is presently banned although this is currently under review. Awareness of food irradiation by the general public in Britain, although not extensively researched would appear to be increasing, especially in the light of recent media coverage. New quantitative and qualitative work indicates that the general public are concerned about the safety and effectiveness of food irradiation. Research has shown that a large proportion of consumers in Britain, if given the opportunity to purchase irradiated food, would not do so. Further exploration into this response revealed the fact that consumers are confused over what food irradiation is. In addition, there is concern over the detection of irradiated food. The views presented in this paper, of the consumer reaction to irradiated food are of great importance to those involved in the food industry and industries allied to it, which are ultimately dependent on the consumer for their commercial survival. (author)

  13. The need for novel model order reduction techniques in the electronics industry (Chapter 1)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schilders, W.H.A.; Benner, P.; Hinze, M.; Maten, ter E.J.W.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss the present and future needs of the electronics industry with regard to model order reduction. The industry has always been one of the main motivating fields for the development of MOR techniques, and continues to play this role. We discuss the search for provably passive

  14. Consumer values and eco-fashion in the future

    OpenAIRE

    Niinimäki, Kirsi

    2009-01-01

    This paper discusses the consumer values, attitudes and expectations regarding sustainable textiles and clothing. Consumers' interest in ethical issues is currently raising ethical questions in the mass market. What does a consumer expect from sustainable products in the apparel industry? and what is future eco-fashion?

  15. Protection for the Consumer; Business Education: 6463.07.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finora, Daniel

    This course is designed to acquaint the student with the functions, criticisms, costs, and consumer analysis of advertising; Federal and State regulations of industry operation and advertising; Federal, State, and city agencies for consumer protection; private and business-sponsored organizations for consumer protection; and rights and…

  16. A new hybrid machine design for a 6 DOF industrial robot arm

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Shaik, AA

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available of units sold since 1960 amounted to more than 2 230 000, and the IFR (International Federation of Robotics) estimates the total number of operational industrial robots worldwide to be between 1 021 000 and 1 300 000 units at the end of 2009. [Exec sum... productivity to be competitive on the global market and the competition for market share in rising consumer markets. [IFR 1] The main drivers for the strong recovery in 2010 were automotive manufacturers and the electronics industry. In addition...

  17. Use of radioisotopes in the electronic industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walis, L.; Jaskolska, H.; Wronski, W.; Stverak, B.

    1976-01-01

    The possibilities of applying nuclear methods in the study of high purity materials and of special technologies used in the electronic industry are described. Attention is paid to neutron activation analysis, nuclear microanalysis of thin surface layers, autoradiography and to radiotracer techniques. The most efficient applications of nuclear methods are indicated, such as the purification of materials to semiconductor grade, doping of semiconductor materials by metallurgical techniques or by diffusion and implantation, investigations of the effect of material processing on the surface purity, studies of metal-semiconductor reactions, dielectric layers, etc. The advantages and disadvantages of the described methods and their sensitivities are discussed. Examples of practical work done so far are given. (author)

  18. Dynamic cyclical comovements of oil prices with industrial production, consumer prices, unemployment, and stock prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ewing, Bradley T.; Thompson, Mark A.

    2007-01-01

    This paper examines the empirical relationship between oil prices and several key macroeconomic variables. In particular, we investigate the cyclical comovements of crude oil prices with output, consumer prices, unemployment, and stock prices. The methodology involves the use of the Hodrick-Prescott [Hodrick, R.J., Prescott, E.C., 1980. Post-War US Business Cycles: An Empirical Investigation. Working Paper, Carnegie Mellon University] and Baxter-King [Baxter, M., King, R.G., 1999. Measuring business cycles: approximate band-pass filters for economic time series. Review of Economics and Statistics 81, 575-593] filters, as well as the recently developed full-sample asymmetric Christiano-Fitzgerald [Christiano, L.J., Fitzgerald, T.J., 2003. The band pass filter. International Economic Review 44, 435-465] band-pass filter. Contemporaneous and cross-correlation estimates are made using the stationary cyclical components of the time series to make inference about the degree to which oil prices move with the cycle. Besides documenting a number of important cyclical relationships using three different time series filtering methods, the results suggest that crude oil prices are procyclical and lag industrial production. Additionally, we find that oil prices lead consumer prices. (author)

  19. Was there an ‘Industrious Revolution' before the Industrial Revolution?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Allen, Robert C.; Weisdorf, Jacob Louis

    It is conventionally assumed that the pre-modern working year was fixed and that consumption varied with changes in wages and prices. This is challenged by the twin theories of the ‘industrious' revolution and the consumer revolution, positing a longer working year as people earned surplus money...... estimates of the actual working year, we find two ‘industrious' revolutions among rural workers; both, however, are attributable to economic hardship, and we detect no signs of a consumer revolution. For urban labourers, by contrast, a growing gap between their actual working year and the work  required...... to buy the basket provides great scope for a consumer revolution....

  20. Trends and developments in industrial machine vision: 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niel, Kurt; Heinzl, Christoph

    2014-03-01

    When following current advancements and implementations in the field of machine vision there seems to be no borders for future developments: Calculating power constantly increases, and new ideas are spreading and previously challenging approaches are introduced in to mass market. Within the past decades these advances have had dramatic impacts on our lives. Consumer electronics, e.g. computers or telephones, which once occupied large volumes, now fit in the palm of a hand. To note just a few examples e.g. face recognition was adopted by the consumer market, 3D capturing became cheap, due to the huge community SW-coding got easier using sophisticated development platforms. However, still there is a remaining gap between consumer and industrial applications. While the first ones have to be entertaining, the second have to be reliable. Recent studies (e.g. VDMA [1], Germany) show a moderately increasing market for machine vision in industry. Asking industry regarding their needs the main challenges for industrial machine vision are simple usage and reliability for the process, quick support, full automation, self/easy adjustment at changing process parameters, "forget it in the line". Furthermore a big challenge is to support quality control: Nowadays the operator has to accurately define the tested features for checking the probes. There is an upcoming development also to let automated machine vision applications find out essential parameters in a more abstract level (top down). In this work we focus on three current and future topics for industrial machine vision: Metrology supporting automation, quality control (inline/atline/offline) as well as visualization and analysis of datasets with steadily growing sizes. Finally the general trend of the pixel orientated towards object orientated evaluation is addressed. We do not directly address the field of robotics taking advances from machine vision. This is actually a fast changing area which is worth an own

  1. Reverse technological waste logistics: a study of the behavior of mobile devices consumers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliane de Souza Vieira da Silva

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The electronics industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is estimated that 41 million tons of electronic waste, such as computers and mobile phones, is produced worldwide each year. The indiscriminate disposal of these materials has caused a lot of damage to the environment, and indirectly to human health. RL stands out as a new field of study that seeks to reintroduce these products to the economic chain or lead them to the proper disposal. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of the administrative staff of a public educational institution in relation to the RL of mobile devices, with a sample of 142 respondents. This research is characterized as a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional survey. The key results showed that 60% of the population surveyed acknowledge that the improper disposal of mobile devices creates environmental problems, however, only 35% acknowledge that their improper disposal also creates problems for human health. Most consumers still keep their old devices at home. The survey found that 44% of respondents do not know where to dispose of their mobile devices, highlighting the need to educate consumers about the risks, and to provide consumers with collection points for these devices.

  2. Progress and challenges associated with halal authentication of consumer packaged goods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premanandh, Jagadeesan; Bin Salem, Samara

    2017-11-01

    Abusive business practices are increasingly evident in consumer packaged goods. Although consumers have the right to protect themselves against such practices, rapid urbanization and industrialization result in greater distances between producers and consumers, raising serious concerns on the supply chain. The operational complexities surrounding halal authentication pose serious challenges on the integrity of consumer packaged goods. This article attempts to address the progress and challenges associated with halal authentication. Advancement and concerns on the application of new, rapid analytical methods for halal authentication are discussed. The significance of zero tolerance policy in consumer packaged foods and its impact on analytical testing are presented. The role of halal assurance systems and their challenges are also considered. In conclusion, consensus on the establishment of one standard approach coupled with a sound traceability system and constant monitoring would certainly improve and ensure halalness of consumer packaged goods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  3. Lighnting detection and tracking with consumer electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamau, Gilbert; van de Giesen, Nick

    2015-04-01

    Lightning data is not only important for environment and weather monitoring but also for safety purposes. The AS3935 Franklin Lightning Sensor (AMS, Unterpremstaetten, Austria) is a lightning sensor developed for inclusion in consumer electronics such as watches and mobile phones. The AS3935 is small (4mmx4mm) and relatively cost effective (Eu 5). The downside is that only rough distance estimates are provided, as average power is assumed for every lightning strike. To be able to track lightning, a network of devices that monitor and keep track of occurrences of lightning strikes was developed. A communication interface was established between the sensors, a data logging circuit and a microcontroller. The digital outputs of the lightning sensor and data from a GPS are processed by the microcontroller and logged onto an SD card. The interface program enables sampling parameters such as distance from the lightning strike, time of strike occurrence and geographical location of the device. For archiving and analysis purposes, the data can be transferred from the SD card to a PC and results displayed using a graphical user interface program. Data gathered shows that the device can track the frequency and movement of lightning strikes in an area. The device has many advantages as compared to other lightning sensor stations in terms of huge memory, lower power consumption, small size, greater portability and lower cost. The devices were used in a network around Nairobi, Kenya. Through multi-lateration, lightning strikes could be located with a RMSE of 2 km or better.

  4. Consumer perceptions of electronic health information exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancker, Jessica S; Edwards, Alison M; Miller, Melissa C; Kaushal, Rainu

    2012-07-01

    Public support will be critical to the success and long-term sustainability of electronic health information exchange (HIE) initiatives currently promoted by federal policy. The goal of this study was to assess consumer perceptions of HIE in a state (New York) with a 6-year history of successful HIE organizations. The Empire State Poll is a random-digit-dial telephone survey of adult New York State residents conducted annually by the Survey Research Institute at Cornell University. In 2011, it contained 77 items. The survey was conducted and data were analyzed in 2011. Eight hundred respondents participated (71% response rate). Large majorities supported HIE among healthcare providers (69%); thought it would improve quality of care (68%); and supported "break the glass" access to HIE data without need for consent in emergencies (90%). Support was lower among people who rated large corporations as less trustworthy. Privacy and security concerns were expressed by 68%. Respondents were supportive whether the architecture involved a physician sending data to another physician, a physician sending data to a patient who could send it to other physicians, or a physician accessing data from other institutions. In New York, public support for HIE is strong. Policy and outreach pertaining to this type of exchange may be most effective if it clarifies the roles and responsibilities of large businesses involved in different aspects of the exchange, and privacy and security controls. Differing architectures received similar levels of support. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Materials and processing approaches for foundry-compatible transient electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Jan-Kai; Fang, Hui; Bower, Christopher A.; Song, Enming; Yu, Xinge; Rogers, John A.

    2017-07-01

    Foundry-based routes to transient silicon electronic devices have the potential to serve as the manufacturing basis for “green” electronic devices, biodegradable implants, hardware secure data storage systems, and unrecoverable remote devices. This article introduces materials and processing approaches that enable state-of-the-art silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) foundries to be leveraged for high-performance, water-soluble forms of electronics. The key elements are (i) collections of biodegradable electronic materials (e.g., silicon, tungsten, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide) and device architectures that are compatible with manufacturing procedures currently used in the integrated circuit industry, (ii) release schemes and transfer printing methods for integration of multiple ultrathin components formed in this way onto biodegradable polymer substrates, and (iii) planarization and metallization techniques to yield interconnected and fully functional systems. Various CMOS devices and circuit elements created in this fashion and detailed measurements of their electrical characteristics highlight the capabilities. Accelerated dissolution studies in aqueous environments reveal the chemical kinetics associated with the underlying transient behaviors. The results demonstrate the technical feasibility for using foundry-based routes to sophisticated forms of transient electronic devices, with functional capabilities and cost structures that could support diverse applications in the biomedical, military, industrial, and consumer industries.

  6. Electronics Industry

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bell, Robert; Carroll-Garrison, Martina; Donovan, Daniel; Fisher, John; Guemmer, Paul; Harms, Robert; Kelly, Timothy; Love, Mattie; McReynolds, James; Ward, Ralph

    2006-01-01

    .... Government action to preserve strategic access to semiconductor producers is clearly needed to ensure DoD electronic systems can be built without compromising sensitive technology, though every...

  7. New electron beam facility for R and D and production at acsion industries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopata, V.J.; Barnard, J.W.; Saunders, C.B.; Stepanik, T.M. E-mail: stepanik@acsion.com

    2003-08-01

    Since its incorporation in 1998, Acsion Industries Inc. has been working with clients to develop industrial uses of electron processing for improving products and manufacturing processes. Acsion has promoted this technology for sterilizing medical devices and pharmaceuticals, for treating wood pulp in the viscose/rayon process, for reducing pathogens in food and animal feed, and for curing advanced composites for the aerospace industry. As a result of significant developments in its composite curing programs, Acsion has recently made major modifications to its facility to increase its production and R and D capabilities. These modifications are described in this paper.

  8. Management status of end-of-life vehicles and development strategies of used automotive electronic control components recycling industry in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Junjun; Chen, Ming

    2012-11-01

    Recycling companies play a leading role in the system of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) in China. Automotive manufacturers in China are rarely involved in recycling ELVs, and they seldom provide dismantling information for recycling companies. In addition, no professional shredding plant is available. The used automotive electronic control components recycling industry in China has yet to take shape because of the lack of supporting technology and profitable models. Given the rapid growth of the vehicle population and electronic control units in automotives in China, the used automotive electronic control components recycling industry requires immediate development. This paper analyses the current recycling system of ELVs in China and introduces the automotive product recycling technology roadmap as well as the recycling industry development goals. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the current used automotive electronic control components recycling industry in China are analysed comprehensively based on the 'strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats' (SWOT) method. The results of the analysis indicate that this recycling industry responds well to all the factors and has good opportunities for development. Based on the analysis, new development strategies for the used automotive electronic control components recycling industry in accordance with the actual conditions of China are presented.

  9. The international electronics industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaDou, J; Rohm, T

    1998-01-01

    High-technology microelectronics has a major presence in countries such as China, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, now the third-largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips. The migration of European, Japanese, and American companies accommodates regional markets. Low wage rates and limited enforcement of environmental regulations in developing countries also serve as incentives for the dramatic global migration of this industry. The manufacture of microelectonics products is accompanied by a high incidence of occupational illnesses, which may reflect the widespread use of toxic materials. Metals, photoactive chemicals, solvents, acids, and toxic gases are used in a wide variety of combinations and workplace settings. The industry also presents problems of radiation exposure and various occupational stressors, including some unresolved ergonomic issues. The fast-paced changes of the technology underlying this industry, as well as the stringent security precautions, have added to the difficulty of instituting proper health and safety measures. Epidemiologic studies reveal an alarming increase in spontaneous abortions among cleanroom manufacturing workers; no definitive study has yet identified its cause. Other health issues, including occupational cancer, are yet to be studied. The microelectronics industry is a good example of an industry that is exported to many areas of the world before health and safety problems are properly addressed and resolved.

  10. Performance characteristics and typical industrial applications of Selfshield electron accelerators (<300kV)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aaronson, J.N.; Nablo, S.V.

    1985-01-01

    Selfshielded electron accelerators have been successfully used in industry for more than ten years. One of the important advantages of these machines is their compactness for easy adaptation to conventional coating and product finishing machinery. It is equally important that these machines qualify for use under 'unrestricted' conditions as specified by OSHA. The shielding and product handling configurations which make this unrestricted designation possible for operating voltages under 300 kV are discussed. Thin film dosimetry techniques used for the determination of the machine performance parameters are discussed along with the rotary scanner techniques employed for the dose rate studies which are important in the application of the processors. Paper and wood coatings, which are important industrial applications involving electron initiated polymerization, are reviewed. The sterilization and disinfestation applications are also discussed. The increasing concern of these industries for the more effective use of energy and for compliance with more stringent pollution regulations, coupled with the novel processes this energy source makes possible, assure a bright future for this developing technology. (orig.)

  11. Continuous Improvement and its Barriers in Electrical and Electronic Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmad Md Fauzi; Yan Toh Li; Wei Chan Shiau; Aizat Ahmad Ahmad Nur; Raja Mohd Rasi Raja Zuraidah; Abdul Rahman Nor Aida; Muhd Nor Nik Hisyamudin; Hassan Mohd Fahrul; Hashim Fatan Adibah

    2017-01-01

    Continuous improvement is one of the core strategies for manufacturing excellent and it is considered vital in today’s business environment. Continuous improvement is an important factor in TQM implementation. However, manufacturers in Electrical and Electronic Industry is facing variety of challenges such as, time constraint, quality issue, headcount issue, human issue and competition in domestic as well as the global market. This paper presents total quality management practices in Electric...

  12. Consumers' purchase intention of organic food in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Shijiu; Wu, Linhai; Du, Lili; Chen, Mo

    2010-06-01

    The global market for organic food has developed significantly in the past decade. The organic food industry in China is export oriented, with production growing rapidly, although the domestic market remains relatively small. This paper surveys 432 consumers from three cities in China, consequently establishing a logit model to analyse the main factors affecting consumers' choice for organic food. The result indicates that Chinese consumers' intent to purchase organic food is strongly affected by factors such as income, degree of trust in organic food, degree of acceptance of organic food price, and consumers' concern on self-health. This intent is only slightly affected by factors such as consumers' age, education level and concern about environmental protection. Based on the results, the following measures are recommended: reduce the cost of organic food through multiple channels to cut down the market price; establish and perfect the supervision system of organic food; and promote organic food through various channels. Copyright (c) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.

  13. Continuation of Research, Commercialization, and Workforce Development in the Polymer/Electronics Recycling Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mel Croucher; Rakesh Gupta; Hota GangaRao; Darran Cairns; Jinzing Wang; Xiaodong Shi; Jason Linnell; Karen Facemyer; Doug Ritchie; Jeff Tucker

    2009-09-30

    The MARCEE Project was established to understand the problems associated with electronics recycling and to develop solutions that would allow an electronics recycling industry to emerge. While not all of the activities have been funded by MARCEE, but through private investment, they would not have occurred had the MARCEE Project not been undertaken. The problems tackled and the results obtained using MARCEE funds are discussed in detail in this report.

  14. The impact of semiconductor, electronics and optoelectronic industries on downstream perfluorinated chemical contamination in Taiwanese rivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Angela Yu-Chen; Panchangam, Sri Chandana; Lo, Chao-Chun

    2009-04-01

    This study provides the first evidence on the influence of the semiconductor and electronics industries on perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) contamination in receiving rivers. We have quantified ten PFCs, including perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFASs: PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs: PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA) in semiconductor, electronic, and optoelectronic industrial wastewaters and their receiving water bodies (Taiwan's Keya, Touchien, and Xiaoli rivers). PFOS was found to be the major constituent in semiconductor wastewaters (up to 0.13 mg/L). However, different PFC distributions were found in electronics plant wastewaters; PFOA was the most significant PFC, contributing on average 72% to the effluent water samples, followed by PFOS (16%) and PFDA (9%). The distribution of PFCs in the receiving rivers was greatly impacted by industrial sources. PFOS, PFOA and PFDA were predominant and prevalent in all the river samples, with PFOS detected at the highest concentrations (up to 5.4 microg/L).

  15. Consumers want safer meat - but not at all costs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mørkbak, Morten Raun; Christensen, Tove; Gyrd-Hansen, Dorte

    2008-01-01

    Consumers, the public authorities, and the food industry are all concerned with the safety of meat. The increasing demand for safer food from the consumers and the public authorities puts pressure on producers to identify efficient methods to reduce risks. Earlier studies have shown that consumer...

  16. Consumer electronic optics: how small can a lens be: the case of panomorph lenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibault, Simon; Parent, Jocelyn; Zhang, Hu; Du, Xiaojun; Roulet, Patrice

    2014-09-01

    In 2014, miniature camera modules are applied to a variety of applications such as webcam, mobile phone, automotive, endoscope, tablets, portable computers and many other products. Mobile phone cameras are probably one of the most challenging parts due to the need for smaller and smaller total track length (TTL) and optimized embedded image processing algorithms. As the technology is developing, higher resolution and higher image quality, new capabilities are required to fulfil the market needs. Consequently, the lens system becomes more complex and requires more optical elements and/or new optical elements. What is the limit? How small an injection molded lens can be? We will discuss those questions by comparing two wide angle lenses for consumer electronic market. The first lens is a 6.56 mm (TTL) panoramic (180° FOV) lens built in 2012. The second is a more recent (2014) panoramic lens (180° FOV) with a TTL of 3.80 mm for mobile phone camera. Both optics are panomorph lenses used with megapixel sensors. Between 2012 and 2014, the development in design and plastic injection molding allowed a reduction of the TTL by more than 40%. This TTL reduction has been achieved by pushing the lens design to the extreme (edge/central air and material thicknesses as well as lens shape). This was also possible due to a better control of the injection molding process and material (low birefringence, haze and thermal stability). These aspects will be presented and discussed. During the next few years, we don't know if new material will come or new process but we will still need innovative people and industries to push again the limits.

  17. Federal consumer protection regulation: disclosures and beyond

    OpenAIRE

    Mark Furletti

    2005-01-01

    On June 10, 2005, the Payment Cards Center hosted a symposium entitled “Federal Consumer Protection Regulation: Disclosures and Beyond.” The symposium brought together credit card industry leaders, legal scholars, consumer advocates, economists, and federal regulators to discuss standardized credit card disclosures and other means of protecting credit card consumers. This paper summarizes the day’s discussion and details the recommendations of symposium participants. In general, these recomme...

  18. Energy consumption in France's industry. Conjuncture note

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-04-01

    Energy consumption in the industry represents today 1/5 of France's end-use energy consumption. Gas and electricity are the most consumed and represent 2/3 of the overall. The 5 most energy consuming industries are the following: paper and cardboard industry, food industry, rubber, plastic and other non-metallic mineral products industry, metallurgy and chemical industry. The reduction of the industry's energy consumption is explained by the decline of production, but above all by the energy efficiency improvement of the sector. Technological innovations in production means have indeed led to reduce energy consumption

  19. Industrial Consumers’ Smart Grid Adoption: Influential Factors and Participation Phases

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Zheng; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard; Asmussen, Alla

    2018-01-01

    The participation of industrial consumers in smart grid transition is important due to their consumption footprint, heavy energy use and complexity in the implementation of smart energy technologies. Active involvement of industrial consumers in the development of smart grid solutions is important...... to ensure the energy system transformation. Despite the importance of industrial consumers has been identified, the empirical studies on the smart grid still mainly address residential and commercial consumers. Therefore, based on four case studies with two industrial consumers, one energy consulting...... company and one electricity retailer, this paper investigates the factors that influence industrial consumers’ acceptance of smart grid solutions, and how the influential factors are relevant to the smart grid adoption phases. Eleven influential factors are identified that impact on four stages...

  20. Examine The Effect of Word-of-Mouth and Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Consumers' Perceived Risk in Taiwan: A Case Study on Online Shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, Hung-Miao

    2011-01-01

    Online shopping has become one of the most popular activities on the Internet in recent years. Due to the emergence of electronic commerce and the wide spread of the Internet, there is a new shopping channel for consumers to purchase products or services they need, that is, online shopping. In the past, researchers found that consumers had different online purchase behavior in terms of their demographics. However, the results of this thesis show that as time goes by, consumers become more ...

  1. Consumer Science applications in meat research and development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania M. Ngapo

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Consumer studies with meat as the subject have been increasingly reported over the last couple of decades. Many of these are aimed at marketing to different groups of consumers, but a select few are aimed at improving meat quality and/or the meat industry. It is these latter types of studies that this presentation will focus on. This general overview illustrates some of the ways that consumer science can be used in meat science. Attitude-based studies, focus groups, image surveys, labeling studies and tastings are but a few of the tools that those in the meat industry from producer to scientist to manager, can use to complement their work continually improving our meat chains.

  2. Fabrication Approaches to Interconnect Based Devices for Stretchable Electronics: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagels, Steven; Deferme, Wim

    2018-03-03

    Stretchable electronics promise to naturalize the way that we are surrounded by and interact with our devices. Sensors that can stretch and bend furthermore have become increasingly relevant as the technology behind them matures rapidly from lab-based workflows to industrially applicable production principles. Regardless of the specific materials used, creating stretchable conductors involves either the implementation of strain reliefs through insightful geometric patterning, the dispersion of stiff conductive filler in an elastomeric matrix, or the employment of intrinsically stretchable conductive materials. These basic principles however have spawned a myriad of materials systems wherein future application engineers need to find their way. This paper reports a literature study on the spectrum of different approaches towards stretchable electronics, discusses standardization of characteristic tests together with their reports and estimates matureness for industry. Patterned copper foils that are embedded in elastomeric sheets, which are closest to conventional electronic circuits processing, make up one end of the spectrum. Furthest from industry are the more recent circuits based on intrinsically stretchable liquid metals. These show extremely promising results, however, as a technology, liquid metal is not mature enough to be adapted. Printing makes up the transition between both ends, and is also well established on an industrial level, but traditionally not linked to creating electronics. Even though a certain level of maturity was found amongst the approaches that are reviewed herein, industrial adaptation for consumer electronics remains unpredictable without a designated break-through commercial application.

  3. Fabrication Approaches to Interconnect Based Devices for Stretchable Electronics: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven Nagels

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Stretchable electronics promise to naturalize the way that we are surrounded by and interact with our devices. Sensors that can stretch and bend furthermore have become increasingly relevant as the technology behind them matures rapidly from lab-based workflows to industrially applicable production principles. Regardless of the specific materials used, creating stretchable conductors involves either the implementation of strain reliefs through insightful geometric patterning, the dispersion of stiff conductive filler in an elastomeric matrix, or the employment of intrinsically stretchable conductive materials. These basic principles however have spawned a myriad of materials systems wherein future application engineers need to find their way. This paper reports a literature study on the spectrum of different approaches towards stretchable electronics, discusses standardization of characteristic tests together with their reports and estimates matureness for industry. Patterned copper foils that are embedded in elastomeric sheets, which are closest to conventional electronic circuits processing, make up one end of the spectrum. Furthest from industry are the more recent circuits based on intrinsically stretchable liquid metals. These show extremely promising results, however, as a technology, liquid metal is not mature enough to be adapted. Printing makes up the transition between both ends, and is also well established on an industrial level, but traditionally not linked to creating electronics. Even though a certain level of maturity was found amongst the approaches that are reviewed herein, industrial adaptation for consumer electronics remains unpredictable without a designated break-through commercial application.

  4. Strain mapping for the semiconductor industry by dark-field electron holography and nanobeam electron diffraction with nm resolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, David; Hartmann, Jean Michel; Carron, Veronique; Béché, Armand; Rouvière, Jean-Luc

    2010-01-01

    There is a requirement of the semiconductor industry to measure strain in semiconductor devices with nm-scale resolution. Here we show that dark-field electron holography and nanobeam electron diffraction (NBED) are both complementary techniques that can be used to determine the strain in these devices. We show two-dimensional strain maps acquired by dark holography and line profiles that have been acquired by NBED of recessed SiGe sources and drains with a variety of different gate lengths and Ge concentrations. We have also used dark-field electron holography to measure the evolution in strain during the silicidation process, showing that this can reduce the applied uniaxial compressive strain in the conduction channel by up to a factor of 3

  5. Quality versus Quantity: An Investigation into Electronic Word of Mouth’s Influence on Consumer Buying Intention

    OpenAIRE

    Huyen, T.; Costello, Joyce

    2017-01-01

    Online consumer reviews play an increasingly crucial role in shaping purchasing intention. With the wide-spread reviews available around the world on sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp, companies’ reputation and hence survival are potentially at risk. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on the individual’s attitudes towards the quantity and quality of online store reviews and consider how it impacts their behavior. We incorporate brand trust ...

  6. Studies of toxic metals removal in industrial wastewater after electron-beam treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ribeiro, Marcia Almeida

    2002-01-01

    The Advanced Oxidation Process, using electron-beam, have been studied by scientific community due to its capacity to mineralize the toxic organic compound from highly reactive radical's formation. The electron-beam treatment process has been adopted by several countries for organic compounds removal and to effluents and sewers biological degradation. In this work, studies of metals removal in the simulated aqueous solutions and in the actual industrial effluents were carried out, using electron-beam treatment. The effluents samples were collected at ETE/SABESP (Governmental Wastewater Treatment Plant) in Suzano, SP city. The sampling was outlined at three distinctive sites: Industrial Receiver Unit, Medium Bar, and Final Effluent. The effluents samples were irradiated using different irradiation doses (20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 kGy). The removal behavior of metals Ca, CI, S, P, K, Al, Fe, As, Ni, Cr, Zn, Si, Co, Mn, As, Se, Cd, Hg and Pb was verified. The elements determination was accomplished with the x-ray fluorescence (WD-XRFS) technique using Fundamental Parameters method and thin film samples. The elements Fe, Zn, Cr and Co presented a removal > 99% to 200 kGy of irradiation dose in industrial effluent. At the same dose, P, Al and Si presented a removal of 81.8%, 97.6% and 98.7%, respectively. Ca and S were removed more than 80% at 20 kGy and Na, CI and K did not presented any degree of removal. As, Se, Cd, Hg and Pb removal was studied in the simulated aqueous solutions and industrial effluents with scavengers addition (EDTA and HCOONa). The elements As and Hg presented a removal of 92% and 99%, respectively, with HCOONa, at 500 kGy irradiation dose. The Se presented a 96.5% removal at same irradiation dose without scavengers addition. The removal of Cd and Pb did not give a significant removal, once all of the assay were carried out in the oxidant medium. (author)

  7. Canada's Fashion Industry--Can It Be Environmentally Responsible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wrobel, Kim; Capjack, Linda

    1993-01-01

    Consumers must realize how vital the fur industry is to Canada, and those within the industry must educate consumers about both sides of the environmental story. The Canadian textile and apparel industries also must take a proactive role in promoting environmentally responsible actions. (JOW)

  8. Consumer behaviour and environmental education in the field of waste electrical and electronic toys: A Spanish case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pérez-Belis, V. [Department of Mechanical Engineering & Construction, Universitat Jaume I, Av. Sos Baynat s/n, 12071 Castellón (Spain); Bovea, M.D., E-mail: bovea@uji.es [Department of Mechanical Engineering & Construction, Universitat Jaume I, Av. Sos Baynat s/n, 12071 Castellón (Spain); Simó, A. [Department of Mathematics, Universitat Jaume I, Av. Sos Baynat s/n, E12071 Castellón (Spain)

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • Consumption/disposal habits of waste electrical and electronic toys. • Environmental education as a key factor to improve WEEE management. • Three environmental education actions to increase the collection of waste toys. - Abstract: This paper reports on a project focused on obtaining the current consumption and disposal habits of electrical and electronic toys from a survey aimed at parents of children of nine pre- and primary schools. In addition, it is also focused on identifying the most effective way of transmitting environmental information to parents and children to promote the collection of electrical and electronic toys at their end-of-life. The study was implemented in a Spanish municipality. With regard to the consumption habits, aspects related to the amount of toys that children receive annually and percentage of those which are electrical and electronic toys have been obtained and classified according to the family size. Results from Chi-squared analysis and Ordinal Logistic Regression show that there is a statistically significance relationship among these variables. Regarding disposal habits, aspects related to the reasons and way for discarding electrical and electronic toys, time that toys are kept at home or the willingness to rent or buy second hand e-toys have been obtained. What really attracts attention is that, apart from consumers who donate the toy to family or social associations, 67.1% of consumers discard them along with other waste fractions in domestic bins, whereas only 32.9% do so at recycling points, as Directive 2012/19/EU requires. To increase this percentage, three environmental education actions (distinguishing from each other by the way used to transmit the environmental information: paper, audiovisual or personal communication) have been designed, applied and evaluated their efficiency according to the amount of waste toys collected.

  9. Consumer behaviour and environmental education in the field of waste electrical and electronic toys: A Spanish case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pérez-Belis, V.; Bovea, M.D.; Simó, A.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Consumption/disposal habits of waste electrical and electronic toys. • Environmental education as a key factor to improve WEEE management. • Three environmental education actions to increase the collection of waste toys. - Abstract: This paper reports on a project focused on obtaining the current consumption and disposal habits of electrical and electronic toys from a survey aimed at parents of children of nine pre- and primary schools. In addition, it is also focused on identifying the most effective way of transmitting environmental information to parents and children to promote the collection of electrical and electronic toys at their end-of-life. The study was implemented in a Spanish municipality. With regard to the consumption habits, aspects related to the amount of toys that children receive annually and percentage of those which are electrical and electronic toys have been obtained and classified according to the family size. Results from Chi-squared analysis and Ordinal Logistic Regression show that there is a statistically significance relationship among these variables. Regarding disposal habits, aspects related to the reasons and way for discarding electrical and electronic toys, time that toys are kept at home or the willingness to rent or buy second hand e-toys have been obtained. What really attracts attention is that, apart from consumers who donate the toy to family or social associations, 67.1% of consumers discard them along with other waste fractions in domestic bins, whereas only 32.9% do so at recycling points, as Directive 2012/19/EU requires. To increase this percentage, three environmental education actions (distinguishing from each other by the way used to transmit the environmental information: paper, audiovisual or personal communication) have been designed, applied and evaluated their efficiency according to the amount of waste toys collected

  10. A survey of occupational health hazards among 7,610 female workers in China's electronics industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wenlan; Lao, Xiang Qian; Pang, Shulan; Zhou, Jianjiao; Zhou, Anshou; Zou, Jianfang; Mei, Liangying; Yu, Ignatius Tak-sun

    2013-01-01

    To investigate the occupational hazards among Chinese female workers in the electronics industry, the authors systematically sampled a total of 8,300 female workers at random across 4 provinces in a variety of electronics factories. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect information on occupational hazards and the occurrence of occupation-related diseases. The results show that 4,283 female workers (51.9%) were exposed to 1 or more occupational hazards. The most common chemical hazard was organic solvent, and the second most common was heavy metals. The ergonomic hazards included repetitive movements, poor standing posture, and the lifting of heavy goods. More than 60% of the female workers self-reported occupation-related diseases. These results showed that occupational health hazards were common in the electronics industry in China and that they caused serious occupation-related health problems for the female workers therein.

  11. Consumers Are Ready to Accept the Transition to Online and Electronic Records If They Can Be Assured of the Security Measures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhanabhai, Prajesh; Holt, Alec

    2007-01-01

    Background Healthcare has entered the electronic domain. This domain has improved data collection and storage abilities while allowing almost instantaneous access and results to data queries. Furthermore, it allows direct communication between healthcare providers and health consumers. The development of privacy, confidentiality, and security principles are necessary to protect consumers' interests against inappropriate access. Studies have shown that the health consumer is the important stakeholder in this process. With the international push toward electronic health records (EHRs), this article presents the importance of secure EHR systems from the public's perspective. Objective To examine the public's perception of the security of electronic systems and report on how their perceptions can shape the building of stronger systems. Methods A cross-sectional survey (September-November 2005) of people attending healthcare providers (n = 400) was conducted in the 4 major cities in New Zealand. Participants were surveyed on computer use, knowledge of EHR-proposed benefits and issues, security issues, and demographics. Results A total of 300 surveys were completed and returned (a 75% response rate), with 180 (60%) being women. One hundred eighty-eight (62.6%) had not heard of EHRs, with those who had heard of them indicating that they were a positive innovation in the health sector. However, 202 (73.3%) participants were highly concerned about the security and privacy of their health records. This feeling was further accentuated when participants were asked about security of electronic systems. Participants were worried about hackers (79.4%), vendor access (72.7%), and malicious software (68%). Participants were also introduced to various security systems, and in each case, over 80% of participants believed that these would make EHR systems more secure. A number of chi-square tests were carried out with each variable, and it was found that there were strong

  12. Biosensor: an emerging safety tool for meat industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Pradeep Kumar; Jairath, Gauri; Ahlawat, Satyavir Singh; Pathera, Ashok; Singh, Prashant

    2016-04-01

    The meat industry associated with the health hazards like deadly pathogens, veterinary drugs, pesticide residues, toxins and heavy metals is in need of a tool to tackle the awful situation and ensure safer product to consumer. The growth in the industry, global trade scenario, stringent laws and consumer awareness has placed an extra onus on the meat industry to meet out the expectations and demands. Biosensors are the latest tool of detection in the fast growing industries including the food industry. Hence an attempt is envisaged here to review the possibility of harnessing biosensors as tool of safety to safe guard the consumer health and address safety issues in reference to the common threats of concern in the meat industry.

  13. [Food processing industry--the salt shock to the consumers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doko Jelinić, Jagoda; Nola, Iskra Alexandra; Andabaka, Damir

    2010-05-01

    Industrial food production and processing is necessarily connected with the use of salt. Salt or sodium chloride is used as a preservative, spice, agent for color maintenance, texture, and to regulate fermentation by stopping the growth of bacteria, yeast and mold. Besides kitchen salt, other types of salt that also contain sodium are used in various technological processes in food preparing industry. Most of the "hidden" salt, 70%-75%, can be brought to the body by using industrial food, which, unfortunately, has been increasingly used due to the modern way of life. Bread and bakery products, meat products, various sauces, dried fish, various types of cheese, fast food, conserved vegetables, ready-made soups and food additives are the most common industrial foods rich in sodium. Many actions have been taken all over the world to restrict salt consumption. The World Health Organization recommends the upper limit of salt input of 5 g per day. These actions appeal to food industry to reduce the proportion of salt in their products. Besides lower salt addition during manufacture, food industry can use salt substitutes, in particular potassium chloride (KCl), in combination with additives that can mask the absence of salt, and flavor intensifiers that also enhance the product salinity. However, food industry is still quite resistant to reducing salt in their products for fear from losing profits.

  14. Device controllers using an industrial personal computer of the PF 2.5-GeV Electron Linac at KEK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otake, Yuji; Yokota, Mitsuhiro; Kakihara, Kazuhisa; Ogawa, Yujiro; Ohsawa, Satoshi; Shidara, Tetsuo; Nakahara, Kazuo

    1992-01-01

    Device controllers for electron guns and slits using an industrial personal computer have been designed and installed in the Photon Factory 2.5-GeV Electron Linac at KEK. The design concept of the controllers is to realize a reliable system and good productivity of hardware and software by using an industrial personal computer and a programmable sequence controller. The device controllers have been working reliably for several years. (author)

  15. Applications of selfshielded electron processors in industry 1987

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nablo, S.V.

    1988-01-01

    Many new applications of the selfshielded electron processor have emerged over the past 5 years which continue to demonstrate the advantages and practical problems associated with these efficient, compact energy sources. Many of these, such as for the curing of: binders for abrasive products, binders for magnetic media, binders for textile flocking, silicone coatings for release papers, etc., offer good prospects for growth but are thusfar in limited use. With this ever broadening base of process technology, the prospects remain 'bullish' for the expanded industrial use of these new energy sources. With their unrivalled process off-licences and high throughputs, improved appreciation of their advantageous economics assures expanded application in an increasingly energy/environmentally concerned world economy(author)

  16. 78 FR 21218 - Disclosure of Consumer Complaint Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-10

    ... companies, consumer groups, and trade associations to obtain feedback prior to beginning to accept new types... industry group suggesting distinguishing company response categories according to the type of company and... contains certain fields for each unique \\3\\ complaint \\4\\--complaints about other types of consumer...

  17. Consumers are ready to accept the transition to online and electronic records if they can be assured of the security measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chhanabhai, Prajesh; Holt, Alec

    2007-01-11

    Healthcare has entered the electronic domain. This domain has improved data collection and storage abilities while allowing almost instantaneous access and results to data queries. Furthermore, it allows direct communication between healthcare providers and health consumers. The development of privacy, confidentiality, and security principles are necessary to protect consumers' interests against inappropriate access. Studies have shown that the health consumer is the important stakeholder in this process. With the international push toward electronic health records (EHRs), this article presents the importance of secure EHR systems from the public's perspective. To examine the public's perception of the security of electronic systems and report on how their perceptions can shape the building of stronger systems. A cross-sectional survey (September-November 2005) of people attending healthcare providers (n = 400) was conducted in the 4 major cities in New Zealand. Participants were surveyed on computer use, knowledge of EHR-proposed benefits and issues, security issues, and demographics. A total of 300 surveys were completed and returned (a 75% response rate), with 180 (60%) being women. One hundred eighty-eight (62.6%) had not heard of EHRs, with those who had heard of them indicating that they were a positive innovation in the health sector. However, 202 (73.3%) participants were highly concerned about the security and privacy of their health records. This feeling was further accentuated when participants were asked about security of electronic systems. Participants were worried about hackers (79.4%), vendor access (72.7%), and malicious software (68%). Participants were also introduced to various security systems, and in each case, over 80% of participants believed that these would make EHR systems more secure. A number of chi-square tests were carried out with each variable, and it was found that there were strong relationships between age, location, computer use

  18. A consumer perspective on food labelling: Ethical or not?

    OpenAIRE

    van der Merwe, M.; Venter, K.

    2010-01-01

    This article provides a review of ethical food labelling from a consumer perspective and makes recommendations to the food industry and regulators regarding ethical food labelling in order to satisfy consumers' food-labelling needs. Various studies have found that many consumers have negative perceptions regarding food labelling. However, research on consumers' perspectives regarding ethical food labelling has been accorded little attention. This article addresses this topic through a review ...

  19. Methods for calculating energy and current requirements for industrial electron beam processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cleland, M.R.; Farrell, J.P.

    1976-01-01

    The practical problems of determining electron beam parameters for industrial irradiation processes are discussed. To assist the radiation engineer in this task, the physical aspects of electron beam absorption are briefly described. Formulas are derived for calculating the surface dose in the treated material using the electron energy, beam current and the area thruput rate of the conveyor. For thick absorbers electron transport results are used to obtain the depth-dose distributions. From these the average dose in the material, anti D, and the beam power utilization efficiency, F/sub p/, can be found by integration over the distributions. These concepts can be used to relate the electron beam power to the mass thruput rate. Qualitatively, the thickness of the material determines the beam energy, the area thruput rate and surface dose determine the beam current while the mass thruput rate and average depth-dose determine the beam power requirements. Graphs are presented showing these relationships as a function of electron energy from 0.2 to 4.0 MeV for polystyrene. With this information, the determination of electron energy and current requirements is a relatively simple procedure

  20. Construction of Industrial Electron Beam Plant for Wastewater Treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, B.; Kim, J.; Kim, Y.; Kim, S.; Lee, M.; Choi, J.; Ahn, S.; Makarov, I.E.; Ponomarev, A.V.

    2004-01-01

    A pilot plant for treating 1,000 m3/day of dyeing wastewater with e-beam has been constructed and operated since 1998 in Daegu, Korea together with the biological treatment facility. The wastewater from various stages of the existing purification process has been treated with electron beam in this plant, and it gave rise to elaborate the optimal technology of the electron beam treatment of wastewater with increased reliability at instant changes in the composition of wastewater. Installation of the e-beam pilot plant resulted in decolorizing and destructive oxidation of organic impurities in wastewater, appreciable to reduction of chemical reagent consumption, in reduction of the treatment time, and in increase in flow rate limit of existing facilities by 30-40%. Industrial plant for treating 10,000 m3/day, based upon the pilot experimental result, is under construction and will be finished by 2005. This project is supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Korean Government

  1. Consumer behaviour and environmental education in the field of waste electrical and electronic toys: a Spanish case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez-Belis, V; Bovea, M D; Simó, A

    2015-02-01

    This paper reports on a project focused on obtaining the current consumption and disposal habits of electrical and electronic toys from a survey aimed at parents of children of nine pre- and primary schools. In addition, it is also focused on identifying the most effective way of transmitting environmental information to parents and children to promote the collection of electrical and electronic toys at their end-of-life. The study was implemented in a Spanish municipality. With regard to the consumption habits, aspects related to the amount of toys that children receive annually and percentage of those which are electrical and electronic toys have been obtained and classified according to the family size. Results from Chi-squared analysis and Ordinal Logistic Regression show that there is a statistically significance relationship among these variables. Regarding disposal habits, aspects related to the reasons and way for discarding electrical and electronic toys, time that toys are kept at home or the willingness to rent or buy second hand e-toys have been obtained. What really attracts attention is that, apart from consumers who donate the toy to family or social associations, 67.1% of consumers discard them along with other waste fractions in domestic bins, whereas only 32.9% do so at recycling points, as Directive 2012/19/EU requires. To increase this percentage, three environmental education actions (distinguishing from each other by the way used to transmit the environmental information: paper, audiovisual or personal communication) have been designed, applied and evaluated their efficiency according to the amount of waste toys collected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. A garland for consumers: Will the Garland case provide safeguards for vulnerable consumers?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, H.

    2000-01-01

    In Garland versus Consumer Gas, the Supreme Court of Canada in October 1998 ruled that the late payment penalties (LPP) charged by Consumer Gas constitute a criminal interest rate, contrary to Section 347 of the Criminal Code. The decision was unexpected in as much as the LPP had been continuously approved by the Ontario Energy Board since its adoption in 1975. This case is used here as an illustration of how consumers, who possess little bargaining power, may be protected from usurious penalties and charges for late payment. An examination of the legislative history surrounding the adoption of Section 347 of the Criminal Code, and a review of relevant Canadian case law with emphasis on the Supreme Court's reasoning with respect to the LPP in the Garland case, is followed by a comparison of Canadian experience with consumer protection in the United States and the United Kingdom. Policy implications of the Garland case from a consumer perspective are examined in general, and in terms of various industries as may be found in policy statements of specific companies. Recommendations are offered suggesting actions that may be taken to further protect consumers from exploitative credit arrangements.48 refs

  3. High-brightness electron beams for production of high intensity, coherent radiation for scientific and industrial applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, K.-J.

    1999-01-01

    Relativistic electron beams with high six-dimensional phase space densities, i.e., high-brightness beams, are the basis for efficient generation of intense and coherent radiation beams for advanced scientific and industrial applications. The remarkable progress in synchrotrons radiation facilities from the first generation to the current, third-generation capability illustrates this point. With the recent development of the high-brightness electron gun based on laser-driven rf photocathodes, linacs have become another important option for high-brightness electron beams. With linacs of about 100 MeV, megawatt-class infrared free-electron lasers can be designed for industrial applications such as power beaming. With linacs of about 10 GeV, 1- angstrom x-ray beams with brightness and time resolution exceeding by several orders of magnitude the current synchrotrons radiation sources can be generated based on self-amplified spontaneous emission. Scattering of a high-brightness electron beam by high power laser beams is emerging as a compact method of generating short-pulse, bright x-rays. In the high-energy frontier, photons of TeV quantum energy could be generated by scattering laser beams with TeV electron beams in future linear colliders

  4. Who speaks for the health consumer?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Michael H

    2008-08-01

    Although consumer-directed health care has become a fashionable concept in recent years, stories abound asking whether the so-called free market in health care can provide adequate access to quality health care at an affordable price. In spite of these concerns, consumer-directed health care continues as the face of legitimacy behind an industry-driven campaign to limit regulatory protections of the consumer in the market and encourage the growth of health insurance products that place spending options closer to the consumer, whether or not these options are available, affordable, or easily understood. Understanding whether this empowerment is real begins with first asking what it now means to be a health consumer. This commentary offers perspective on the dilemma faced by millions of Americans in navigating our health care system under the assumption that market-driven choices foster consumer empowerment in health care, and suggests approaches for expanding the true consumer voice.

  5. Self-powered detector probes for electron and gamma-ray beam monitoring in high-power industrial accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lone, M.A.

    1992-08-01

    A self-powered detector (SPD) is a simple passive device that consists of a coaxial probe with a metallic outer sleeve, a mineral oxide insulating layer, and a metallic inner core. SPDs are used in nuclear reactors for monitoring neutron and gamma ray fields. Responses of various SPDs to electron and gamma ray beams from industrial accelerators were investigated with Monte Carlo simulations. By judicious choice of transmission filters, threshold SPD probes were investigated for on-line monitoring of the beam energy spectrum of the high-power IMPELA industrial electron accelerator. (Author) (14 figs, 16 refs.)

  6. 76 FR 54194 - Availability of Final Compliance Guide for the Use of Video or Other Electronic Monitoring or...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-31

    ... state the importance of effective implementation of video monitoring to result in trustworthy and... apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of... communicated via Listserv, a free electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade groups, consumer...

  7. Electronic Commerce, the Internet and Travel Cybermediaries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul O'Brien

    1998-11-01

    Full Text Available The purchase of a very expensive, complex holiday requires a great deal of information and reliable expert advice. The risks involved in such a purchase are substantial. Industry opinion leaders believe that consumers will continue to take advice from a human sales consultant before purchasing, with the exception of major corporate bookings and simple point to point bookings. This paper investigates the likely disintermediation effects of electronic commerce on Retail Travel Agents. It provides the basis for the development of a strategic framework for intermediaries that can be used to enhance business performance. The findings of exploratory interviews with travel industry opinion leaders are presented, together with recommended strategic responses for Retail Travel Agents.

  8. The Effects of Television Advertising on Children. Report No. 4: Attitudes of Industry Executives, Government Officials and Consumer Critics Toward Children's Advertising. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkin, Charles K.; Culley, James

    This report, the fourth in a series of six reports on television advertising and children, describes attitudes toward children's television advertising held by industry executives, government officials, and consumer critics. The accuracy with which each group perceives the positions of the other parties involved is also assessed. Data were…

  9. Risk and promise in energy market liberalization: consumer choice in buying electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barton, Barry

    1999-01-01

    In many countries, where the electricity industry is being exposed to market liberalisation, it is found that the hardest part of the market to reform is retail supply to small business and domestic consumers. There are two main alternatives for promoting consumer choice, metering and load profiling. Notable developments are occurring in the United Kingdom, the United States, Scandinavia and New Zealand. Significant legal difficulties are encountered with such reforms. Among them are contract law, energy-sector regulation, competition law, privacy and individual rights, and consumer protection. The disaggregation of the industry, especially at the retail end, imposes special demands on contract and industry self-regulation. (Author)

  10. Energy efficiency programs and policies in the industrial sector in industrialized countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Galitsky, Christina; Price, Lynn; Worrell, Ernst

    2004-06-01

    About 37% of the primary energy consumed both in the U.S. and globally is used by the industrial sector. A variety of energy efficiency policies and programs have been implemented throughout the world in an effort to improve the energy efficiency of this sector. This report provides an overview of these policies and programs in twelve industrialized nations and the European Union (EU). We focus on energy efficiency products and services that are available to industrial consumers, such as reports, guidebooks, case studies, fact sheets, profiles, tools, demonstrations, roadmaps and benchmarking. We also focus on the mechanisms to communicate the availability and features of these products and services and to disseminate them to the industrial consumers who can use them. Communication channels include customer information centers and websites, conferences and trade shows, workshops and other training mechanisms, financial assistance programs, negotiated agreements, newsletters, publicity, assessments, tax and subsidy schemes and working groups. In total, over 30 types of industrial sector energy efficiency products, services and delivery channels have been identified in the countries studied. Overall, we found that the United States has a large variety of programs and offers industry a number of supporting programs for improving industrial energy efficiency. However, there are some products and services found in other industrialized countries that are not currently used in the U.S., including benchmarking programs, demonstration of commercialized technologies and provision of energy awareness promotion materials to companies. Delivery mechanisms found in other industrialized countries that are not employed in the U.S. include negotiated agreements, public disclosure and national-level tax abatement for energy-efficient technologies.

  11. The Impact of Marketing Mix, Consumer's Characteristics, and Psychological Factors to Consumer's Purchase Intention on Brand “W” in Surabaya

    OpenAIRE

    Nugroho, Aristia Rosiani; Irena, Angela

    2017-01-01

    This research is conducted to find out the impact of marketing mix, customer's characteristics, and psychological factors toward consumers' purchase intention in cosmetic industry. The object of this research is Brand “W”, the biggest player in Halal cosmetic market in Asia Pacific. This research will focus on marketing activities conducted by Brand “W” to arouse consumers' purchase intention. However, unlike other researches, this research will not only use marketing theory, but also consume...

  12. Pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising and US Hispanic patient-consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Kristin K; Vasquez Guzman, Cirila Estela

    2015-11-01

    Hispanic Americans use prescription medications at markedly lower rates than do non-Hispanic whites. At the same time, Hispanics are the largest racial-ethnic minority in the USA. In a recent effort to reach this underdeveloped market, the pharmaceutical industry has begun to create Spanish-language direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) campaigns. The substantive content of these campaigns is being tailored to appeal to the purported cultural values, beliefs and identities of Latino consumers. We compare English-language and Spanish-language television commercials for two prescription medications. We highlight the importance of selling medicine to a medically under-served population as a key marketing element of Latino-targeted DTCA. We define selling medicine as the pharmaceutical industry's explicit promotion of medicine's cultural authority as a means of expanding its markets and profits. We reflect on the prospects of this development in terms of promoting medicalisation in a US subgroup that has heretofore eluded the pharmaceutical industry's marketing influence. Our analysis draws on Nikolas Rose's insights concerning variations in the degree to which certain groups of people are more medically made up than others, by reflecting on the racial and ethnic character of medicalisation in the USA and the role DTCA plays in shaping medicalisation trends. A video abstract of this article can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZabCle9-jHw&feature=youtu.be. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  13. The IBA Rhodotron: an industrial high-voltage high-powered electron beam accelerator for polymers radiation processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Lancker, Marc; Herer, Arnold; Cleland, Marshall R.; Jongen, Yves; Abs, Michel

    1999-05-01

    The Rhodotron is a high-voltage, high-power electron beam accelerator based on a design concept first proposed in 1989 by J. Pottier of the French Atomic Agency, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA). In December 1991, the Belgian particle accelerator manufacturer, Ion Beam Applications s.a. (IBA) entered into an exclusive agreement with the CEA to develop and industrialize the Rhodotron. Electron beams have long been used as the preferential method to cross-link a variety of polymers, either in their bulk state or in their final form. Used extensively in the wire and cable industry to toughen insulating jackets, electron beam-treated plastics can demonstrate improved tensile and impact strength, greater abrasion resistance, increased temperature resistance and dramatically improved fire retardation. Electron beams are used to selectively cross-link or degrade a wide range of polymers in resin pellets form. Electron beams are also used for rapid curing of advanced composites, for cross-linking of floor-heating and sanitary pipes and for cross-linking of formed plastic parts. Other applications include: in-house and contract medical device sterilization, food irradiation in both electron and X-ray modes, pulp processing, electron beam doping of semi-conductors, gemstone coloration and general irradiation research. IBA currently markets three models of the Rhodotron, all capable of 10 MeV and alternate beam energies from 3 MeV upwards. The Rhodotron models TT100, TT200 and TT300 are typically specified with guaranteed beam powers of 35, 80 and 150 kW, respectively. Founded in 1986, IBA, a spin-off of the Cyclotron Research Center at the University of Louvain (UCL) in Belgium, is a pioneer in accelerator design for industrial-scale production.

  14. The IBA Rhodotron: an industrial high-voltage high-powered electron beam accelerator for polymers radiation processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lancker, Marc van; Herer, Arnold; Cleland, Marshall R.; Jongen, Yves; Abs, Michel

    1999-01-01

    The Rhodotron is a high-voltage, high-power electron beam accelerator based on a design concept first proposed in 1989 by J. Pottier of the French Atomic Agency, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA). In December 1991, the Belgian particle accelerator manufacturer, Ion Beam Applications s.a. (IBA) entered into an exclusive agreement with the CEA to develop and industrialize the Rhodotron. Electron beams have long been used as the preferential method to cross-link a variety of polymers, either in their bulk state or in their final form. Used extensively in the wire and cable industry to toughen insulating jackets, electron beam-treated plastics can demonstrate improved tensile and impact strength, greater abrasion resistance, increased temperature resistance and dramatically improved fire retardation. Electron beams are used to selectively cross-link or degrade a wide range of polymers in resin pellets form. Electron beams are also used for rapid curing of advanced composites, for cross-linking of floor-heating and sanitary pipes and for cross-linking of formed plastic parts. Other applications include: in-house and contract medical device sterilization, food irradiation in both electron and X-ray modes, pulp processing, electron beam doping of semi-conductors, gemstone coloration and general irradiation research. IBA currently markets three models of the Rhodotron, all capable of 10 MeV and alternate beam energies from 3 MeV upwards. The Rhodotron models TT100, TT200 and TT300 are typically specified with guaranteed beam powers of 35, 80 and 150 kW, respectively. Founded in 1986, IBA, a spin-off of the Cyclotron Research Center at the University of Louvain (UCL) in Belgium, is a pioneer in accelerator design for industrial-scale production

  15. Laser applications in the electronics and optoelectronics industry in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washio, Kunihiko

    1999-07-01

    This paper explains current status and technological trends in laser materials processing applications in electronics and optoelectronics industry in Japan. Various laser equipment based on solid state lasers or gas lasers such as excimer lasers or CO2 lasers has been developed and applied in manufacturing electronic and optoelectronic devices to meet the strong demands for advanced device manufacturing technologies for high-performance, lightweight, low power-consumption portable digital electronic appliances, cellular mobile phones, personal computers, etc. Representative applications of solid-state lasers are, opaque and clear defects repairing of photomasks for LSIs and LCDs, trimming of thick-film chip resistors and low resistance metal resistors, laser cutting and drilling of thin films for high-pin count semiconductor CSP packages, laser patterning of thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells, and laser welding of electronic components such as hard-disk head suspensions, optical modules, miniature relays and lithium ion batteries. Compact and highly efficient diode- pumped and Q-switched solid-state lasers in second or third harmonic operation mode are now being increasingly incorporated in various laser equipment for fine material processing. Representative applications of excimer lasers are, sub-quarter micron design-rule LSI lithography and low- temperature annealing of poly-silicon TFT LCD.

  16. Industry Study, Electronics Industry, Spring 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    not have the flexibility in their processes to quickly produce custom system-on-chips because they are optimized for high-end production. Dell ...building its semiconductor industry, Malaysia has moved in the same overall directions but has lagged a few years. Malaysia has succeeded in the backend

  17. Power Electronic Packaging Design, Assembly Process, Reliability and Modeling

    CERN Document Server

    Liu, Yong

    2012-01-01

    Power Electronic Packaging presents an in-depth overview of power electronic packaging design, assembly,reliability and modeling. Since there is a drastic difference between IC fabrication and power electronic packaging, the book systematically introduces typical power electronic packaging design, assembly, reliability and failure analysis and material selection so readers can clearly understand each task's unique characteristics. Power electronic packaging is one of the fastest growing segments in the power electronic industry, due to the rapid growth of power integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, especially for applications like portable, consumer, home, computing and automotive electronics. This book also covers how advances in both semiconductor content and power advanced package design have helped cause advances in power device capability in recent years. The author extrapolates the most recent trends in the book's areas of focus to highlight where further improvement in materials and techniques can d...

  18. A consumer perspective on food labelling: ethical or not?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. van der Merwe

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This article provides a review of ethical food labelling from a consumer perspective and makes recommendations to the food industry and regulators regarding ethical food labelling in order to satisfy consumers’ food-labelling needs. Various studies have found that many consumers have negative perceptions regarding food labelling. However, research on consumers’ perspectives regarding ethical food labelling has been accorded little attention. This article addresses this topic through a review of the relevant literature of mostly quantitative research, but also includes qualitative and mixed method studies. The article examines such aspects as the trustworthiness of claims on food labels, intelligibility of label information, listing of food additives on labels, and labelling of genetically modified foods. As negative perspectives on food labelling are likely to affect consumers’ decision making regarding the purchasing of food products, the food industry must realise their responsibility to provide ethical food labels. The food industry and regulators should aim to provide risk communication and intelligible information through ethical food labels and consumer education programmes on food labelling. Consumers need to be aware of their right to know what they are purchasing through ethical food labels and take a stand in this regard.

  19. Research, Commercialization, & Workforce Development in the Polymer/Electronics Recycling Industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carl Irwin; Rakesh Gupta; Richard Turton; GangaRao Hota; Cyril Logar; Tom Ponzurick; Buddy Graham; Walter Alcorn; Jeff Tucker

    2006-02-01

    The Mid-Atlantic Recycling Center for End-of-Life Electronics (MARCEE) was set up in 1999 in response to a call from Congressman Alan Mollohan, who had a strong interest in this subject. A consortium was put together which included the Polymer Alliance Zone (PAZ) of West Virginia, West Virginia University (WVU), DN American and Ecolibrium. The consortium developed a set of objectives and task plans, which included both the research issues of setting up facilities to demanufacture End-of-Life Electronics (EoLE), the economics of the demanufacturing process, and the infrastructure development necessary for a sustainable recycling industry to be established in West Virginia. This report discusses the work of the MARCEE Project Consortium from November 1999 through March 2005. While the body of the report is distributed in hard-copy form the Appendices are being distributed on CD's.

  20. Consumer-generated versus marketer-generated websites in consumer decision making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bronner, F.; de Hoog, R.

    2010-01-01

    Internet users are encouraged to rate and review all kinds of services and products. These kinds of reviews are described as eWOM (electronic wordof- mouth). Our central question is ‘Are consumers using these reviews, and what is the role of eWOM as compared with commercial-marketer-generated

  1. Application of advanced oxidation process by electron beam irradiation in the organic compounds degradation present in industrial effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duarte, Celina Lopes

    1999-01-01

    The inefficacy of conventional methods to destroy toxic organic compounds present in industrial effluent has taken the search for new technologies of treatment. he water irradiation is the most efficient process to generate radicals that mineralise these compounds. A study to evaluate the Advanced Oxidation Process by electron beam irradiation to treat industrial effluent with high toxic organic compounds concentration was carried out. Experiments were conducted using a Radiation Dynamics Electron Beam Accelerator with 1,5 MeV energy and 37 power. The effluent samples from a big industrial complex were irradiated using the IPEN's Liquid Effluent Irradiation Pilot Plant and the effluent samples from five steps of a Governmental Wastewater Treatment Plant from SABESP - ETE Suzano (industrial Receiver Unit, Coarse Bar Screens, Medium Bar Screens, Primary Sedimentation and Final Effluent), were irradiated in a batch system. The electron beam irradiation showed be efficient on destroying the organic compounds delivered in these effluents mainly chloroform, dichloroethane, methyl isobutyl ketone, benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol and in the decoloring of dyes present in some samples. To remove 90% of the most organic compounds was necessary a 20 kGy dose for industry's ETE, 20 kGy for IRU, CBS and MBS and 10 kGy to 20 kGy for PS and FE. (author)

  2. Practical Eco-Design and Eco-Innovation of Consumer Electronics—the Case of Mobile Phones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anders S. G. Andrae

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Annually, it is estimated that about 4 billion units of consumer electronics for mobile communications are produced worldwide. This could lead to various ecological imbalances unless the design and disposal of the products are handled optimally. To illustrate how industry looks at and responds to the increasing social awareness, this article describes how sustainability is successfully implemented in practice at a large Chinese company, developing and producing various kinds of electronic products used for communication. It also describes how a variety of eco-innovations and business models contribute to reducing the environmental impact; for example, through increased recovery and recycling. A new kind of eco-design procedure is presented along with a new methodology which shows how a mobile phone gradually becomes more sustainable from one generation to the next. The issues with and set-up of new eco-labeling schemes for mobile phones, eco-rating, is described in detail. The conclusion is that due to high competition between companies, the industry acts resourcefully and a lot is done to the save the ecological environment.

  3. Compact ILU-type electron accelerators as a base for industrial 4-sided irradiation systems for cable and tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auslender, V.L.; Nekhaev, V.E.; Panfilov, A.D.; Tuvik, A.A.

    1999-01-01

    The ILU-type industrial electron accelerators are developed in BINP sins 1967. Their energy range is 0.7-4.0 MeV at beam power of 20-50 kW. The comparison of the irradiation results after bilateral and four-sided irradiation of cables and tubes is given. It is shown that the required electron energy and beam power in the case of four-sided irradiation are sufficiently lower than in the case of bilateral irradiation, resulting in an increase of productive rate of the process and improvement of treatment quality. The installations for four-sided irradiation of cables and tubes are based on the industrial electron accelerators type ILU

  4. Process analysis of recycled thermoplasts from consumer electronics by laser-induced plasma spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fink, Herbert; Panne, Ulrich; Niessner, Reinhard

    2002-09-01

    An experimental setup for direct elemental analysis of recycled thermoplasts from consumer electronics by laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS, or laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS) was realized. The combination of a echelle spectrograph, featuring a high resolution with a broad spectral coverage, with multivariate methods, such as PLS, PCR, and variable subset selection via a genetic algorithm, resulted in considerable improvements in selectivity and sensitivity for this complex matrix. With a normalization to carbon as internal standard, the limits of detection were in the ppm range. A preliminary pattern recognition study points to the possibility of polymer recognition via the line-rich echelle spectra. Several experiments at an extruder within a recycling plant demonstrated successfully the capability of LIPS for different kinds of routine on-line process analysis.

  5. Industrial Consumers’ Smart Grid Adoption: Influential Factors and Participation Phases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Ma

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The participation of industrial consumers in smart grid transition is important due to their consumption footprint, heavy energy use and complexity in the implementation of smart energy technologies. Active involvement of industrial consumers in the development of smart grid solutions is important to ensure the energy system transformation. Despite the importance of industrial consumers has been identified, the empirical studies on the smart grid still mainly address residential and commercial consumers. Therefore, based on four case studies with two industrial consumers, one energy consulting company and one electricity retailer, this paper investigates the factors that influence industrial consumers’ acceptance of smart grid solutions, and how the influential factors are relevant to the smart grid adoption phases. Eleven influential factors are identified that impact on four stages for industrial consumers’ adoption of smart grid solutions (inscription, translation, framing, and stabilization stages. The eleven influential factors are: awareness of multiple contexts, shared support, return-of-investment, ease of use, flexibility and dynamic pricing, liberalization and energy tariff structure, customer focus, solution integration, process improvement, service quality, and company’s green image.

  6. Marketing and growth: Consumers in the driver's seat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gagne, P.

    1999-07-01

    Prospects of the electricity marketplace in the 21. century were reviewed by leaders of the electrical industry. They came to the conclusion that given the possibility of affordable energy for everyone and the possibility of choice of suppliers , the industry must place consumer demands at the centre of their growth strategies. With a more sophisticated consumer groups, technological advances, consumers demand lower costs, reliable, better and faster service, and a value-added service package. The emergence of e-commerce, and other economic, political and technological factors are putting into the hands of consumers considerable decision making power to influence development of the energy business. Quality alone is no longer enough; customers also expect more flexibility, more responsiveness, and lower costs, all at a higher speed, and most importantly, beyond what the competition can provide.

  7. Digital diffractive optics: Have diffractive optics entered mainstream industry yet?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kress, Bernard; Hejmadi, Vic

    2010-05-01

    When a new technology is integrated into industry commodity products and consumer electronic devices, and sold worldwide in retail stores, it is usually understood that this technology has then entered the realm of mainstream technology and therefore mainstream industry. Such a leap however does not come cheap, as it has a double edge sword effect: first it becomes democratized and thus massively developed by numerous companies for various applications, but also it becomes a commodity, and thus gets under tremendous pressure to cut down its production and integration costs while not sacrificing to performance. We will show, based on numerous examples extracted from recent industry history, that the field of Diffractive Optics is about to undergo such a major transformation. Such a move has many impacts on all facets of digital diffractive optics technology, from the optical design houses to the micro-optics foundries (for both mastering and volume replication), to the final product integrators or contract manufacturers. The main causes of such a transformation are, as they have been for many other technologies in industry, successive technological bubbles which have carried and lifted up diffractive optics technology within the last decades. These various technological bubbles have been triggered either by real industry needs or by virtual investment hype. Both of these causes will be discussed in the paper. The adjective ""digital"" in "digital diffractive optics" does not refer only, as it is done in digital electronics, to the digital functionality of the element (digital signal processing), but rather to the digital way they are designed (by a digital computer) and fabricated (as wafer level optics using digital masking techniques). However, we can still trace a very strong similarity between the emergence of micro-electronics from analog electronics half a century ago, and the emergence of digital optics from conventional optics today.

  8. The Magnesium Industry Today…The Global Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patzer, Greg

    World demand for magnesium will show a decline in 2009. The outlook for 2010, which is guardedly optimistic, will be for a resumption of slow growth. The industry has seen marked changes in the sources of supply for primary and alloyed magnesium in recent years. Technological advances in magnesium continue at a strong pace as does interest in the material as a substitute for other light metals. The automotive segment remains the end-use area with the largest growth potential, if for no other reason than the size and quantity of the potential materials substitution applications. However, the shrinkage of that market, particularly in North America will have a definite impact on expectations for magnesium. The 3C market (computers, communications & consumer electronics) will continue to show above average growth. Other niche markets related to medical and construction industries also offer potential.

  9. How Sustainable are Benefits from Global Production Networks? Malaysia's Upgrading Prospects in the Electronics Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Dieter Ernst

    2003-01-01

    The paper introduces an operational definition of industrial upgrading (IU and documents the emergence of complex, multi-tier "networks of networks" which provide new opportunities for IU, but which also raise threshold requirements for participating in these networks. I highlight structural weaknesses of the Malaysian electronics industry that constrain its upgrading prospects; assess current policies that try to link cluster development and global network integration; discuss adjustments in...

  10. Green Supply Chain Collaboration for Fashionable Consumer Electronics Products under Third-Party Power Intervention—A Resource Dependence Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiuh-Biing Sheu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Under third-party power intervention (TPPI, which increases uncertainty in task environments, complex channel power interplays and restructuring are indispensable among green supply chain members as they move toward sustainable collaborative relationships for increased viability and competitive advantage. From the resource dependence perspective, this work presents a novel conceptual model to investigate the influence of political and social power on channel power restructuring and induced green supply chain collaboration in brander-retailer bidirectional green supply chains of fashionable consumer electronics products (FCEPs. An FCEP refers to the consumer electronics product (e.g., personal computers, mobile phones, computer notebooks, and game consoles with the features of a well-known brand associated, a short product lifecycle, timely and fashionable design fit for market trends, and quick responsiveness to the variations of market demands. The proposed model is tested empirically using questionnaire data obtained from retailers in the FCEP brander-retailer distribution channels. Analytical results reveal that as an extension of political and social power, TPPI positively affects the reciprocal interdependence of dyadic members and reduces power asymmetry, thereby enhancing the collaborative relationship of dyadic members and leading to improved green supply chain performance. Therein, reciprocal interdependence underlying collaborative relationship is the key to reducing the external environmental uncertainties in the TPPI context.

  11. Factors influencing consumer purchasing intention on Thai herbal tea in Germany

    OpenAIRE

    Surattanaporn, Sukontha

    2012-01-01

    Tea consumption has been increased, especially in Germany, as consumers are more concerned about health taking care for the people at different ages. Consumers are more careful of what they are consuming, and increasingly consuming the products which are originally come from nature. Herbal tea industry became more attractive and shows opportunities to the firms as well as consumers. A study about factors that can persuade or motivate consumer's intention to buy herbal tea from Thailand can he...

  12. The deregulation of the Canadian natural gas market: a consumer progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, H.

    1998-01-01

    The report concludes that the Canadian experience with gas deregulation has been a cautious approach to date by regulators and government. From the point of view of the consumer the marketing tactics by some of the new entrant gas resellers in Ontario has caused some consternation and potential problems could arise from further changes in the Ontario natural gas industry such as lack of consumer information and lack of workable competition. The study outlines the evolution of natural gas industry deregulation in Canada, British Columbia and Ontario and how the industrial pressures created by pipeline access and pricing changes were handled by these different jurisdictions. The federally mandated open access regime in the U.S. as well as subsequent state unbundling and aggregation initiatives and specific experiences of California, Ohio and New York are highlighted. There is a case study of the Australian natural gas industry, highlighting the implementation of a Commonwealth framework and the unbundling initiatives in the state of New South Wales. The rest of the report focuses on consumer protection issues surrounding the potential local gas distribution companies' exit from the merchant function and mechanisms for redress suggested by various jurisdictions. Methods for the division of demand side management and the maintenance of system benefits are explored. In light of these risks, predictions of consumer savings are assessed. Section six focuses on the protection of meaningful consumer choice within a more devolved natural gas industry. 43 refs., 2 figs

  13. Treatment of textiles industrial wastewater by electron beam and biological treatment (sbr)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khomsaton Abu Bakar; Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan; Zulkafli Ghazali; Ting Teo Ming

    2008-08-01

    Study of treating textiles industrial wastewater with combined of electron beam and Tower Style Biological Treatment (TSB) was investigated in Korea. In this project, textiles wastewater was also treated with electron beam, but hybrid with Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The purpose of this research is to develop combined electron beam treatment with existing biological treatment facility (SBR), of textile industries in Malaysia. The objectives of this project are to determine the effective irradiation parameter for treatment and to identify effective total retention time in SBR system. To achieve the objective, samples fill in polypropyle tray were irradiated at 1 MeV, 20 mA and 1 MeV ,5 mA at doses 11, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kGy respectively. Raw effluent and two series of irradiated effluent at 1 MeV 20 mA (11, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kGy) and 1 MeV 5 mA (11, 20, 30, 40 and 50 kGy) were then treated in SBR system. Samples were analysed at 6, 14 and 20 hrs after aeration in the SBR. The results show that, average reduction in BOD was about 2-11% after irradiated at 5 mA, and the percentage increased to 21-73% after treatment in SBR system. At 20 mA, BOD reduced to 7-29% during irradiation and the value increased to 57-87% after treatment in SBR system. (Author)

  14. Consumer approval of irradiated meat still tentative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollingsworth, P.

    1998-01-01

    Although the FDA has approved irradiation of red meat, consumers may not be so accepting of the use of this technology. Irradiation is a process used to improve food safety in food products susceptible to disease-causing microorganisms. The red meat ruling was widely praised by federal officials and food industry leaders, but consumers seem less sure. Indeed, on the night of the red meat announcement last December, CBS Evening News reported that over 70 percent of U.S. consumers would not knowingly eat irradiated food. There is hope, however, as a study by the Center for Consumer Research at the University of California, Davis, revealed that consumer interest in buying irradiated food can be substantially improved by providing consumers with information, thereby enabling them to see the benefits and to overcome the myths of irradiation

  15. Electronics Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-01-01

    countries in developing market nations in Asia (such as Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia , China and Vietnam). The competition for the knowledge, economic...Intel, Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Samsung Electronics, Texas Instruments, AMD Spansion, Philips Semiconductor, Freescale... Samsung ($19.7B), #5 Toshiba ($9.8B), #6 TSMC ($9.7B), #7 Hynix ($8.0B) and #8 Renesas ($7.9B) (McGrath, 2007, p. 3). Samsung , headquartered in

  16. A Study on the Factors That Influence the Consumers Trust on Ecommerce Adoption

    OpenAIRE

    Thaw, Yi Yi; Mahmood, Ahmad Kamil; Dominic, P. Dhanapal Durai

    2009-01-01

    The development of electronic commerce is characterized with anonymity, uncertainty, lack of control and potential opportunism. Therefore, the success of electronic commerce significantly depends on providing security and privacy for its consumers sensitive personal data. Consumers lack of acceptance in electronic commerce adoption today is not merely due to the concern on security and privacy of their personal data, but also lack of trust and reliability of Web vendors. Consumers trust in on...

  17. THE ROMANIAN CONSUMER PROFILES IN PROCESSING ONLINE BOOKINGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lacurezeanu Ramona

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Tourism is considered [WTTC] one of the top three industries as importance in the global economy of the 21st century. With the development of information technology and electronic commerce, the electronic (online booking seems to be a popular way to facilitate access to certain goods and tourism services via the Internet. The literature clearly indicates that online booking vacations, transportation and other services related to tourism package developed and diversified nearly at the same degree with advances made in Information Technology and Communication (ITC. However, “there are wide variations in online usage levels between different countries … Australian’s online usage is 44 % and Spain’s online usage is 14% from all transactions” [online-booking from WCT]. Regarding the consumer profile using 'online booking ', the literature does not provide a generally accepted set of evaluation attributes. In the world is talking today about "Generation Y", in other words about those who have reached maturity in the early millennium. Basically it's about consumers born between 1980 and 1995, hence with ages between 18 and 33 years. In this context, in our exploratory research we conducted a statistical study on students, tomorrow's economic specialists with knowledge in ITC from minimal to advanced levels. The hypothesis of the study are: a. Humans with advanced computer skills using the Internet for booking holidays; b. Humans with low ITC skills choose the classical method of booking holidays by contacting a tour company. The results of our survey showed that the choice of online tools for booking holidays becomes an increasingly used method in Romania but consumers still lack confidence in the online environment. This phenomenon often motivates the consumers to contact a tour company regardless of their ITC skills or travel experience. We also proved that there is no strong connection between people with good ITC

  18. Laser-driven electron beam and radiation sources for basic, medical and industrial sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    NAKAJIMA, Kazuhisa

    2015-01-01

    To date active research on laser-driven plasma-based accelerators have achieved great progress on production of high-energy, high-quality electron and photon beams in a compact scale. Such laser plasma accelerators have been envisaged bringing a wide range of applications in basic, medical and industrial sciences. Here inheriting the groundbreaker’s review article on “Laser Acceleration and its future” [Toshiki Tajima, (2010)],1) we would like to review recent progress of producing such electron beams due to relativistic laser-plasma interactions followed by laser wakefield acceleration and lead to the scaling formulas that are useful to design laser plasma accelerators with controllability of beam energy and charge. Lastly specific examples of such laser-driven electron/photon beam sources are illustrated. PMID:26062737

  19. Feasibility study on data collection in the electricity sector for the household goods, home entertainment, office, communications and industrial areas; Machbarkeitsstudie Datenerhebung im Elektrizitaetsbereich, Bereiche Hausgeraete, Unterhaltungselektronik, Buero- und Kommunikationsgeraete, Industrie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huser, A. [Encontrol GmbH, Niederrohrdorf (Switzerland); Schaltegger, B. [Meyer und Schaltegger AG, St. Gallen (Switzerland); Baumgartner, W. [Basics AG, Zuerich (Switzerland)

    2001-07-01

    To improve the data situation, and as a management instrument, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy wants to create a quantitative overview of the consumption of electrical energy. In a feasibility study carried out for this purpose, the current data situation was investigated and it showed in which range of applications and at what cost detailed information could be gathered. The investigation is part of a comprehensive study concerning the opportunities for improvement of the electrical energy statistics. In principle, the entire electrical energy consumption of Switzerland will be covered. This report embraces the household equipment, entertainment electronic equipment, office and communications equipment and the industrial consumer groups. In various sectors, survey and calculation models can be supplied that provide data of a high quality. It can be shown that a massive improvement in the data situation, compared to the current situation, can be achieved at a moderate cost. In the case of household equipment, entertainment electronic equipment, office and communications equipment, good quality data can be ascertained with a bottom-up estimate. Various empirical studies, as well as the linking of this data, are necessary for this. Because of the complexity and diversity of equipment in the industrial consumer group, other methodological estimates will be proposed. (author)

  20. Older Consumers in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David R. Phillips

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to understand the concerns and problems faced by older people in an industrializing middle-income country, Malaysia, in their process of acquiring products to meet their everyday needs. Respondents aged 55 and over were interviewed in eight states throughout Peninsular Malaysia providing 1356 usable questionnaires; two-thirds from urban and one-third from rural areas. Education, health status, and life satisfaction were recorded. Service patronage behaviour was examined for four main categories of commonly-sought consumer goods: groceries, health supplements, apparel, eating outlets, plus selected services (public transport, vacation packages and financial services. The findings showed that older adults in Malaysia are rather discerning consumers. Many respondents are price conscious and have developed consumer attitudes with regard to attitude of staff and assistance rendered. Many display a good ability to discriminate and to select, especially on the basis of price and durability of products and many appear to be acting as effectively as consumers in any other age group.

  1. Analysis of phthalate esters in soils near an electronics manufacturing facility and from a non-industrialized area by gas purge microsyringe extraction and gas chromatography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Wei [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Hu, Jia [Suzhou Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Suzhou, Jiangsu (China); Wang, Jinqi; Chen, Xuerong; Yao, Na [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Tao, Jing, E-mail: jingtao1982@126.com [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China); Zhou, Yi-Kai, E-mail: zhouyk@mails.tjmu.edu.cn [MOE Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei (China)

    2015-03-01

    Here, a novel technique is described for the extraction and quantitative determination of six phthalate esters (PAEs) from soils by gas purge microsyringe extraction and gas chromatography. Recovery of PAEs ranged from 81.4% to 120.3%, and the relative standard deviation (n = 6) ranged from 5.3% to 10.5%. Soil samples were collected from roadsides, farmlands, residential areas, and non-cultivated areas in a non-industrialized region, and from the same land-use types within 1 km of an electronics manufacturing facility (n = 142). Total PAEs varied from 2.21 to 157.62 mg kg{sup −1} in non-industrialized areas and from 8.63 to 171.64 mg kg{sup −1} in the electronics manufacturing area. PAE concentrations in the non-industrialized area were highest in farmland, followed (in decreasing order) by roadsides, residential areas, and non-cultivated soil. In the electronics manufacturing area, PAE concentrations were highest in roadside soils, followed by residential areas, farmland, and non-cultivated soils. Concentrations of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) differed significantly (P < 0.01) between the industrial and non-industrialized areas. Principal component analysis indicated that the strongest explanatory factor was related to DMP and DnBP in non-industrialized soils and to butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and DMP in soils near the electronics manufacturing facility. Congener-specific analysis confirmed that diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was a predictive indication both in the non-industrialized area (r{sup 2} = 0.944, P < 0.01) and the industrialized area (r{sup 2} = 0.860, P < 0.01). The higher PAE contents in soils near the electronics manufacturing facility are of concern, considering the large quantities of electronic wastes generated with ongoing industrialization. - Highlights: • A new method for determining phthalate esters in soil samples was developed. • Investigate six phthalates near an industry and a

  2. A Personal Desktop Liquid-Metal Printer as a Pervasive Electronics Manufacturing Tool for Society in the Near Future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Yang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It has long been a dream in the electronics industry to be able to write out electronics directly, as simply as printing a picture onto paper with an office printer. The first-ever prototype of a liquid-metal printer has been invented and demonstrated by our lab, bringing this goal a key step closer. As part of a continuous endeavor, this work is dedicated to significantly extending such technology to the consumer level by making a very practical desktop liquid-metal printer for society in the near future. Through the industrial design and technical optimization of a series of key technical issues such as working reliability, printing resolution, automatic control, human-machine interface design, software, hardware, and integration between software and hardware, a high-quality personal desktop liquid-metal printer that is ready for mass production in industry was fabricated. Its basic features and important technical mechanisms are explained in this paper, along with demonstrations of several possible consumer end-uses for making functional devices such as light-emitting diode (LED displays. This liquid-metal printer is an automatic, easy-to-use, and low-cost personal electronics manufacturing tool with many possible applications. This paper discusses important roles that the new machine may play for a group of emerging needs. The prospective future of this cutting-edge technology is outlined, along with a comparative interpretation of several historical printing methods. This desktop liquid-metal printer is expected to become a basic electronics manufacturing tool for a wide variety of emerging practices in the academic realm, in industry, and in education as well as for individual end-users in the near future.

  3. Canadian consumer issues in accurate and fair electricity metering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-07-01

    The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), located in Ottawa, participates in regulatory proceedings concerning electricity and natural gas to support public and consumer interest. PIAC provides legal representation, research and policy support and public advocacy. A study aimed toward the determination of the issues at stake for residential electricity consumers in the provision of fair and accurate electricity metering, was commissioned by Measurement Canada in consultation with Industry Canada's Consumer Affairs. The metering of electricity must be carried out in a fair and efficient manner for all residential consumers. The Electricity, Gas and Inspection Act was developed to ensure compliance with standards for measuring instrumentation. The accurate metering of electricity through the distribution systems for electricity in Canada represents the main focus of this study and report. The role played by Measurement Canada and the increased efficiencies of service delivery by Measurement Canada or the changing of electricity market conditions are of special interest. The role of Measurement Canada was explained, as were the concerns of residential consumers. A comparison was then made between the interests of residential consumers and those of commercial and industrial electricity consumers in electricity metering. Selected American and Commonwealth jurisdictions were reviewed in light of their electricity metering practices. A section on compliance and conflict resolution was included, in addition to a section on the use of voluntary codes for compliance and conflict resolution

  4. Industrial assessment of radiofrequency and microwave radiations: case study at electronic manufacturing industries in Penang

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohd Zaid Abdullah

    1996-01-01

    In electronic manufacturing industry, the applications of an equipment emitting radiofrequency radiation (RFR) are numerous and Increasing. It is known that exposure to RFR at sufficiently high intensity and duration can produce a variety of adverse health effects. This paper presents some results from an extensive studies in the RFR field measurements at frequency range from 100 MHz to 1 GHz. All measurements were performed inside factories located at the Penang Free Trade Zone. In this case, the factories chosen are those that manufacture the electronic components whereby the applications of RFR equipment are likely to be intensive compared to other type of industries. The measurement system used in this study are the portable spectrum-analyzer, the passive log-periodic antenna and a desktop computer for data analysis. Results from this study have indicated that the RFR exposure levels in most factories are in the range of 7.7 x 10 sup -4 - 4.31 x 10 sup -3 Wm sup -2 and 0.01 - 0. 741 Vm sup -1 for power density and electric strength measurement respectively. These ranges are at least 100 times lower compared to the RFR protection guidelines proposed by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI). However, the exposure levels inside the factory are consistently 10 sup -3 - 10 sup -4 higher than the levels caused by natural sources and is about 10 sup 2 - 10 sup 6 higher than the levels measured at a distance of 30 m from a low-power output mobile phone transmitter. In the case of the health effect assessment, no sufficient evidence has been found to indicate the potential consequences resulting from excessive RFR exposure. Nonetheless, many factories surveyed are unaware of the existence of the international guidelines and codes on the safe use of radiofrequency energy even though, some measures are being taken to protect their employees against RFR

  5. PROTEST AND CONSUMER: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EBSCO ELECTRONIC DATABASE ACROSS 50 YEARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kresno A. Hendarto

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available AbstractThe objective of this research is to review the articles of protest and consumer in EBSCO electronic journal. The objective will be achieved by answering the following questions: (i what is the method of reviewed articles with the topic of protest; and (ii what agenda of future research? The results showed that most reviewed articles  used qualitative approach. Most research are empirical in nature. For articles of empirical research, most of the data were obtained through observation and were analyzed descriptively. Literature on protest and consumer can be classified into 3 main categories: (1 discussing about the frequency, cause, and objective of protest; (2 discussing about the consequence of protest; and (3 discussing about the  motivation of individuals in taking part in the protest. This review also showed that there are major gaps from the previous research including the fact that attitude is not the focal point in explaining why consumers take part in protest and no article discussed consumers’ attitude to the object taking part in the protest.  AbstrakTujuan penelitian ini adalah melakukan ulas balik artikel-artikel bertopik protes dan konsumen pada database elektronik EBSCO. Tujuan tersebut akan dicapai dengan menjawab pertanyaan penelitian sebagai berikut: (i apa metode dan sifat dasar dari artikel yang bertopik protes; dan (ii agenda penelitian apa yang masih terbuka ke depan? Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa kebanyakan artikel yang direview menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Kebanyakan artikel merupakan penelitian empiris. Untuk artikel penelitian empiris, mayoritas data diperoleh dengan cara observasi, dan dianalisis secara deskriptif. Literatur tentang protes dan konsumen dapat digolongkan dalam 3 bagian besar, yaitu (1 yang membahas tentang frekuensi, sebab, dan tujuan protes; (2 yang membahas tentang konsekuensi dari protes; dan (3 yang membahas tentang motivasi individu yang mendasari untuk berpartisipasi dalam

  6. Software for industrial consumers electrical energy tariff optimal selection

    OpenAIRE

    Simona Ardelean; A. Ceclan; L. Czumbil; D. D. Micu; E. Simion

    2008-01-01

    This paper briefly presents someelectrical energy management techniques andproposes a software product dedicated forautomatic choose of the optimal tariff structure forindustrial consumers. The optimal choose ofelectrical energy invoicing model proves to be anefficient way to bring quality and economies in anycompanies administration. Advanced description ofthe proposed software is also presented.

  7. Assessment of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Policy in Korea Based on Consumer Preference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Gicheol

    2017-01-01

    In June 2016, Korea permitted direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) on 42 genes. However, both the market and industry have not yet been fully activated. Considering the aforementioned context, this study provides important insights. The Korean DTC-GT policy assessment is based on consumer preference analysis using a discrete choice experiment. In August 2016, a web-based survey was conducted to collect data from 1,200 respondents. The estimation results show that consumers prefer a DTC-GT product that is cheap, tests various items or genes, offers accurate test results, and guarantees the confidentiality of all information. However, consumers are not entirely satisfied by current DTC-GT products due to the existence of insufficient and/or inadequate policies. First, the permitted testing of 42 genes is insufficient to satisfy consumers' curiosity regarding their genes. Second, the accuracy of the DTC-GT products has not been fully verified, assessed, and communicated to consumers. Finally, regulatory loopholes that allow information leaks in the DTC-GT process can occur. These findings imply that DTC-GT requires an improvement in government policy-making criteria and the implementation of practical measures to guarantee test accuracy and genetic information. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. Radiation effects on electronic equipment: a designers'/users' guide for the nuclear power industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharp, R.E.; Garlick, D.R.

    1994-01-01

    The Designers'/Users' Guide to the effects of radiation on electronics is published by the Radiation Testing Service of AEA Technology. The aim of the Guide is to document the available information that we have generated and collected over some ten years whilst operating as a radiation effects and design consultancy to the nuclear power industry. We hope that this will enable workers within the industry better to understand the likely effects of radiation on the system or plant being designed and so minimise the problems that can arise. (Author)

  9. An innovative application of extended exergy analysis into an industrial park.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Yupeng; Qiao, Qi; Fang, Lin

    2017-04-01

    Exergy is a thermodynamic term used to account all possible useful work theoretically throughout one process when it is brought into equilibrium with its environment. It however cannot directly incorporate non-physical flows, which can be accounted by extensions of the exergy consumption method. Extended exergy, which builds a bridge between thermal and anthropic dimensions, can both measure resource consumption and economic system. In this study, we applied extended exergy analysis to analyze an industrial park, including material consumption, social investment, and environmental influence. The total extended exergy consumption in the study park amounts to 2.52 EJ. The material-based exergy occupies the largest exergy consumption, followed by capital exergy, environmental remediation exergy, and labor exergy in decreasing order. The exergy capacity was proposed to depict the conversion ability from exergy consumption into economic benefits. In the study area, electronic information industry has the largest exergy capacity with a value of 70 RMB/GJ, indicating a high conversion power from exergy to money. New energy vehicles and parts manufacturing occupies bottom rung in terms of exergy capacity. From the view of material consumption, other industry consumed a lot more exergy compared to electronic information industry; for the environmental remediation, other industry has the lowest exergy capacity, indicating it discharged more pollutants than other clusters to output the same amount of money. Therefore, other industry needs to be urgently transformed and upgraded. The study could help to optimize industrial structure and environmental management in industrial parks.

  10. Developing Advertising Strategy by Understanding Consumer Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen, Pham Tram Anh

    2015-01-01

    Nowadays, there are numerous companies operating in different industries all over the world, and competition among opposing companies is relentless. Every single year, several corporations invest a lot of resources in various activities in order to differentiate themselves from competitors, and stimulate consumers to purchase their offerings. Advertising is one of those activities, as it plays an important role in facilitating firms in appealing to their target consumers. More importantly, no...

  11. NCTA v. FCC - Do Commercial Free Speech Justifications Trump Consumers' Personal Data Protection Rights? Answer To Shape Mobile Advertising Industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cleff, Evelyne Beatrix; King, Nancy J.

    2010-01-01

    's right to communicate with their customers. Considering privacy risks associated with advances in computer technology, the complexities of modern information processing and evolving mobile advertising (m-advertising) practices, privacy regulations should not be equated with unwarranted speech regulations...... balance between protecting consumers' information privacy in an era of pervasive data processing and protecting the rights of marketers to engage in protected commercial free speech that involves using customers' personal information. A ruling against the FCC would have limited the use of government...... to support the growth of the global mobile advertising (m-advertising) industry....

  12. Finnish industry's energy requirement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Punnonen, J.

    2000-01-01

    Industry uses around half of the electricity consumed in Finland. In 1999, this amounted to 42.3 TWh and 420 PJ of fuel. Despite the continual improvements that have been made in energy efficiency, energy needs look set to continue growing at nearly 2% a year. Finnish industrial output rose by some 5.5% in 1999. In energy-intensive sectors such as pulp and paper, output rose by 3.4%, in the metal industry by 4%, and in the chemical industry by 3.1%. Growth across Finnish industry is largely focused on the electrical and electronics industries, however, where growth last year was 24.3% The Finnish forest products industry used a total of 26.1 TWh of electricity last year, up 1% on 1998. This small increase was the result of the industry's lower-than-average operating rate in the early part of the year The metal industry used 7.2 TWh of electricity, an increase of 5.8% on 1998. Usage in the chemical industry rose by 2% to 5.2 TWh. Usage by the rest of industry totalled 3.8 TWh, up 2.3% on 1998. All in all, industry's use of electricity rose by 2% in 1999 to 42,3 TWh. Increased demand on industry's main markets in Europe will serve to boost industrial output and export growth this year. This increased demand will be particularly felt in energy-intensive industries in the shape of an increased demand for electricity. Overall, electricity demand is expected to grow by 3% this year, 1% more than industry's longterm projected electricity usage growth figure of 2%. The structure of industry's fuel use in Finland has changed significantly over the last 25 years. Oil, for example, now accounts for only some 10% of fuel use compared to the 40% typical around the time of the first oil crisis. Oil has been replaced by biofuels, peat, and natural gas. The pulp and paper industry is the largest industrial user of renewable energy sources in Finland, and uses wood-related fuels to cover nearly 70% of its fuel needs

  13. Improvement of conventional parameters of actual industrial effluent by electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duarte, C.L.; Sampa, M.H.O.; Rela, P.R.; Silveira, C.G.

    1998-01-01

    The ordinary process to treat wastewater from the dye, textile, chemical, pharmaceutical and paper mill industries do not degrade easily the coloured substances and organic compounds. A study on the improvement of this treatment using high energy electron irradiation was carried out. Experiments were conducted using samples from the public Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) that receives about 80% of wastewater from industrial sources and 20% from domestic sources. A large amount of industrial wastewater comes from chemical and textile industries, which change everyday the quality, quantity and colour these characteristics depend on for the production line of each particular industry. Samples from WTP influent and effluent were collected every 15 days and irradiated in a batch system; the delivered doses were 3.0 kGy, 4.0 kGy, 6.0 kGy, 8.0 kGy and 10.0 kGy. For the non-irradiated and irradiated samples the following parameters were analyzed: chemical oxygen demand (COD), fixed and volatile total solids and fixed and volatile suspended solids, absorption spectrum (300-700nm) and gas chromatography. For samples from effluent irradiated with 3.0 kGy dose, the COD value presented a reduction average of 45%, and this result was fixed for higher doses, however the COD of influent sample did not show significant change for all the delivered doses

  14. Risks and factors of the consumer relations governance in a cosmetic industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maxwell A. Phiri

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this article is to identify and discuss the factors that influence consumers’ in their choice of female cosmetic brands. The article goes on to assess the degree of importance that female consumers attach to certain factors which affect consumer choice. The study’s population, consisting of female consumers, comprised of 340 respondents. In order to achieve the paper’s objective, the researcher developed a structured questionnaire and collected and analyzed the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. The findings of the study indicate that the product quality ranked the most important factor even though other factors such as the feminine looking packaging and size of the container were also considered as influential factors in the purchase decision making process. The most influential external influence in the decision-making process was age, followed by sales discounts on the price of the product. The use of celebrities was not considered as an influential factor in the consumer decision-making process.

  15. Industry Specifics and Consumers’ Reactions to Business Crises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazlauskienė Asta

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Different scientific studies provide many valuable recommendations how to manage crises in order to lessen their negative effect on relations with consumers. But the question whether the same business crises management rules can be applied for different industries, or they must be adapted depending on industries specifics, has not received sufficient scientific attention. Knowledge gaps about industry specific effect on consumer reactions to business crises remain. This study focuses on understanding the differences in consumers’ reactions in business crises situations with regard to controversial evaluation in the society of “the sin industries” (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc. and ordinary industries (not having controversial associations. Experimental research design, including online experiment with tobacco, beer and functional soft drinks consumers (in total 306 respondents, was chosen for competing research hypotheses testing. Empirical evidence was in line with theoretical argumentation about less negative consumers’ reactions during business crises in case of “sin industries” versus ordinary industry. This study shows that consumers attitudes, such as perception of company’s product quality, trust, social responsibility and behavioural intentions, such as intention to buy and recommend company’s products, are less negative during business crises in lower reputation “sin industries” than in ordinary industries.

  16. THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISEMENT ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: A CASE STUDY OF CONSUMERS IN BANTAMA SUB-METRO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank Amoateng

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The general focus of the study was to investigate the impact of advertisement on alcoholic beverage consumption at Bantama Sub-Metro in Kumasi. Objectives were to analyse the nature of advertisement of alcoholic beverages, determine factors that influence the consumption of alcoholic beverages and to examine the influence of advertisement on the consumption of alcoholic beverages. A convenient sampling, which is a non-probability sampling, was used to select 220 respondents for the study. Instruments used to collect data were questionnaires. Regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between advertisement and alcohol consumption, which indicated a highly positive correlation. It was revealed that electronic medium was the biggest vehicle through which adverts of alcoholic beverages reach consumers. Again, consumers were more attracted to adverts that made bare the product functions or performances and musicians made the highest impact on consumption patterns of consumers among the celebrities used in adverts of alcoholic beverages among others. The alcohol brewing industries in order to assert themselves well and widen the scope of their products to their target consumers should endeavour to sponsor public events.

  17. Customer choice? A perspective from a representative for the small volume consumer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wachowich, J.A.

    2002-01-01

    The whole idea behind Alberta's decision to deregulate its' electric power industry was to provide more choice to consumers. The author, a representative of residential utility customers in utility hearings as well as in the deregulation of electric industry restructuring process, presents his views about choice and the small consumer who is eligible for the regulated rate option tariff (RROT). There are about 1 million of such customers who are free to exercise choice at any time and leave the RROT provider for commodity service from a retailer. There are two tiers within the RROT which is of significance, because these two tiers promote the real need for customer choice to be active in the electric power industry. The author cautioned that if there is no viable level of retail electric market development by January 2004 or January 2006, there will not be any workable customer choice for consumers coming from RROT. The author also described the experience of those customers that were not RROT eligible from late 2000 to early 2001. Experience from other industries such as the telecom and natural gas industry, provide a comparative analysis of whether customer choice works. The author concludes that it does not work for the small volume customer and suggests that perhaps stable rates and reliable service would be more appealing for consumers

  18. How to turn industrial biotechnology into reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kircher, Manfred

    2012-01-15

    The emerging bioeconomy is pulled by consumers asking for sustainable products and processes, governments enforcing climate protection and industries demanding feedstock flexibility and last but not least it is pushed by progress in basic and applied science. It will use renewable carbon sources not only from agri- and silviculture, but potentially also from industrial flue gases - for example, from power generation and steel production. Connecting such industries with the future bio-chemical industry results in a challenging new value chain which connects thus far separated industries. Realising this value chain needs disruptive technologies in providing sustainable carbon sources and transforming them into precursors for biochemical production up to consumer products. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. The viewpoint of the big industrial consumers in Quebec

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boulanger, L.

    2002-01-01

    The nature of the industrial market in Quebec was described along with a look at the competitive positioning of industrial electricity prices in the province. A discussion of the interventions made by the Association Quebecoise de Consommateurs Industriels d'Electricite (AQCIE) and the Association des Industries Forestieres du Quebec (AIFQ) for improving the competitiveness of industrial prices was provided. The plan designed to ensure the security of supply was reviewed, and advice was offered on ways to minimize the price increases, namely in the transmission, in the demand for review of transmission cost, and production. The author indicated that Hydro-Quebec was proposing the uniform cost structure without specific allocation of cost to the various functions of the network depending on the services offered. The proposed alternative is a grouped cost structure which would better reflect the costs incurred linked to the effective utilization of each of the major functions of the network. The author proposed an interim rebate of 25 per cent. Under the rebate policy, the author stated that the rebates must promote the optimum utilization of the network and the maximization of revenues rather than discouraging its use. tabs., figs

  20. Consumer attitudes towards hypoallergenic apples that alleviate mild apple allergy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schenk, M.F.; Maas, van der M.P.; Smulders, M.J.M.; Gilissen, L.J.W.J.; Fischer, A.R.H.; Lans, van der I.A.; Jacobsen, E.; Frewer, L.J.

    2011-01-01

    The development of genetically modified (GM) foods with benefits for consumers may be more acceptable than GM foods with benefits that accrue to industry or producers. The Santana apple is a novel hypoallergenic product suitable for many apple allergic consumers with mild symptomology. The Santana

  1. Information technology and supply chain management: a study of the food industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, C A

    2000-08-01

    This paper's topic is the use of information technology (IT) for the development of supply chain management (SCM). In today's business environment, both in academics and industry, the term SCM has become a popular paradigm. In particular, the use of IT to facilitate the development of supply chain partners is gaining interest within industry. This paper develops the topic of SCM and further develops the relationship between the use of IT, in the form of electronic data interchange, and the development of supply chain integration. The goal of using SCM along with IT is to develop a supply chain that is capable of responding more quickly and efficiently in the meeting of consumer's requirements.

  2. Commercialization of an S-band standing-wave electron accelerator for industrial applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Jin-Hyeok; Kwak, Gyeong-Il; Han, Jae-Ik; Lee, Gyu-Baek; Jeon, Seong-Hwan; Kim, Jae-Young; Hwang, Cheol-Bin; Lee, Gi-Yong; Kim, Young-Man; Park, Sung-Ju

    2016-09-01

    An electron accelerator system has been developed for use in industrial, as well as possible medical, applications. Based on our experiences achieved during prototype system development and various electron beam acceleration tests, we have built a stable and compact system for sales purposes. We have integrated a self-developed accelerating cavity, an E-gun pulse driver, a radio-frequency (RF) power system, a vacuum system, a cooling system, etc. into a frame with a size of 1800 × 1000 × 1500 mm3. The accelerating structure is a side-coupled standing-wave type operating in the π/2 mode (tuned to~3 GHz). The RF power is provided by using a magnetron driven by a solid-state modulator. The electron gun is a triode type with a dispenser cathode (diameter of 11 mm). The system is capable of delivering a maximum 900-W average electron beam power with tight focusing at the target. Until now, we have performed various electron beam tests and X-ray beam tests after having built the system, have completed the beam assessment for commercializations, and have been preparing full-fledged sales activity. This article reports on our system development processes and on some of our early test results for commercializations.

  3. Calibration transfer between electronic nose systems for rapid In situ measurement of pulp and paper industry emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deshmukh, Sharvari [CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, Nagpur (India); Department of Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (India); Kamde, Kalyani [CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, Nagpur (India); Jana, Arun [Center for Development of Advance Computing, Kolkata (India); Korde, Sanjivani [CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, Nagpur (India); Bandyopadhyay, Rajib [Department of Instrumentation and Electronics Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (India); Sankar, Ravi [Center for Development of Advance Computing, Kolkata (India); Bhattacharyya, Nabarun, E-mail: nabarun.bhattacharya@cdac.in [Center for Development of Advance Computing, Kolkata (India); Pandey, R.A., E-mail: ra_pandey@neeri.res.in [CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, Nagpur (India)

    2014-09-02

    Highlights: • E-nose developed for obnoxious emissions measurement at pulp and paper industrial site. • ANN model developed for prediction of (CH{sub 3}){sub 2}S, (CH{sub 3}){sub 2}S{sub 2}, CH{sub 3}SH and H{sub 2}S concentration. • Calibration transfer methodology developed for transfer between two e-nose instruments. • Box–Behnken design and robust regression used for calibration transfer. • Results show effective transfer of training model from one e-nose system to other. - Abstract: Electronic nose systems when deployed in network mesh can effectively provide a low budget and onsite solution for the industrial obnoxious gaseous measurement. For accurate and identical prediction capability by all the electronic nose systems, a reliable calibration transfer model needs to be implemented in order to overcome the inherent sensor array variability. In this work, robust regression (RR) is used for calibration transfer between two electronic nose systems using a Box–Behnken (BB) design. Out of the two electronic nose systems, one was trained using industrial gas samples by four artificial neural network models, for the measurement of obnoxious odours emitted from pulp and paper industries. The emissions constitute mainly of hydrogen sulphide (H{sub 2}S), methyl mercaptan (MM), dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) in different proportions. A Box–Behnken design consisting of 27 experiment sets based on synthetic gas combinations of H{sub 2}S, MM, DMS and DMDS, were conducted for calibration transfer between two identical electronic nose systems. Identical sensors on both the systems were mapped and the prediction models developed using ANN were then transferred to the second system using BB–RR methodology. The results showed successful transmission of prediction models developed for one system to other system, with the mean absolute error between the actual and predicted concentration of analytes in mg L{sup −1} after calibration

  4. Calibration transfer between electronic nose systems for rapid In situ measurement of pulp and paper industry emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deshmukh, Sharvari; Kamde, Kalyani; Jana, Arun; Korde, Sanjivani; Bandyopadhyay, Rajib; Sankar, Ravi; Bhattacharyya, Nabarun; Pandey, R.A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • E-nose developed for obnoxious emissions measurement at pulp and paper industrial site. • ANN model developed for prediction of (CH 3 ) 2 S, (CH 3 ) 2 S 2 , CH 3 SH and H 2 S concentration. • Calibration transfer methodology developed for transfer between two e-nose instruments. • Box–Behnken design and robust regression used for calibration transfer. • Results show effective transfer of training model from one e-nose system to other. - Abstract: Electronic nose systems when deployed in network mesh can effectively provide a low budget and onsite solution for the industrial obnoxious gaseous measurement. For accurate and identical prediction capability by all the electronic nose systems, a reliable calibration transfer model needs to be implemented in order to overcome the inherent sensor array variability. In this work, robust regression (RR) is used for calibration transfer between two electronic nose systems using a Box–Behnken (BB) design. Out of the two electronic nose systems, one was trained using industrial gas samples by four artificial neural network models, for the measurement of obnoxious odours emitted from pulp and paper industries. The emissions constitute mainly of hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), methyl mercaptan (MM), dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) in different proportions. A Box–Behnken design consisting of 27 experiment sets based on synthetic gas combinations of H 2 S, MM, DMS and DMDS, were conducted for calibration transfer between two identical electronic nose systems. Identical sensors on both the systems were mapped and the prediction models developed using ANN were then transferred to the second system using BB–RR methodology. The results showed successful transmission of prediction models developed for one system to other system, with the mean absolute error between the actual and predicted concentration of analytes in mg L −1 after calibration transfer (on second system) being 0.076, 0

  5. Lean assessment for manufacturing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs: A case study of electronics industry in the Northeast of Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chanchai Laoha

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This research was aimed at assessing for manufacturing a small and medium enterprise of electronic industry case study in the Northeast of Thailand. Electronic industry produces integrated circuits products (IC. We use lean assessment tools with 14 lean technique and tools. The value of lean assessment are scoring system derived from the malcolm baldrige national quality award, the two-dimensioned scoring system composing of the process; approach, deployment, learning, and integration. There are reveal operations of each of lean techniques and tools, and the performance; the 0 - 4 level needed to be improved in depth and hence would reflect operations requiring sustainable outcomes. This lean assessment is a systematic approach, assessor come to sit, examine operations from a lean perspective and assessed the situation as prior. The purposes of this visit were to introduced to production or factory manager or window person of SMEs who gave assessor a tour of the plant. Assessor also got a chance to explain lean assessment criteria on the shop floor. Assessor selects a value streaming line that produce most goods or main production line to assess. Assessor takes 1 day to assess and discuss the lean assessment. As a result, the lean assessment survey should be adjusted to fit the systems adaptively. Three plants of electronic industries were leanness of 1.06 or 26%. Five plants of garment industry were leanness of 1.13 or 28%. Four plants of shoe industry were leanness of 1.39 or 34%. Shoe industry had high leanness all unless quick changeover and multi skill. The quick changeover and multi skill were high score on garment industry. Electronics industry has not the lead but second in visual management, 5s, operation base layout, quick changeover, multi skill, standard operation procedures, and policy deployment.

  6. Electron beam-cured coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kishi, Naoyuki

    1976-01-01

    The method for hardening coatings by the irradiation with electron beams is reviewed. The report is divided into seven parts, namely 1) general description and characteristics of electron beam-cured coating, 2) radiation sources of curing, 3) hardening conditions and reaction behaviour, 4) uses and advantages, 5) latest trends of the industry, 6) practice in the field of construction materials, and 7) economy. The primary characteristics of the electron beam hardening is that graft reaction takes place between base resin and coating to produce strong adhesive coating without any pretreatment. A variety of base resins are developed. High class esters of acrylic acid monomers and methacrylic acid monomers are mainly used as dilutants recently. At present, scanning type accelerators are used, but the practical application of the system producing electron beam of curtain type is expected. The dose rate dependence, the repetitive irradiation and the irradiation atmosphere are briefly described. The filed patent applications on the electron beam hardening were analyzed by the officer of Japan Patent Agency. The production lines for coatings by the electron beam hardening in the world are listed. In the electron beam-cured coating, fifty percent of given energy is consumed effectively for the electron beam hardening, and the solvents discharged from ovens and polluting atmosphere are not used, because the paints of high solid type is used. The running costs of the electron beam process are one sixth of the thermal oven process. (Iwakiri, K.)

  7. Feasibility study on data collection in the 'Electricity' programme, consumer categories: lighting, building technical services, mobility, applications in trade, various special applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huser, A.; Schaltegger, B.; Baumgartner, W.

    2000-01-01

    To improve the data situation, and as a management instrument, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy wants to create a quantitative overview of the consumption of electrical energy. In a feasibility study carried out for this purpose, the current data situation was investigated and it showed in which range of applications and at what cost detailed information could be gathered. The investigation is part of a comprehensive study concerning the opportunities for improvement of the electrical energy statistics. In principle, the entire electrical energy consumption of Switzerland will be covered. This report embraces the household equipment, entertainment electronic equipment, office and communications equipment and the industrial consumer groups. In various sectors, survey and calculation models can be supplied that provide data of a high quality. It can be shown that a massive improvement in the data situation, compared to the current situation, can be achieved at a moderate cost. In the case of household equipment, entertainment electronic equipment and office and communications equipment, good quality data can be ascertained with a bottom-up estimate. Various empirical studies, as well as the linking of this data, are necessary for this. Because of the complexity and diversity of equipment in the industrial consumer group, other methodological estimates will be proposed. (author)

  8. New insights into consumer-led food product development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Ana I. A.; Jongen, W.M.F.

    2006-01-01

    industry are described. Contrary to previous optimistic views, it is put forward that without significant changes taking place in the mindset of the organizations involved in Europe's food R&D, the way forward for consumer-led innovation strategies in the agri-business sector will be long and hard.......This paper builds upon a review of relevant marketing, consumer science and innovation management literature to introduce the concept of consumer-led new product development and describe its main implementation stages. The potential shortcomings of this concept's application in European food...

  9. Consumer perception of risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scholderer, Joachim

    2001-01-01

    Scientists and regulators are regularly baffled by public responses to risk, especially when the issue at stake seemed unproblematic or at least technocratically solvable as long as it was only discussed within the expert community. In terms of such polarizations, the 1970s were the age of dissen...... these perceptions related to consumers' attitudes and choice behavior....... over nuclear power, while the 1990s saw the emergence of gene technology as an issue of public debate. The first decade of the new millennium aspires to become the age of food safety, and once again, a major research effort is made to find out how consumers' confidence can be restored. Brewing......, as a particular branch of food manufacturing, has in the past been able to dodge implication in major risk debates. The latest crisis in a related industry was the temporary banning of several brands of the Coca-Cola Co. in 1999 in Belgium following symptoms of nausea and vomiting amongst people who had consumed...

  10. Classification and characterization of Japanese consumers' beef preferences by external preference mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Keisuke; Ooi, Motoki; Nagura, Naoto; Motoyama, Michiyo; Narita, Takumi; Oe, Mika; Nakajima, Ikuyo; Hagi, Tatsuro; Ojima, Koichi; Kobayashi, Miho; Nomura, Masaru; Muroya, Susumu; Hayashi, Takeshi; Akama, Kyoko; Fujikawa, Akira; Hokiyama, Hironao; Kobayashi, Kuniyuki; Nishimura, Takanori

    2017-08-01

    Over the past few decades, beef producers in Japan have improved marbling in their beef products. It was recently reported that marbling is not well correlated with palatability as rated by Japanese consumers. This study sought to identify the consumer segments in Japan that prefer sensory characteristics of beef other than high marbling. Three Wagyu beef, one Holstein beef and two lean imported beef longissimus samples were subjected to a descriptive sensory test, physicochemical analysis and a consumer (n = 307) preference test. According to consumer classification and external preference mapping, four consumer segments were identified as 'gradual high-fat likers', 'moderate-fat and distinctive taste likers', 'Wagyu likers' and 'distinctive texture likers'. Although the major trend of Japanese consumers' beef preference was 'marbling liking', 16.9% of the consumers preferred beef samples that had moderate marbling and distinctive taste. The consumers' attitudes expressed in a questionnaire survey were in good agreement with the preference for marbling among the 'moderate-fat and distinctive taste likers'. These results indicate that moderately marbled beef is a potent category in the Japanese beef market. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  11. Quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecht, Michael; Boulton, William R.

    1995-02-01

    Quality and reliability are two attributes required for all Japanese products, although the JTEC panel found these attributes to be secondary to customer cost requirements. While our Japanese hosts gave presentations on the challenges of technology, cost, and miniaturization, quality and reliability were infrequently the focus of our discussions. Quality and reliability were assumed to be sufficient to meet customer needs. Fujitsu's slogan, 'quality built-in, with cost and performance as prime consideration,' illustrates this point. Sony's definition of a next-generation product is 'one that is going to be half the size and half the price at the same performance of the existing one'. Quality and reliability are so integral to Japan's electronics industry that they need no new emphasis.

  12. Methodology for evaluation of industrial CHP production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlovic, Nenad V.; Studovic, Milovan

    2000-01-01

    At the end of the century industry switched from exclusive power consumer into power consumer-producer which is one of the players on the deregulated power market. Consequently, goals of industrial plant optimization have to be changed, making new challenges that industrial management has to be faced with. In the paper is reviewed own methodology for evaluation of industrial power production on deregulated power market. The methodology recognizes economic efficiency of industrial CHP facilities as a main criterion for evaluation. Energy and ecological efficiency are used as additional criteria, in which implicit could be found social goals. Also, methodology recognizes key and limit factors for CHP production in industry. It could be successful applied, by use of available commercial software for energy simulation in CHP plants and economic evaluation. (Authors)

  13. Towards realization of quantitative atmospheric and industrial gas sensing using THz wave electronics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tekawade, Aniket; Rice, Timothy E.; Oehlschlaeger, Matthew A.; Mansha, Muhammad Waleed; Wu, Kefei; Hella, Mona M.; Wilke, Ingrid

    2018-06-01

    The potential of THz wave electronics for miniaturized non-intrusive sensors for atmospheric, environmental, and industrial gases is explored. A THz wave spectrometer is developed using a radio-frequency multiplier source and a Schottky-diode detector. Spectral absorption measurements were made in a gas cell within a frequency range of 220-330 GHz at room temperature and subatmospheric pressures. Measurements are reported for pure acetonitrile (CH3CN), methanol (CH3OH), and ethanol (C2H5OH) vapors at 5 and 10 Torr and for methanol dilute in the air (0.75-3.0 mol%) at a pressure of 500 Torr. An absorbance noise floor of 10-3 was achieved for a single 10 s scan of the 220-330 GHz frequency domain. Measured absorption spectra for methanol/air agree well at collisional-broadened conditions with spectral simulations carried out using literature spectroscopic parameters. In contrast to the previous submillimeter wave research that has focused on spectral absorbance at extremely low pressures (mTorr), where transitions are in the Doppler limit, and the present study illustrates the applicability of THz electronics for gas sensing at pressures approaching those found in atmospheric and industrial environments.

  14. Competitive market-based allocation of consumer attention space

    OpenAIRE

    Bohte, Sander; Gerding, Enrico; La Poutré, Han

    2001-01-01

    textabstractThe amount of attention space available for recommending suppliers to consumers on e-commerce sites is typically limited. We present a competitive distributed recommendation mechanism based on adaptive software agents for efficiently allocating the 'consumer attention space', or banners. In the example of an electronic shopping mall, the task is delegated to the individual shops, each of which evaluates the information that is available about the consumer and his or her interests ...

  15. Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frosch, Dominick L; Grande, David

    2010-01-01

    In 2007, the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $4.9 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the U.S. Controversy over DTCA has grown since the Food and Drug Administration liberalized its regulations in 1997. Proponents claim that such advertising educates consumers, promotes patient participation in clinical decisions, and improves patient adherence to medication instructions. Opponents argue that such advertising is meant to persuade, not educate, and that it promotes inappropriate use of prescription drugs, or diverts consumers from better alternatives. This Issue Brief summarizes the evidence about the effects of DTCA, and proposes guidelines for improving the utility of prescription drug advertising.

  16. The happy hen on your supermarket shelf: what choice does industrial strength free-range represent for consumers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Christine; Brunswick, Carly; Kotey, Jane

    2013-06-01

    This paper investigates what "free-range" eggs are available for sale in supermarkets in Australia, what "free-range" means on product labelling, and what alternative "free-range" offers to cage production. The paper concludes that most of the "free-range" eggs currently available in supermarkets do not address animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and public health concerns but, rather, seek to drive down consumer expectations of what these issues mean by balancing them against commercial interests. This suits both supermarkets and egg producers because it does not challenge dominant industrial-scale egg production and the profits associated with it. A serious approach to free-range would confront these arrangements, and this means it may be impossible to truthfully label many of the "free-range" eggs currently available in the dominant supermarkets as free-range.

  17. When science met the consumer: the role of industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Short, Donald

    2005-07-01

    The Coca-Cola Company is committed to understanding consumers and providing solutions to help them live active and healthy lifestyles. The Coca-Cola Company has developed a wide range of innovative beverages that can be incorporated into a healthy diet. Product offerings include beverages with fewer calories, smaller package sizes, and expanded beverage fortification options. In addition, the company has policies in place that responsibly address advertising to children and guidelines for selling beverages to schools. Nutrition education messages continue to be delivered through the Internet and on product packaging while physical activity initiatives are promoted in schools and communities. The most recent initiative has been the creation of The Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness. This institute comprises nutritionists, food scientists, physicians, and communicators and has been established with the holistic goal of providing people all over the world with a wide range of healthy beverages options. The institute supports scientific research and consumer education that focuses on the role of beverages in a healthy lifestyle. Current projects of the institute include the role of hydration in health and performance, alternative beverage sweeteners, capturing the natural goodness of fruits and vegetables for beverage use, and appropriate beverage fortification.

  18. THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON CONSUMERS AND MARKET COMPETITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryna SOBOLIEVA

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the article we examine theoretical perspectives on the impact of advertising on consumer behavior, entry barriers in the industry, the structure of the industry, the competitive behavior of firms and market power; systemic structure of the research of advertising impact on consumer behavior; analyze the main results of empirical studies of the effects of advertising on the competitive relationship in the market.

  19. THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF ADVERTISING ON CONSUMERS AND MARKET COMPETITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryna SOBOLIEVA

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the article we examine theoretical perspectives on the impact of advertising on consumer behavior, entry barriers in the industry, the structure of the industry, the competitive behavior of firms and market power; systemize structure of the research of advertising impact on consumer behavior; analyze the main results of empirical studies of the effects of advertising on the competitive relationship in the market.

  20. Fashion and Personal Expression of Individuality in the Comtemporary Consumer Society

    OpenAIRE

    Ieva Valivonytė

    2015-01-01

    The article deals with the concept of creative industries, fashion and its prevalence among consumer society. It analyzes the evolution of consumer culture and its relationship with fashion as well as fashion and style concept of value. The article represents theorist’s insight and reflection on the consumer society and the search for individuality in vogue. Also it reviews the role of fashion in the consumer society as diverse and complex phenomenon, which with the certain character and non-...

  1. Consumer input into health care: Time for a new active and comprehensive model of consumer involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Alix E; Bryant, Jamie; Sanson-Fisher, Rob W; Fradgley, Elizabeth A; Proietto, Anthony M; Roos, Ian

    2018-03-07

    To ensure the provision of patient-centred health care, it is essential that consumers are actively involved in the process of determining and implementing health-care quality improvements. However, common strategies used to involve consumers in quality improvements, such as consumer membership on committees and collection of patient feedback via surveys, are ineffective and have a number of limitations, including: limited representativeness; tokenism; a lack of reliable and valid patient feedback data; infrequent assessment of patient feedback; delays in acquiring feedback; and how collected feedback is used to drive health-care improvements. We propose a new active model of consumer engagement that aims to overcome these limitations. This model involves the following: (i) the development of a new measure of consumer perceptions; (ii) low cost and frequent electronic data collection of patient views of quality improvements; (iii) efficient feedback to the health-care decision makers; and (iv) active involvement of consumers that fosters power to influence health system changes. © 2018 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Medium Energy Industrial Electron Beam Accelerator (ILU-EBA) at Navi Mumbai for technology demonstration and commercial operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benny, P.G.; Khader, S.A.; Sarma, K.S.S.

    2017-01-01

    BARC in early nineties installed a unique high pulse-powered electron beam accelerator of energy 2 MeV, (for the first time in India), in Trombay for developing industrial applications. The accelerator was capable of delivering powered electron beams up to 20kW average beam power (with 1200kW peak pulse power) with energy range from 1 to 2 MeV. Several applications have been developed and commercially exploited in the field of polymer cross linking, degradation, crystalline alterations etc. In addition, applications pertaining to the environmental remediation using electron beams were also worked out. The facility has been relocated at Navi Mumbai a decade ago operated under BARC safety regulatory body and was developed into a technology demonstration cum commercial plant with several product handling gadgets to evaluate the feasibility of different EB treatment processes for the industry viz. waste water treatment, polymer modifications, recycling to name a few

  3. Heavy metals in marine fish meat and consumer health: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Adina C; O'Neill, Bernadette; Sigge, Gunnar O; Kerwath, Sven E; Hoffman, Louwrens C

    2016-01-15

    The numerous health benefits provided by fish consumption may be compromised by the presence of toxic metals and metalloids such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, which can have harmful effects on the human body if consumed in toxic quantities. The monitoring of metal concentrations in fish meat is therefore important to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and consequent consumer protection. The toxicity of these metals may be dependent on their chemical forms, which requires metal speciation processes for direct measurement of toxic metal species or the identification of prediction models in order to determine toxic metal forms from measured total metal concentrations. This review addresses various shortcomings in current knowledge and research on the accumulation of metal contaminants in commercially consumed marine fish globally and particularly in South Africa, affecting both the fishing industry as well as fish consumers. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. What Motivate Muslim Consumer to Patronage Islamic Based–Retail Store?

    OpenAIRE

    Fauzi, Waida Irani Mohd; Muhammad, Nazlida; Mokhtar, Sany Sanuri Mohd; Yusoff, Rushamie Zain

    2016-01-01

    There is a significant trend among Muslim consumers in reverting to Islamic way of life. The phenomenon somehow affected the Malaysian retail industry with specialty Islamic stores mushrooming, and retailers customizing retail elements to win the Muslim consumers segment. As the mainstream studies on retailing acknowledges the adaptation of retail elements to suit consumers’ segment, there are less report on customizing retail elements to religious consumer group such as Muslim consumers’ seg...

  5. Competing for Customers' Attention: Advertising When Consumers Have Imperfect Memory

    OpenAIRE

    Oksana Loginova

    2005-01-01

    This paper applies the theory of memory for advertising, developed in the consumer behavior literature, to an industrial organization setting to provide insight into advertising strategies in imperfectly competitive markets. There are two firms and infinitely many identical consumers. The firms produce a homogeneous product and distribute their brands through a common retailer. Consumers randomly arrive and are willing to buy one unit of the product. They are unaware of the existence of a par...

  6. Consumer demand for cars in the USA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, R P

    1975-01-01

    Since the Second World War the American public has bought almost two hundred million cars, and the abrupt year to year variations in the number of new cars sold have had a substantial impact on the level of activity of the U.S. economy. This book examines the factors that determine the demand for cars and suggests an explanation for the large fluctuations in their sales. A wide variety of information, including data from market research, surveys of industry and consumer opinion, cross section studies and aggregate time series, is used to construct and estimate econometric models that will explain consumer decisions about the ownership, purchase and replacement of cars. This quantitative analysis is supplemented by information of a more qualitative nature on the significance for the car market of such factors as model changes, the oil crisis, and the prevailing social climate. One of the main conclusions of the book is that traditional neo-classical models of consumer behavior do not provide a satisfactory explanation of observed market behavior, and that account has to be taken of the role of variations in consumer confidence and expectations in determining demand. The study will be of interest to students and teachers of economics and business studies as well as to those concerned with the motor industry. (50 references) (from publisher's description)

  7. Oregon's forest products industry: 1994.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin R. Ward

    1997-01-01

    This report presents the findings of a survey of primary forest products industries in Oregon for 1994. The survey included the following sectors: lumber; veneer; pulp and board; shake and shingle; export; and post, pole, and piling. Tables, presented by sector and for the industry as a whole, include characteristics of the industry, nature and flow of logs consumed,...

  8. Radiation doses inside industrial irradiation installation with linear electron accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, Alexandre R.; Pelegrineli, Samuel Q.; Alo, Gabriel F.; Silva, Francisco C.A. Da

    2015-01-01

    Aceletron Industrial Irradiation Company is the unique installation in South America to provide industrial irradiation service using two linear electron accelerators of 18 kW and 10 MeV energy. The electron beam technology allows using electrons to irradiate many goods and materials, such as hospital and medical equipment, cosmetics, herbal products, polymers, peat, gemstones and food. Aceletron Company uses a concrete bunker with 3.66 m of thickness to provide the necessary occupational and environmental radiation protection of X-rays produced. The bunker is divided in main four areas: irradiation room, maze, tower and pit. Inside the irradiation room the x-rays radiation rates are measured in two ways: direct beam and 90 deg C. The rates produced in the conveyor system using 10 MeV energy are 500 Gy/min/mA and 15 Gy/min/mA, respectively. For a 1.8 mA current, the rates produced are 900 Gy/min and 27 Gy/min, respectively. Outside the bunker the radiation rate is at background level, but in the tower door and modulation room the radiation rate is 10 μSv/h. In 2014, during a routine operation, an effective dose of 30.90 mSv was recorded in a monthly individual dosimeter. After the investigation, it was concluded that the dose was only in the dosimeter because it felt inside the irradiation room. As Aceletron Company follows the principles of safety culture, it was decided to perform the radiation isodose curves, inside the four areas of the installation, to know exactly the hotspots positions, exposure times and radiation doses. Five hotspots were chosen taking into account worker's routes and possible operational places. The first experiment was done using a package with three TLD and OSLD dosimeters to obtain better statistical results. The first results for the five hotspots near the accelerator machine showed that the radiation dose rates were between 26 Gy/h and 31 Gy/h. The final measurements were performed using a package with one TLD and one OSLD

  9. Radiation doses inside industrial irradiation installation with linear electron accelerator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lima, Alexandre R., E-mail: alexandre.lima@cnen.gov.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Pelegrineli, Samuel Q.; Alo, Gabriel F., E-mail: samuelfisica@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: gabriel.alo@aceletron.com.br [Aceletron Irradiacao Industrial, Aceletrica Comercio e Representacoes Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Silva, Francisco C.A. Da, E-mail: dasilva@ird.gov.br [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2015-07-01

    Aceletron Industrial Irradiation Company is the unique installation in South America to provide industrial irradiation service using two linear electron accelerators of 18 kW and 10 MeV energy. The electron beam technology allows using electrons to irradiate many goods and materials, such as hospital and medical equipment, cosmetics, herbal products, polymers, peat, gemstones and food. Aceletron Company uses a concrete bunker with 3.66 m of thickness to provide the necessary occupational and environmental radiation protection of X-rays produced. The bunker is divided in main four areas: irradiation room, maze, tower and pit. Inside the irradiation room the x-rays radiation rates are measured in two ways: direct beam and 90 deg C. The rates produced in the conveyor system using 10 MeV energy are 500 Gy/min/mA and 15 Gy/min/mA, respectively. For a 1.8 mA current, the rates produced are 900 Gy/min and 27 Gy/min, respectively. Outside the bunker the radiation rate is at background level, but in the tower door and modulation room the radiation rate is 10 μSv/h. In 2014, during a routine operation, an effective dose of 30.90 mSv was recorded in a monthly individual dosimeter. After the investigation, it was concluded that the dose was only in the dosimeter because it felt inside the irradiation room. As Aceletron Company follows the principles of safety culture, it was decided to perform the radiation isodose curves, inside the four areas of the installation, to know exactly the hotspots positions, exposure times and radiation doses. Five hotspots were chosen taking into account worker's routes and possible operational places. The first experiment was done using a package with three TLD and OSLD dosimeters to obtain better statistical results. The first results for the five hotspots near the accelerator machine showed that the radiation dose rates were between 26 Gy/h and 31 Gy/h. The final measurements were performed using a package with one TLD and one OSLD

  10. 7 CFR 1215.8 - Industry information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING... CONSUMER INFORMATION Popcorn Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order Definitions § 1215.8... of new markets, new marketing strategies, or increased efficiency for the popcorn industry, or...

  11. Consumer Emotions and E-commerce : A Literature Review

    OpenAIRE

    Lievonen, Matias

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to take a look at the current state of the research related to consumer emotions in the context of electronic commerce (e-commerce). As the popularity of online shopping is constantly growing, the author performed an integrative literature review of 66 journal articles on e-emotions (consumer emotions visible in an online environment) and classified the articles into four groups. According to the analysis of the groups, consumer emotions are pres...

  12. A Tale of Two (Philippine) Industries

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Peter U

    2005-01-01

    This paper reviews the histories of the Philippine automotive and electronics industries. The two industries present a very interestingcontrast. The automotive industry has been around longer than the electronics sector in the Philippines. Moreover, it was the target ofmuch government industrial policy in the form of various motor vehicle programs. In contrast, the electronics sector does not seem to have”enjoyed” the same level of government attention at the start. Yet the electronics indust...

  13. A study on the effect of brand experience on consumer purchase experiences: A case study of food industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Hosseinzadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Branding in food industry has been a major concern among food suppliers. During the past few years, there have been strong competitions among business developers to gain market share through increasing the value of their brand. In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to learn more about the relationship between brand experiences on consumer purchase experiences. The study selects a sample of 206 people who are regular customers of two well-known suppliers, Shahrvand and Hyperstar, in city of Tehran, Iran. Using structural equation modeling, the study examines six hypotheses and the results confirm that an increase on brand loyalty, brand attribute, pricing factors, product performance attributes, brand associate and brand position will increase purchasing intention, significantly.

  14. The beam business: Accelerators in industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamm, Robert W.; Hamm, Marianne E.

    2011-01-01

    Most physicists know that particle accelerators are widely used for treating cancer. But few are acquainted with the depth and breadth of their use in a myriad of applications outside of pure science and medicine. Society benefits from the use of particle beams in the areas of communications, transportation, the environment, security, health, and safety - in terms both of the global economy and quality of life. On the manufacturing level, the use of industrial accelerators has resulted in the faster and cheaper production of better parts for medical devices, automobiles, aircraft, and virtually all modern electronics. Consumers also benefit from the use of accelerators to explore for oil, gas, and minerals; sterilize food, wastewater, and medical supplies; and aid in the development of drugs and biomaterials.

  15. Perceived risk and trust associated with purchasing at Electronic Marketplaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meents, Selmar; Tan, Yao-Hua; Verhagen, Tibert

    2006-01-01

    Understanding consumer behaviour is of vital importance to consumer oriented e-business models today. In this paper we study the relationships between consumer perceptions of risk and trust and the attitude towards purchasing at a consumer-to-consumer electronic marketplace. Typical for electronic

  16. Consumer preference not to choose: Methodological and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brennan, Timothy J.

    2007-01-01

    Residential consumers remain reluctant to choose new electricity suppliers. Even the most successful jurisdictions, four US states and other countries, have had to adopt extensive consumer education procedures that serve largely to confirm that choosing electricity suppliers is daunting. Electricity is not unique in this respect; numerous studies find that consumers are generally reluctant to switch brands, even when they are well-informed about product characteristics. If consumers prefer not to choose, opening regulated markets can reduce welfare, even for some consumers who do switch, as the incumbent can exploit this preference by raising price above the formerly regulated level. Policies to open markets might be successful even if limited to industrial and commercial customers, with residential prices based on those in nominally competitive wholesale markets

  17. Power Balancing Aggregator Design for Industrial Consumers Using Direct Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahnama, Samira; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2015-01-01

    Demand side management in the future smart grid requires new players in the electricity markets. We assume a player, the so-called aggregator which aims to utilize the flexibility in large-scale consumers with thermal energy storage. An aggregator design is proposed to mange the power consumption...

  18. Consumer Ethics Research: Reframing the Debate About Consumption for Good

    OpenAIRE

    Brinkmann, Johannes; Peattie, Ken

    2009-01-01

    Originally published in the journal Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies (EJBO): http://ejbo.jyu.fi/archives/vol13_no1.html Consumer ethics is an underdeveloped specialism of business and marketing ethics, within which most publications have focused on bad rather than on good ethics, and on consumer dishonesty rather than on consumer idealism or consumer responsibility. This conceptual paper explores the latter perspective, and examines how we can seek to under...

  19. EAACI Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Guidelines. Protecting consumers with food allergies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Muraro, A; Hoffmann-Sommergruber, K; Holzhauser, T

    2014-01-01

    production. There is an urgent requirement for effective communication between health care professionals, patient organizations, food industry representatives and regulators to develop a better approach to protecting consumers with food allergies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....... and expectations of the food allergic consumer in that context. There is a general duty of care on the food industry and obligations in European Union legislation to reduce and manage the presence of allergens alongside other food hazards. Current evidence enables quantification of allergen reference doses used...

  20. A Case Study: Implementing an Interactive Video Instruction System in Teaching Electronics and Industrial Maintenance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shipe, Ron; And Others

    A study examined the development and implementation of an interactive video instruction system for teaching electronics and industrial maintenance at the University of Tennessee. The specific purposes of the study were to document unusual problems that may be encountered when this new technology is implemented, suggest corrective actions, and…

  1. Energy conservation: motors in industry; Maitrise de l`energie: les moteurs dans l`industrie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lavoine, O.; David, A. [Electricite de France (EDF), 75 - Paris (France). Direction des Etudes et Recherches

    1996-12-31

    The Electricite de France demand side management policy towards industry is particularly aimed at reducing industry`s power consumption from electric motors through the use of electronic speed variators which may induce mean energy savings of 25 percent. Pumps, fans and compressors, amounting to two-third of the total electric motor energy consumption, are the main application fields for electronic variators. EDF proposes technical and energy diagnosis and audits in industrial plants in order to evaluate the possibility and potential of electronic variator introduction

  2. A Review of Data Mining with Big Data towards Its Applications in the Electronics Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengping Lv

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Data mining (DM with Big Data has been widely used in the lifecycle of electronic products that range from the design and production stages to the service stage. A comprehensive analysis of DM with Big Data and a review of its application in the stages of its lifecycle will not only benefit researchers to develop strong research themes and identify gaps in the field but also help practitioners for DM application system development. In this paper, a brief clarification of DM-related topics is presented first. A flowchart of DM and the main content of the flowchart steps are given in which commonly used data preparation and preprocessing approaches, DM functions and techniques, and performances indicators are summarized. Then, a comprehensive review covering 105 articles from 2007 to 2017 on DM or Big Data applications in the electronics industry is provided according to the flowchart from various points of view such as data handling, applications of DM, or Big Data at different lifecycle stages, and the software used in the applications. On this basis, a diagram of data content for different knowledge areas and a framework for DM and Big Data applications in the electronics industry are established. Finally, conclusions and future research directions are given.

  3. Geographical and Occupational Mobility of Workers in the Aircraft and Electronics Industries, Regional Trade Union Seminar (Paris, 21st-22nd September, 1966). Final Report and Supplement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France). Social Affairs Div.

    The trade unions in the European aerospace and electronics industries have become concerned with the sweeping and rapid economic and technical changes taking place in the industries. This seminar enabled trade union representatives from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom aerospace industry and the electronics sector working…

  4. PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE OMBUDSMAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Gjorgonoska Manevska

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In chain production - trade appear more entities: manufacturers, distributors, retailers and direct consumers. If relations between them simplify, we can conclude that the most important link in this chain are consumers. We could say that everything happens precisely to meet the needs of consumers (although for certain types of production or ranking military industry for example, the arms trade and so on. This certainly can not say. Consumer is every one for you or your family supply certain products or using certain services. This broad definition allows each of us can put ourselves in the category of consumer. Consumers are the largest group in the world. Using the principle of deduction, we can conclude - when a group is considered most important and is the most numerous, it should be the most powerful in certain social relations.

  5. Electronics and Information

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    @@ Previously founded as CCPITMachinery and Electronics Sub-council and CCOIC Machinery and Electronics Chamber of Corn-merce in June, 1988, CCPIT Electronics Sub-Council and CCOIC Electronics Chamber of Commerce were established in May, 1993, and then renamed as CCPIT Electronics and Information Industry Sub-council and CCOIC Electronics and Infor-mation Industry Chamber of Commerce (CCPITECC) in September 1999.

  6. Drivers of high-involvement consumers' intention to buy PDO wines: Valpolicella PDO case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capitello, Roberta; Agnoli, Lara; Begalli, Diego

    2016-08-01

    This study investigates whether different sensory profiles of wines belonging to the same Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) are perceived as different products by consumers. It identifies the drivers of consumers' intention to buy preferred wines. Descriptive sensory analysis, consumer tests and consumer interviews were conducted to reach research aims. To perform the consumer tests and interviews, 443 consumers participated in the survey. The tasted wines comprised five samples representative of Valpolicella PDO wine. Analysis of variance tests, principal component analysis and linear and logit regressions were employed to verify the research hypotheses. The results demonstrated: (1) different sensory profiles exist within the Valpolicella PDO wine; (2) these sensory profiles result in consumers having the perception of diversified products; (3) the perception of differences was less marked for consumers than for trained assessors due to the different weight attributed to visual, aroma and the taste/mouthfeel hedonic dimensions; and (4) consumers' liking, as well as general perceptions, attitudes, preferences, wine knowledge and experience, contribute to consumers' intentions to buy more than the socio-demographic characteristics of consumers. The analysis of the drivers of consumers' intention to buy certain PDO wines provides new marketing insights into the roles of intrinsic quality, preferences and consumers' subjective characteristics in market segmentation. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR – REFERENCE ELEMENT FOR MARKET TRENDS OF AUTOMOBILE IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoleta ISAC

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to form an overview of the current situation of the car market in Romania and based on this to highlight trends and directions towards which this important branch of manufacturing industry seen through the eyes of consumers. The consumer always seeks to compare the performance of the product, with certain standards and they have required to inform themselves and to reflect upon purchasing the product. In order to ensure business success and minimize the risk, entrepreneurs must pay major attention to defining and knowledge of the market or markets they want to act, as well as the segment of consumers that their it proposes to conquer the products and services offered. To a better analyze of the consumer behaviour we implemented a model based on a questionnaire that allows us to detect the main objectives: Identifying the attributes of an ideal car; Establishing the importance of these attributes for current and potential customers; The Dacia brand in comparison to major competing brands; Determining the factors influencing the choice of consumer. The reason I chose the automobile market is the fact that manufacturing (which includes engineering sector, whose part is the construction industry of cars is the main component industry in Romania, covering about 80% of the volume of activity in which are covered about 1.5 million people.

  8. Electron beam application in industrial polymer processing - Review and outlook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gielenz, G.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: The various established industrial electron beam (EB) applications as related to polymers, their corresponding material and process fundamentals are discussed in this paper. The basics of nowadays most common irradiation processes, which are for continuous stranded products: Single Beam, Rotary Technique; Single Beam, Multiple Pass Technique; Dual Beam, Multiple Pass Technique; and Single Beam, Single (Multiple) Pass Technique by means of a conveyor belt or cart system for discontinuous goods are briefly addressed together with some typical examples for illustration. Some comments on the (dis)advantages and the future economic optimization potential which EB processing technologies could provide to the respective polymer processing industries are presented with respect to material, accelerator equipment and related product handling hardware. The future competitiveness of irradiation crosslinking technologies, which offer numerous advantages in comparison to conventional CV curing and silane crosslinking technologies, only can be maintained by increasing their economic attractiveness, which is: high processing speeds, high material throughput at low production costs and comparatively low capital investment of the hardware involved. Other, more sophisticated irradiation process proposals found in the literature and respective patent publications will be briefly presented, although all of which lack more or less practical evidence for industrial economic and reliable application. Finally, the authors vision of a more efficient, economical EB-process design, by combining quasi state of the art EB-equipment components with a novel beam deflection system to practically achieve a 'Dual Beam, Four Side Crossfiring Process' for continuous strand-products, will be presented. (author)

  9. 76 FR 38059 - Defining Larger Participants in Certain Consumer Financial Products and Services Markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-29

    ... New York, Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (February 2011). B. Consumer Reporting A range... and maintain data and provide credit reports on individual consumers. The reports include credit... Industry Association estimates that there are over 54 billion updates to consumer reports, and 3 billion...

  10. The Influence of Reviewers on Millennial Consumers

    OpenAIRE

    Svantesdotter, Emma; Tran, Hoa Mai; Guerra, Ana

    2017-01-01

    Background: The digital world of today alters the way consumers search, communicate, and perceive information significantly. Specifically, the traditional word-of-mouth, which refers to the exchange of information between consumers about products and brand, has become digitalized. This transforms word-of-mouth into electronic wordof-mouth, which serves as a user-generated information resource and can be accessed through various social media platforms. Problem: The ubiquitous presence of socia...

  11. Social Media Marketing in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Huber, Markus

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this master thesis is to analyze the social media engagement of the FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) in Austria. The used methodologies are literature studies, Internet searches as well as internal data evaluations of the FMCG clients of a marketing agency. The thesis analyses selected key success factors on Social Media focusing on facebook, evaluates their development in the monitored period, and recommends main possibilities of future measures aiming on reaching an improvement...

  12. The technology of surface coatings by electron-beam (EB) with special reference to the wood industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahlan bin Haji Mohd

    1989-01-01

    The use of electron-beam as a processing means in surface coatings is discussed. Special attention has been given to this technology in relation to the surface coatings of wood. The main features of its technology and industrial requirements are outlined. (author)

  13. MARKETING CHANNELS AND DISTRIBUTION DECISIONS IN THE SPORT BUSINESS INDUSTRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru Lucian MIHAI

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The sport business must determine how to get its products from the manufacturer or producer to the consumer. Additionally, in this industry, there are products produced at a point where the consumer must be present at its production to consume the product. These products are sports events, such as a professional basketball game, a football match, or a super cross race. In these types of products, the event - the product - is staged at a facility where fans will gather to watch. The sport business will have made decisions regarding the facility in relation to location and other factors that will make the facility attractive to the consumer as a place in which to consume these types of products. This paper presents a brief overview about distribution in the sport business industry, the role of distribution in marketing strategy, the selection of a distribution network, and the types of distribution intermediaries available for moving and / or offering sport business industry products.

  14. Crop load and harvest maturity effects on consumer preferences for apricots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Jill; Feng, Jinquan; Olsson, Shane

    2015-03-15

    Improving apricot fruit quality delivered to consumers is key to ensuring a successful apricot industry. Previous studies have focused on effects of either soluble solids content (SSC) or fruit firmness on consumer preferences, and results have been equivocal. This study evaluated the effects of crop load and harvest maturity how they affected on fruit SSC and firmness, and on subsequent consumer preferences. SSC of apricots was an important factor only when fruit were firmer than 15 N and not immature. When fruit were softer than 15 N, SSC had little influence on consumer liking. In general, consumers preferred fruit that were grown on trees thinned to approximately 10-20% less than typical commercial crop loads and were harvested in a more mature condition. Consumers also preferred fruit that had a higher sugar/acid ratio or BrimA value, which is the °Brix - k × titratable acidity, where k is a constant that varies between species and cultivars depending on the specific acids and sugars present. High apricot flavour and juiciness were associated with greater sweetness. Management practices that increase fruit SSC and sugar/acid ratio, such as reducing crop load, will improve consumer satisfaction as long as fruit are harvested at an adequate maturity stage and are maintained in storage so that they do not soften too quickly. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  15. LDRD final report for improving human effectiveness for extreme-scale problem solving : assessing the effectiveness of electronic brainstorming in an industrial setting.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dornburg, Courtney C.; Stevens, Susan Marie; Davidson, George S.; Hendrickson, Stacey M. Langfitt

    2008-09-01

    An experiment was conducted comparing the effectiveness of individual versus group electronic brainstorming in order to address difficult, real world challenges. While industrial reliance on electronic communications has become ubiquitous, empirical and theoretical understanding of the bounds of its effectiveness have been limited. Previous research using short-term, laboratory experiments have engaged small groups of students in answering questions irrelevant to an industrial setting. The present experiment extends current findings beyond the laboratory to larger groups of real-world employees addressing organization-relevant challenges over the course of four days. Employees and contractors at a national security laboratory participated, either in a group setting or individually, in an electronic brainstorm to pose solutions to a 'wickedly' difficult problem. The data demonstrate that (for this design) individuals perform at least as well as groups in producing quantity of electronic ideas, regardless of brainstorming duration. However, when judged with respect to quality along three dimensions (originality, feasibility, and effectiveness), the individuals significantly (p<0.05) out-performed the group working together. When idea quality is used as the benchmark of success, these data indicate that work-relevant challenges are better solved by aggregating electronic individual responses, rather than electronically convening a group. This research suggests that industrial reliance upon electronic problem solving groups should be tempered, and large nominal groups might be the more appropriate vehicle for solving wicked corporate issues.

  16. Fine chemicals for the electronics industry: the proceedings of a symposium organised by the Fine Chemicals and Medicinals Group of the Industrial Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Bath, UK, 2-4 April 1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bamfield, P.

    1986-01-01

    Most business surveys on electronic chemicals emphasise the importance of semi-conductor materials, printed circuit board chemicals, hybrid circuit materials and others, e.g. liquid crystal materials. This was expanded in this symposium to include chemicals consumed by the telecommunications, optoelectronics, reprographics, displays, and energy conversion sectors. The burgeoning area of molecular electronics was also considered to be important. (author)

  17. Degradation study of trichloroethylene and perchloric ethylene using high energy electron beam generated in industrial accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, B.L.R.; Sampa, M.H.O.; Avolio, R.M.; Somessari, E.S.R.; Vieira, J.M.; Rela, P.R.

    1995-01-01

    The pollution of potable water with chlorinated hydrocarbons, mainly trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloric ethylene (PCE), is seriously increasing the problem of contamination of water, specially in highly industrialized areas. Recent studies show that depuration by ionizing radiation has been considered a possible alternative to the control of water pollution, wherein the process by ionizing radiation converts TCE and PCE into approximately 100% carbon dioxide ions. Water samples containing TCE e PCE were submitted to radiation in the pilot plant installed in the industrial electron accelerator at IPEN from Radiation Dynamics, Dynamitron II, of 1,5 MeV - 25 m A, with doses varying from 2 kGy to 8 kGy, being its parameters analyzed before and after irradiation TCE and PCE concentrations were determined by the gas chromatography method by liquid-liquid extraction using a gas chromatograph, model CG 90, with an electron capture detector. (author). 5 refs, 4 figs

  18. Industrial applications of electron beam flue gas treatment - From laboratory to the practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chmielewski, Andrzej G.

    2007-01-01

    The electron beam technology for flue gas treatment (EBFGT) has been developed in Japan in the early 1980s. Later on, this process was investigated in pilot scale in the USA, Germany, Japan, Poland, Bulgaria and China. The new engineering and process solutions have been developed during the past two decades. Finally industrial plants have been constructed in Poland and China. The high efficiency of SO x and NO x removal was achieved (up to 95% for SO x and up to 70% for NO x ) and by-product is a high quality fertilizer. Since the power of accelerators applied in industrial installation is over 1 MW and requested operational availability of the plant is equal to 8500 h in year, it is a new challenge for radiation processing applications

  19. Energy's role in industrial competitiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    At a conference on the role of energy in industrial competitiveness, papers were presented on the energy consumer's perspective on energy issues in the mineral and food industries, global perspectives on the role of energy in industrial competitiveness, a supplier's perspective on energy issues in the oil/gas and electric industries, perspectives on environmental issues including climate change, and international partnerships for industrial competitiveness, notably in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. Separate abstracts have been prepared for 15 papers from this conference

  20. Consumer attitudes and the governance of food safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todt, Oliver; Muñoz, Emilio; González, Marta; Ponce, Gloria; Estévez, Betty

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports the analysis of a recent study of public perception of food safety governance in Spain, using genetically modified (GM) foods as an indicator. The data make clear that Spanish food consumers are aware of their rights and role in the marketplace. They are critical of current regulatory decision making, which they perceive to be unduly influenced by certain social actors, such as industry. In contrast, consumers demand decisions to be based primarily on scientific opinion, as well as consumer preferences. They want authorities to facilitate informed purchasing decisions, and favor labeling of GM foods mostly on the grounds of their right to know. However, consumers' actual level of knowledge with respect to food technology and food safety remains low. There are several ambivalences as to the real impact of these attitudes on actual consumer behavior (specifically when it comes to organizing themselves or searching out background information).

  1. [Using consumer panels in public health observational studies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matilla-Santander, Nuria; Fu, Marcela; Ballbè, Montse; Lidón-Moyano, Cristina; Martín-Sánchez, Juan Carlos; Fernández, Esteve; Martínez-Sánchez, José M

    Consumer panels are a market research method useful for gathering information about low-frequency or difficult-access customers. The objective of this field-note is to explain our experience using this method in a cross-sectional public health study on the use of electronic cigarettes. After taking into account other non-probabilistic sampling techniques to obtain a huge sample of electronic-cigarette users (n=600), in the end we decided to use consumer panels (recruiters) because of the relative short duration of the field work and the high representativeness of the sample. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Drug Familiarization and Therapeutic Misconception Via Direct-to-Consumer Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bélisle-Pipon, Jean-Christophe; Williams-Jones, Bryn

    2015-06-01

    Promotion of prescription drugs may appear to be severely limited in some jurisdictions due to restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). However, in most jurisdictions, strategies exist to raise consumer awareness about prescription drugs, notably through the deployment of direct-to-consumer information (DTCI) campaigns that encourage patients to seek help for particular medical conditions. In Canada, DTCI is presented by industry and regulated by Health Canada as being purely informational activities, but their design and integration in broader promotional campaigns raise very similar ethical concerns as those associated with DTCA. Specifically, DTCI can be an effective means of familiarizing the public with the scope and benefits of a particular prescription drug and so, like DTCA, can promote increased patient-consumer demand and thus a problematic rise in the prescribing and use of medications that may be neither the most appropriate nor the most cost-effective. Yet, with DTCI the industry is playing within the existing rules and regulations set by health regulators. To respond appropriately to this regulatory incoherence, we argue that DTCI should be regulated as a type of direct-to-consumer indirect advertising. Even if the case and specific regulations presented here are Canadian, the implications extend to every country that has a partial or total prohibition on DTCA.

  3. Consumer Understanding of Nutrition Marketing Terms: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haroldson, Amber; Yen, Chih-Lun

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the validity of a questionnaire developed to assess adult consumer understanding of nutrition marketing terms and the resulting impact on consumer behavior. Participants (n = 40) completed an electronic questionnaire. Efforts to establish validity and reliability suggest that the questionnaire is a…

  4. An electron beam linear scanning mode for industrial limited-angle nano-computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chengxiang; Zeng, Li; Yu, Wei; Zhang, Lingli; Guo, Yumeng; Gong, Changcheng

    2018-01-01

    Nano-computed tomography (nano-CT), which utilizes X-rays to research the inner structure of some small objects and has been widely utilized in biomedical research, electronic technology, geology, material sciences, etc., is a high spatial resolution and non-destructive research technique. A traditional nano-CT scanning model with a very high mechanical precision and stability of object manipulator, which is difficult to reach when the scanned object is continuously rotated, is required for high resolution imaging. To reduce the scanning time and attain a stable and high resolution imaging in industrial non-destructive testing, we study an electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system that can avoid mechanical vibration and object movement caused by the continuously rotated object. Furthermore, to further save the scanning time and study how small the scanning range could be considered with acceptable spatial resolution, an alternating iterative algorithm based on ℓ0 minimization is utilized to limited-angle nano-CT reconstruction problem with the electron beam linear scanning mode. The experimental results confirm the feasibility of the electron beam linear scanning mode of nano-CT system.

  5. Sales drive advertising expenditures: Evidence for consumer packaged and durable goods in Germany

    OpenAIRE

    Lischka, Juliane A; Kienzler, Stephanie; Mellmann, Ulrike

    2014-01-01

    The relation between sales and advertising is both complex and diverse. Whether advertising activities drive or follow sales is still unclear. We uncover this relation distinguishing between consumer packaged goods (CPG) and durable consumer goods (DCG) industries. We fit vector autoregressive models to sales and advertising expenditures of four CPG and three DCG industries in Germany from 1991 q1 to 2009 q4. Findings reveal that advertising expenditures do not increase total sales of industr...

  6. Empirical determinants of consumers' uptake of electronic banking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    electronic banking and non-electronic banking in Nigeria. The research uses .... 2015 as a result of a drop in the megawatts as stated above. This is a ..... [14] Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007) Business research methods, 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford.

  7. Scheduling in the FMCG industry : an industrial case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elzakker, van M.A.H.; Zondervan, E.; Raikar, N.B.; Grossmann, I.E.; Bongers, P.M.M.

    2012-01-01

    A problem-specific model is presented for the short-term scheduling problem in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. To increase the computational efficiency, the limited intermediate inventory is modeled indirectly by relating mixing and packing intervals. In addition, the model size is

  8. 7 CFR 1220.112 - Industry information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... markets, new marketing strategies, or increased efficiency for the soybean industry, and activities to... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING... CONSUMER INFORMATION Soybean Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1220.112 Industry information. The...

  9. The Industrial Engineer and Energy and Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sirichan Thongprasert

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Industries have always been a major consumer of energy and a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, causing environmental problems. Concerns about the impact of industries on the environment have led industries to change or adapt their methodologies to be more efficient and environmentally responsible. This article explains the impact that has on the industrial engineer.

  10. The Industrial Engineer and Energy and Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Sirichan Thongprasert

    2009-01-01

    Industries have always been a major consumer of energy and a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, causing environmental problems. Concerns about the impact of industries on the environment have led industries to change or adapt their methodologies to be more efficient and environmentally responsible. This article explains the impact that has on the industrial engineer.

  11. The pallet industry: a changing hardwood market

    Science.gov (United States)

    G.P. Dempsey; D.G. Martens

    1991-01-01

    From its inception during World War II, the wooden pallet industry has grown to become the Nation's largest industrial consumer of hardwood lumber products. Since most of the raw material in wooden pallets is lower grade lumber, the pallet industry's growth, efficiency, and changing raw material inputs must be of concern to the grade hardwood lumber industry...

  12. Consumer-Oriented New Product Development in Fruit Flavour Breeding - A Bayesian Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tesfaye, L.M.; Lans, van der I.A.; Bink, M.C.A.M.; Gremmen, H.G.J.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

    2014-01-01

    Taking consumer quality perceptions into account is very important for new-fruit product development in todays competitive food market. To this end, consumer-oriented quality improvement models like the Quality Guidance Model (QGM) have been proposed. Implementing such mod- els in the agro industry

  13. Prosperity without pollution: The prevention strategy for industry and consumers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirschhorn, J.S.; Oldenburg, K.V.

    1990-01-01

    Here is the first book to explain why only a preventative environmental strategy can work: because growing population, consumption and industrialization cripple current, rather haphazard, remedial efforts. This book shows how our society can make more with less, be more competitive and less polluting, while maintaining our standard of living by reducing and eventually eliminating the production of wastes and pollutants from industry, commerce, homes, farms, and institutions. This may seem far-fetched, but be prepared to discover in this book that there can be a middle ground between ecology and economy - and that you can help achieve it. You'll find data and examples that any person can use, from engineers in industry to office workers to activists. Every concerned citizen will also want to consider the authors' innovative suggestions for taxing wastes and using the proceeds to help companies and communities switch to new industrial processes. Also, you should evaluate their proposals to reburies meaningful waste and toxicity information on product labels, to make bans on chemicals and products a more credible and available corrective measure, and to secure permanent, high-level government support for pollution prevention

  14. A consumer perspective on food labelling: ethical or not?

    OpenAIRE

    M. van der Merwe; K. Venter

    2010-01-01

    This article provides a review of ethical food labelling from a consumer perspective and makes recommendations to the food industry and regulators regarding ethical food labelling in order to satisfy consumers’ food-labelling needs. Various studies have found that many consumers have negative perceptions regarding food labelling. However, research on consumers’ perspectives regarding ethical food labelling has been accorded little attention. This article addresses this topic through a review ...

  15. The female innovation-generation consumer's evaluation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This marketing communication influences consumers' purchase decisions and consequently enhances the competitiveness of the clothing retailer in a dynamic fashion industry. Thus the use of virtual displays is increasing. Implementing digital and virtual display screens in the visual displays of South African physical retail ...

  16. Dynamics of vendor innovation capability: Evidence from the Electronics Manufacturing Services industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perunovic, Zoran; Mefford, Robert; Christoffersen, Mads

    2012-01-01

    and innovation. The first is the realization that vendor capabilities have been recognized as one of the most important factors for the success of outsourcing. The second refers to the fact that, even though innovation capability is required, vendors are still being selected, and their performance evaluated......, by traditional manufacturing capabilities, such as cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility. Taking a vendor’s perspective in outsourcing, we develop and present a conceptual framework for studying vendor innovation capability. We propose to test this framework in the Electronic Manufacturing Services Industry....

  17. The assessment of the stability of the electronics industry facility in the man-made emergencies with the use of information technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hancharyk A.V.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The object of study is the enterprise (object of the electronics industry. By industrial object means engineering-technical complex, which includes buildings, structures, power systems, equipment, automated systems, equipment, tools, etc. By the stability of the industrial object we mean ability to produce specified types of products in required quantities in a case of variety of emergency situations, as well as the willingness to self-repairing in if the object proves in the affected area of weak or medium damages. For the stable operation of the facility, in addition to the stability of the object, the security of workers and employees must be ensured, as well as individual and collective protection equipment have to be provided. One of the important indicators for assessing the sustainability of industrial facilities in emergencies is an evaluation of the probability of occurrence of internal and external emergencies and their impact on the operability of the industrial facility. The estimation of probability of occurrence internal and external emergency situation is characterized by a measure of the risk. By the risk means a value which includes both the probability of accidents and damage from them [1]. The development of criteria for evaluating the stability of the object in the man-made disaster is often identified with the risk. The stability of the facility’s operation in the man-made disaster is estimated by the highest acceptable risk. There are the following methods for determining the risk: statistical, model, expert and sociological. Currently, the software «SKEVIA» has been developed, which allows estimating the damage caused by man-made emergencies for a particular industrial facility. Scientific novelty lies in the development of new criteria for sustainable operation of the enterprises of electronic industry. The practical significance lies in the implementation of software «SKEVIA» at the enterprises of electronic

  18. Investigation of the Use of Ecodesign Methods and Tools in the Electrical and Electronics Industries of Thailand

    OpenAIRE

    Samuelsson, Erik

    2008-01-01

    This investigation strives to determine the level of ecodesign awareness as well as to map the use of methods and tools for this concept in the electrical and electronics industries of Thailand. The foundation of the thesis is eight semi-structured qualitative research interviews performed with various people at Thai organisations, an electronics manufacturer in Thailand, and experts from Swedish, Danish and Thai universities. The research method has yielded the following results: The level o...

  19. Decision concerning Hydro-Quebec's request to rescind the need to go to tender to fulfill the electricity needs of bi-energy rate commercial, institutional and industrial (BT rate) consumers, article 74.1 of la Loi sur la Regie de l'energie

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patoine, M.A.

    2002-01-01

    In 1983 Hydro-Quebec initiated a special rate for commercial, institutional and industrial power consumers that made use of dual energy systems to heat and power their facilities. In October 2001, Hydro-Quebec made a request to the Regie to rescind the preferential bi-energy rate for commercial, institutional and industrial consumers. The report presents Hydro-Quebec's justification for this request with particular reference to the problems related with going to tender. The contents of the agreement between distributors and power producers were also revealed with respect to short term contracts. The report also presents the position and comments of the interveners with particular reference to the consequences of rescinding the need to go to tender. The opinion of the Regie de l'energie went in favour of the interveners. The Regie denied the request to rescind the need for tender to satisfy the electricity needs of subscribers of the preferential bi-energy rate for commercial, institutional and industrial consumers. refs., tabs

  20. Consumer acceptance of high-pressure processing and pulsed-electric-field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Nina Veflen; Grunert, Klaus G.; Sonne, Anne-Mette

    2010-01-01

    New products and new processing techniques are continuously developed in the food industry. While food scientists may focus on the technical novelty and applaud the progress of science, consumers are often conservative and sceptical towards changes. The advantages that a new processing technology...... has to offer, do not necessarily guarantee the success of a product in the market place. Consumer acceptance depends on whether consumers perceive that there are specific benefits associated with the product. This review focuses specifically on how high-pressure processing (HPP) and pulsed...

  1. Effects of Electronic Word - of - Mouth Messages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Choong Hoon Lim

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available With the increased usage of online technologies, there has been an escalation of Electronic Word - of –Mouth (eWOM messages related to sport products and services offered and consumed. Therefore, in this original investigation by applying eWOM to the sport industry, this study examined how the combination of the quality of the eWOM message and the provider of the eWOM message affects purchaseintentions depending on the expertise level of the consumer. This study – which involved the collection of data from 134 students at a large university situated in the Midwest of the United States – utilized repeated measures of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA with tripartite groups of expertise and experimental conditions as independent variables. Purchase intention was the dependent variables. The results indicated that the quality of the eWOM message moderated the effect of the provider of the eWOM message. The subject’s level of expertise also had a moderating role on purchase intention.

  2. Investigation of industrial-scale carbon dioxide reduction using pulsed electron beams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petrov, G. M.; Apruzese, J. P.; Petrova, Tz. B.; Wolford, M. F. [Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375-5346 (United States)

    2016-03-14

    Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. To help mitigate increasing CO{sub 2} concentrations, we investigate a method of carbon dioxide reduction using high-power electron beams, which can be used on an industrial scale. A series of experiments are conducted in which the reduction of CO{sub 2} is measured for different gas compositions and power deposition rates. An electron beam deposition model is applied to compute reduction rates of CO{sub 2} and energy cost for breaking a CO{sub 2} molecule in flue gas and pure carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure. For flue gas consisting of 82% N{sub 2}, 6% O{sub 2}, and 12% CO{sub 2}, the calculated energy cost is 85 eV per molecule. In order to dissociate 50% of the CO{sub 2} molecules, beam energy density deposition on the order of 20 J/cm{sup 3} is required. Electron beam irradiation of 12.6 liter gas volume containing 90% CO{sub 2} and 10% CH{sub 4} at beam energy density deposition of 4.2 J/cm{sup 3}, accumulated over 43 shots in a 20 min interval, reduced the CO{sub 2} concentration to 78%. Analogous experiments with a gas mixture containing 11.5% CO{sub 2}, 11.5% CH{sub 4}, and balance of Ar, reduced the CO{sub 2} concentration to below 11% with energy deposition 0.71 J/cm{sup 3}, accumulated over 10 shots in a 5 min interval. The experimental data and the theoretical predictions of CO{sub 2} reduction using pulsed electron beams are in agreement within the experimental error. Other techniques to enhance the removal of CO{sub 2} with pulsed electron beams are also explored, yielding new possible avenues of research.

  3. Coupled-Multiplier Accelerator Produces High-Power Electron Beams for Industrial Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hatridge, M.; McIntyre, P.; Roberson, S.; Sattarov, A.; Thomas, E.; Meitzler, Charles

    2003-01-01

    The coupled multiplier is a new approach to efficient generation of MeV d.c. power for accelerator applications. High voltage is produced by a series of modules, each of which consists of a high-power alternator, step-up transformer, and 3-phase multiplier circuit. The alternators are connected mechanically along a rotating shaft, and connected by insulating flexible couplers. This approach differs from all previous d.c. technologies in that power is delivered to the various stages of the system mechanically, rather than through capacitive or inductive electrical coupling. For this reason the capital cost depends linearly on required voltage and power, rather than quadratically as with conventional technologies. The CM technology enables multiple electron beams to be driven within a common supply and insulating housing. MeV electron beam is extremely effective in decomposing organic contaminants in water. A 1 MeV, 100 kW industrial accelerator using the CM technology has been built and is being installed for treatment of wastewater at a petrochemical plant

  4. Advanced Industrial Materials Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stooksbury, F.

    1994-06-01

    The mission of the Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) program is to commercialize new/improved materials and materials processing methods that will improve energy efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. Program investigators in the DOE national laboratories are working with about 100 companies, including 15 partners in CRDA's. Work is being done on intermetallic alloys, ceramic composites, metal composites, polymers, engineered porous materials, and surface modification. The program supports other efforts in the Office of Industrial Technologies to assist the energy-consuming process industries. The aim of the AIM program is to bring materials from basic research to industrial application to strengthen the competitive position of US industry and save energy.

  5. Consumer flexibility - State and challenges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grande, Ove S.; Saele, Hanne; Morch, Andrei Z.

    2002-02-01

    This report summarises experiences and results from relevant projects carried out within the area of consumer flexibility in the last years. A general description of the projects is presented. In addition are testing activities, economical signals for motivating the end user for load reductions and appropriate technology for communication and effect management mentioned separately. Briefly summarised is the following achieved: 1) The potential for effect regulating measures in ordinary consumption and in power demanding industry is analysed and estimated to 1750 MW and 3360 MW respectively. 2) Time varied rates are developed and are tested. The NVE has decided on this basis that all the network owners should offer season varied rates to their customers. 3) Test projects in Drammen, Oslo and Trondheim have shown that it is possible to motivate smaller consumers for and implement load reductions. 4) Technology for load management for the end user is evaluated. 5) A survey is made viewing the technology for two way communication. In addition the ''option'' market for the reserves of the Statnett has proved that a steady compensation is a sufficient incentive for producing substantial effect reserves in the load sector (power intensive industry). In the last part of the report the incentives and frame conditions for establishing technical solutions and infrastructure are discussed. Further work will focus on the consumer flexibility in shortage situations. The main challenges are connected to: 1) Establishing a foundation for decisions concerning cost efficient investments in necessary technical equipment. 2) To find an optimal combination of a price flexible and remote controlled load reduction

  6. Journal of Consumer Sciences - Vol 44 (2016)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The pursuit of subjective well-being and the complexity of conscientious consumer decision making in the South African white goods industry: A literature review and proposed conceptual framework · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. L Christie, NC ...

  7. Unveiling health attitudes and creating good-for-you foods: the genomics metaphor, consumer innovative web-based technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskowitz, H R; German, J B; Saguy, I S

    2005-01-01

    This article presents an integrated analysis of three emerging knowledge bases in the nutrition and consumer products industries, and how they may effect the food industry. These knowledge bases produce new vistas for corporate product development, especially with respect to those foods that are positioned as 'good for you.' Couched within the current thinking of state-of-the-art knowledge and information, this article highlights how today's thinking about accelerated product development can be introduced into the food and health industries to complement these three research areas. The 3 knowledge bases are: the genomics revolution, which has opened new insights into understanding the interactions of personal needs of individual consumers with nutritionally relevant components of the foods; the investigation of food choice by scientific studies; the development of large scale databases (mega-studies) about the consumer mind. These knowledge bases, combined with new methods to understand the consumer through research, make possible a more focused development. The confluence of trends outlined in this article provides the corporation with the beginnings of a new path to a knowledge-based, principles-grounded product-development system. The approaches hold the potential to create foods based upon people's nutritional requirements combined with their individual preferences. Integrating these emerging knowledge areas with new consumer research techniques may well reshape how the food industry develops new products to satisfy consumer needs and wants.

  8. Hongmei Li, Advertising and Consumer Culture in China,

    OpenAIRE

    Bai, Ruoyun

    2017-01-01

    Advertising and Consumer Culture in China is an excellent survey of Chinese advertising as embedded in the context of marketisation, globalisation and authoritarianism in the market reform era. Approaching Chinese advertising “as an industry, a profession, and a discourse,” Hongmei Li examines the formation and transformation of China’s advertising industry from the late 1970s to the present, structural constraints upon the creative practices of its advertising professionals, and dominant dis...

  9. Reduction of organic solvent emission by industrial use of electron-beam curable coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haering, E.

    1982-01-01

    Most industrial finishing processes operate by the use of liquid organic coating materials drying by solvent evaporation and subsequent chemical crosslinking reactions, in many cases also releasing cleavage products. These organic emissions contribute to air pollution and therefore many countries have issued restrictions in order to protect the environment. Complementary to other modern methods for reducing this problem, radiation chemistry enables an approach by radical chain polymerization which can be induced by exposure to electron radiation. This procedure is known as electron-beam curing of coatings or the EBC process. It utilizes well-developed accelerator equipment with voltages of 150 to 400kV at a minimum energy consumption. There is no necessity to use irradiation facilities based on the decay of radioisotopes. Free radical polymerization requires unsaturated resins as pain binders and polymerizable liquid compounds (monomers) as reactive diluents. Their crosslinking yields a high molecular network, the coating, without any emission of organic solvents or cleavage products. Moreover, the radiochemical formation of the paint film occurs extremely rapidly. The technical application of EBC coatings began by coating automotive plastic parts; a little later the finishing of wood products gained more industrial use as a non-polluting and energy-saving coating technology. Application methods in coating plastic foils in combination with vacuum metallizing and the production of decorative laminating papers for furniture followed. In 1981 new EBC pilot lines were installed for curing top coats on PVC foil and also for the coating of prefinished steel wheels for automobiles. In comparison with conventional solvent-based methods the industrial EBC process results in a nearly complete reduction of organic solvent emission avoiding air pollution and saving valuable petrochemical raw materials. This paper reviews the development of EBC during the last decade. (author)

  10. Markets during world oil supply crises: an analysis of industry, consumer, and governmental response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erfle, Stephen; Pound, John; Kalt, Joseph

    1981-04-01

    An analysis of the response of American markets to supply crises in world oil markets is presented. It addresses four main issues: the efficiency of the operation of American oil markets during oil supply crises; the problems of both economic efficiency and social equity which arise during the American adaptation process; the propriety of the Federal government's past policy responses to these problems; and the relationship between perceptions of the problems caused by world oil crises and the real economic natures of these problems. Specifically, Chapter 1 presents a theoretical discussion of the effects of a world supply disruption on the price level and supply availability of the world market oil to any consuming country including the US Chapter 2 provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the efficiency of the adaptations of US oil product markets to higher world oil prices. Chapter 3 examines the responses of various groups of US oil firms to the alterations observed in world markets, while Chapter 4 presents a theoretical explanation for the price-lagging behavior exhibited by firms in the US oil industry. Chapter 5 addresses the nature of both real and imagined oil market problems in the US during periods of world oil market transition. (MCW)

  11. Consumer-generated versus marketer-generated websites in consumer decision making

    OpenAIRE

    Bronner, F.; de Hoog, R.

    2010-01-01

    Internet users are encouraged to rate and review all kinds of services and products. These kinds of reviews are described as eWOM (electronic wordof- mouth). Our central question is ‘Are consumers using these reviews, and what is the role of eWOM as compared with commercial-marketer-generated information and advertising on the internet?’ The vacation decision process was used as the domain of investigation, but these results are also compared with four other domains. The conclusion is that th...

  12. Sustaining Innovative Success: A Case Study on Consumer-Centric Innovation in the ICT Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minkyung Choy

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The phenomenon of innovation growing rapidly and having a shorter lifespan is a structural change due to the development of ICT (Information and Communications Technology, diverse investment methods, and reduced pattern of innovation adoption. For ICT companies to survive and maintain their success in this ever-changing environment, they need to succeed in fulfilling both productivity and accuracy of innovation. To sustain their innovative success, ICT companies should consistently maintain the direction of innovation towards consumers. The present study analyzes various cases of ICT companies which succeeded or failed to maintain their prior innovative success, and suggests consumer-centric innovation as a solution. To create consumer-centric innovations, companies have to (1 predict the dynamically evolving demand of consumers and continuously transform; (2 proactively employ observation method and big data analysis to discover hidden demands; and (3 identify hassles such as wastes, inconveniences, and anxieties, and put effort in solving these hassles.

  13. Guava Jam packaging determinant attributes in consumer buying decision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Inês Souza Dantas

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Using packaging and labels to lure consumers and to communicate product benefits directly on the shelf is a competitive advantage factor in the food industry sector. The label is especially effective since besides supplying basic details, such as weight, ingredients, and instructions in compliance with governmental regulations, it attracts consumers' attention and the desire to buy and which often becomes synonymous to the brand name. The objective of this study was to obtain detailed information on consumers' attitudes, opinions, behavior, and concepts regarding guava jam packaging using the focus group technique. The results showed that label color and design, packaging type and information, and brand name and price are determinant attributes in the consumers' decision to buy guava jam.

  14. Consumer attitudes toward healthcare marketing practices: a comparison of hospitals vs. physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, J S; Zallocco, R

    1997-01-01

    This study investigates consumer attitudes toward the use of marketing practices by the health care industry. The survey results show significant differences in consumers' attitude toward the use and effects of various marketing practices by the two types of provider (hospital and physician). Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.

  15. Fashion and Personal Expression of Individuality in the Comtemporary Consumer Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ieva Valivonytė

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the concept of creative industries, fashion and its prevalence among consumer society. It analyzes the evolution of consumer culture and its relationship with fashion as well as fashion and style concept of value. The article represents theorist’s insight and reflection on the consumer society and the search for individuality in vogue. Also it reviews the role of fashion in the consumer society as diverse and complex phenomenon, which with the certain character and non-verbal language communicates about some of their values and their impact on the user and groups.

  16. World electricity and gas industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kahane, A.

    1990-01-01

    Electric and gas utilities are central middlemen in the energy business. Worldwide, more than 50% of all primary energy is transformed by utilities and delivered to final consumers through utility wires and pipes. The structure and behavior of the electricity and gas industries and the role and behavior of utilities are therefore important to all other energy industry players. The electricity and gas industries are special. Unlike oil, coal, or wood, electricity and gas are transported from producers to consumers mostly via fixed grids. This means that supplies are generally tied to specific markets and, unlike an oil tanker on the high seas, cannot be easily diverted elsewhere. These grids are natural monopolies inasmuch as having more than one wire or pipe along a given route is generally unnecessary duplicative. In addition, both supply and grid investments are generally large and lumpy. Industrial organization theory suggests that the coordination of industries can be achieved either through hierarchies or through markets. Hierarchies are generally preferred when the transaction costs of coordinating through markets is too high. These two elements of electricity and gas industry structure are the means of hierarchical coordination. This paper discusses the possibilities for changing the structure of utilities to one which has greater reliance on markets

  17. Research on consumer reactions to nutrition labelling (FLABEL)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.

    and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. Recent and ongoing research, including research in the European Union (EU)-funded FP7 project FLABEL (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life), is accumulating evidence not only on consumer liking of labels and on self-reported use, but also on labels......Nutrition labels are potentially a major instrument for enabling consumers to make healthier food choices, but current insights into how nutrition labels are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations are limited, making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies......' attention-getting potential, on the way consumers draw inferences on product healthiness from them, and on how they actually affect choices. Based on the findings from this project, best practice guidelines will be developed for use of nutrition labelling in EU policy and the food industry, especially SMEs...

  18. Consumer Perception towards Brand Slogans:An investigative study towards Consumer Perception in the Malaysian Automobile Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Sharjeel, Syed Muhammad

    2007-01-01

    This dissertation focuses on the concerned attribute of brand which would be the primary investigative entity of this dissertation; brand expression/ brand message/ brand tagline/brand slogan. Brand slogans are exploited as a marketing tool to facilitate message diffusion among the consumer market, as well as a powerful tool for targeted segment’s brand positioning (Cheng et al, 2006). In our every day lives, we come across hundreds of brands with several brand slogans targeting at different...

  19. Regulatory Office for Network Industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    The main goal of the economic regulation of network industries is to ensure a balance between the interests of consumers and investors and to encourage providing high-quality goods and services. The task of the regulatory authority is to protect the interests of consumers against monopolistic behaviour of regulated enterprises. At the same time, the regulatory office has to protect the interests of investors by giving them an opportunity to achieve an adequate return on their investments. And last, but not least, the regulatory office has to provide regulated enterprises with appropriate incentives to make them function in an efficient and effective manner and to guarantee the security of delivery of energies and related services. All this creates an efficient regulatory framework that is capable of attracting the required amount and type of investments. This also means providing third party access to the grids, the opening of energy markets, the un-bundling of accounts according to production, distribution, transmission and other activities and the establishment of a transparent and stable legislative environment for regulated companies, investors and consumers. Otherwise, in the long run consumers may suffer from a serious deterioration of service quality, although in the short run they are protected against increased prices. Under the Act No. 276/2001 Coll. on Regulation of Network Industries and on amendment of some acts the Office for Regulation of Network Industries has been commissioned to implement the main objectives of regulation of network industries. By network industries the Act No. 276/2001 Coll. on Regulation means the following areas: (a) Production, purchase, transit and distribution of electricity; (b) Production, purchase, transit and distribution of gas; (c) Production, purchase and distribution of heat; (d) Water management activities relating to the operation of the public water supply system or the public sewerage system; (e) Water management

  20. Consumers' environmental and ethical consciousness and the use of the related food products information: The role of perceived consumer effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghvanidze, Sophie; Velikova, Natalia; Dodd, Tim H; Oldewage-Theron, Wilna

    2016-12-01

    Consumers can be important active contributors to a sustainable society by selecting food choices that are both healthy and produced respecting environmental and socially ethical standards. The current study investigates five consumer behavioural factors - namely, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE); environmental conscious behaviour; concerns for ethical food production; health conscious lifestyle; and healthy dietary patterns. The key interest of the study lies in exploring the moderating role of PCE - the extent to which the consumer believes that his/her own efforts can make a difference - in these interrelationships. The empirical analysis was conducted through an online survey of food consumers implemented in three markets - the US, the UK and Germany. Findings indicate that for individuals with higher levels of PCE, who are environmental conscious and ethically concerned, information on food labels relating to environmental and social issues represents value by itself. Interestingly, health and nutrition information on food labels was not perceived valuable by consumers with high PCE. The predictive effects of various socio-demographic variables on PCE, consumer environmental and health consciousness are discussed. Cross-cultural differences are also outlined. The results of this research may contribute to the development of environmental policies and communication strategies of the food industry to enhance perceived consumer effectiveness among consumers. Improved PCE, in turn, may catalyze consumers' environmental behaviour and ethical concerns in relation to consumption of food products with environmental and social information. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.