WorldWideScience

Sample records for context-aware shopping trolley

  1. Supporting the Supermarket Shopping Experience through a Context-Aware Shopping Trolley

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Black, Darren; Clemmensen, Nils Jakob; Skov, Mikael B.

    2009-01-01

    Shopping in the real world is becoming an increasingly interactive experience as stores integrate various technologies to support shoppers. Based on an empirical study of supermarket shoppers, we designed a mobile context-aware system called the Context- Aware Shopping Trolley (CAST). The aim...... of the system is to support shopping in supermarkets through context-awareness and acquiring user attention. Thus, the interactive trolley guides and directs shoppers in the handling and finding of groceries. An empirical evaluation showed that shoppers using CAST adapted in different shopping behavior than...... traditional trolley shoppers by exhibiting a more uniform behavior in terms of product sequence collection and ease of finding products and thus, CAST supported the shopping experience....

  2. Design of automatic mobile trolley using ultrasonic sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodi Suryanto, Eka; Siagian, Hendrik; Perangin-Angin, Despaleri; Sashanti, Rahayu; Yogen, Suthes

    2018-04-01

    An automatic mobile trolley was a prototype of wheel robot that serves as a trolley or shopping cart. This paper proposed an automatic mobile trolley using ultrasonic sensors. It can follow human movement automatically. It did not need to be encouraged or withdrawn. It would make an easier shopping for people as customers. The trolley controlled by a microcontroller module unit. It can stop, turn right, turn left, forward and backward. It can follow wherever they go, during they were in range. Based on the test results, the trolley succeeded to move forward by 80%, move backward 80%, turn left, 70%, turn right 70%, and stop 80%.

  3. Driving Interface Based on Tactile Sensors for Electric Wheelchairs or Trolleys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Trujillo-León

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a novel device based on a tactile interface to replace the attendant joystick in electric wheelchairs. It can also be used in other vehicles such as shopping trolleys. Its use allows intuitive driving that requires little or no training, so its usability is high. This is achieved by a tactile sensor located on the handlebar of the chair or trolley and the processing of the information provided by it. When the user interacts with the handle of the chair or trolley, he or she exerts a pressure pattern that depends on the intention to accelerate, brake or turn to the left or right. The electronics within the device then perform the signal conditioning and processing of the information received, identifying the intention of the user on the basis of this pattern using an algorithm, and translating it into control signals for the control module of the wheelchair. These signals are equivalent to those provided by a joystick. This proposal aims to help disabled people and their attendees and prolong the personal autonomy in a context of aging populations.

  4. Project survey for trolley-bus transport; Johdinautoliikenteen hankeselvitys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anttila, T.; Eklund, P.; Airaksinen, S.; Maettoe, R.; Laehdetie, A.

    2011-04-15

    To investigate the feasibility and rationality of the revival of trolley bus traffic in Helsinki a full size project plan was conducted for a variety of alternatives. This included a survey on the latest developments of the trolley bus technology, three optional plans for route network, a budgetary level design for a fully functional depot in Koskela bus depot, examination of urban landscape structures, a study on organisational options, particular technical specifications applicable on suitable trolley buses and an examination of the impacts on the environment and on the future development of public transport. The basic concept of a trolley bus as a means of electric public transport vehicle has found its form over the years, but all the components of the system undergo at present intensive development. In context of this survey also the option of a fully autonomous electric bus powered by accumulators or fuel cells and the like was investigated. However, such technology is still totally inadequate for a heavy duty bus. There are no economically competitive and effective systems available as yet. The trolley bu is the far most reliable system and gives the best life cycle economy for a foreseeable future. Earliest estimates for alternative electric technologies in regular bus service are viable just after one investment cycle some time beyond 2030. Then it should be possible to run without the support of a comprehensive overhead line. The latest achievements in the development of trolley bus are auxiliary engine and accumulator systems allowing for more autonomous propulsion. Nowadays, trolley buses are equipped with an auxiliary power unit that alleviates the traditional restrictions of the overhead line. The modern trolley bus may run short distances without the trolley lines. Recuperation of the kinetic energy at deceleration (braking) either into the overhead line network or by storing it in the vehicle is one of the characteristics of modern trolley buses

  5. Self-propelled trolley with articulated arms, tank and disengageable driving device to be mounted on the said trolley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asty, M.; Lerat, B.; Saglio, R.; Viard, J.

    1984-01-01

    This trolley can move between two walls, especially in the vessels inter-space of a fast reactor. This trolley has two wheels keeping in contact with one of the two walls and connected to the body of the trolley by two longitudinal arms, and two wheels keeping in contact with the other wall symmetrically mounted with regard to the others and connected to the body of the trolley by two side arms. The longitudinal and side arm are folding to allow the passage of the present device through a penetration shaft. The trolley carries a tank feeding a liquid onto the walls. The liquid is used for coupling the walls to ultrasonic transducers mounted on the trolley and employed to locate any defects in the walls. The present invention can be applied to ultrasonic testing of fast reactor vessels, to detect defects in metal walls, especially at welds [fr

  6. Context-awareness and Mobile HCI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qin, Xiangang; Tan, Chee Wee; Clemmensen, Torkil

    2017-01-01

    -awareness has been employed broadly in developing applications and services on mobile platform, has had a huge impact on mobile user experience, and has altered the interaction between humans and computers by giving the latter a more active role to play. The significance of context-awareness in the usage......Context-awareness endows mobile devices and services with the capability of interacting with users in an efficient, intelligent, natural and smart fashion. Consequently, context-awareness makes a significant difference to mobile HCI. However, the challenges brought by context-awareness to users...... of mobile devices are rarely examined in depth. In this paper, previous conceptions of context and their contribution to context-awareness in mobile HCI is scrutinized and a preliminary context-computer interaction (CCI) model is advanced to illustrate the interaction characterized by mobile context...

  7. A Study on Customer Awareness and Satisfaction towards Flipkart Shopping - With Special Reference to Pollachi Taluk

    OpenAIRE

    Dr.M. Deepa; K.Sasikala

    2017-01-01

    There are number of various websites are Amazon, snap deal, flip kart are available online shopping and they are playing an essential role in fulfilling the needs of customer. Flip kart is one among them and it is ranked as first preferred online shopping now days the customer are more dynamic. Their needs and preference can be changing as per the current scenario. The development of the online shopping sites mainly depends on the customer awareness & satisfaction. Online shopping has many ad...

  8. "It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop": Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluijs, Winfried; Haseen, Farhana; Miller, Martine; MacGregor, Andy; Sharp, Clare; Amos, Amanda; Best, Catherine; Stead, Martine; Eadie, Douglas; Pearce, Jamie; Frank, John; Haw, Sally

    2016-10-01

    As further restrictions have been placed on tobacco advertising and promotions, point-of-sale (PoS) displays of cigarettes in shops have become an increasingly important source of young people's exposure to tobacco products. This study explored the relationship between PoS displays of cigarettes and brand awareness among secondary school students in Scotland. Cross-sectional school surveys (n = 1406) and focus groups (n = 86) were conducted with S2 (13-14 years) and S4 (15-16 years) students in four schools of differing socioeconomic status in 2013, prior to the PoS display ban in large shops. Adjusted negative binomial regression analysis examined associations between brand awareness and exposure variables (visiting tobacco retailers, noticing displays of tobacco products). Students visiting small shops more frequently (relative rate ratio [RRR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.41) and those who noticed cigarette displays in small shops (RRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.51) and large supermarkets (RRR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.30) had higher brand awareness. The focus groups supported these findings. Participants described PoS tobacco displays as being eye-catching, colorful and potentially attractive to young people. This mixed-methods study showed that higher cigarette brand awareness was significantly associated with regularly visiting small shops and noticing PoS displays in small and large shops, even when students' smoking status, smoking in their social networks, leisure activities, and demographics were included as confounding variables. This highlights the importance of PoS displays of tobacco products in increasing brand awareness, which is known to increase youth smoking susceptibility, and thus the importance of implementing PoS display bans in all shops. As increasing restrictions have been placed on tobacco promotion in many countries, PoS displays of cigarettes in shops have become an important source of young people's exposure to tobacco products and

  9. Context Aware Middleware Architectures: Survey and Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Li

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Context aware applications, which can adapt their behaviors to changing environments, are attracting more and more attention. To simplify the complexity of developing applications, context aware middleware, which introduces context awareness into the traditional middleware, is highlighted to provide a homogeneous interface involving generic context management solutions. This paper provides a survey of state-of-the-art context aware middleware architectures proposed during the period from 2009 through 2015. First, a preliminary background, such as the principles of context, context awareness, context modelling, and context reasoning, is provided for a comprehensive understanding of context aware middleware. On this basis, an overview of eleven carefully selected middleware architectures is presented and their main features explained. Then, thorough comparisons and analysis of the presented middleware architectures are performed based on technical parameters including architectural style, context abstraction, context reasoning, scalability, fault tolerance, interoperability, service discovery, storage, security & privacy, context awareness level, and cloud-based big data analytics. The analysis shows that there is actually no context aware middleware architecture that complies with all requirements. Finally, challenges are pointed out as open issues for future work.

  10. Radio Context Awareness and Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luca Reggiani

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The context refers to “any information that can be used to characterize the situation of an entity, where an entity can be a person, place, or physical object.” Radio context awareness is defined as the ability of detecting and estimating a system state or parameter, either globally or concerning one of its components, in a radio system for enhancing performance at the physical, network, or application layers. In this paper, we review the fundamentals of context awareness and the recent advances in the main radio techniques that increase the context awareness and smartness, posing challenges and renewed opportunities to added-value applications in the context of the next generation of wireless networks.

  11. Context-Aware Elevator Scheduling

    OpenAIRE

    Strang, Thomas; Bauer, Christian

    2007-01-01

    Research on context-aware systems is usually user-centric and thus focussed on the context of a specific user to serve his or her needs in an optimized way. In this paper, we want to apply core concepts developed in research on context-awareness in a system-centric way, namely to elevator systems. We show with three different examples that the performance of an elevator system can be significantly improved if the elevator control has access to contextual knowledge. The first example demons...

  12. Internet of Thing Context Awareness Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derrick Ntalasha

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to address key concept of context awareness in the Internet of Things (IoT domain by providing a model that proactively monitors behaviour of devices and services. This concept represents context into two types of information representation, namely set based and mark-up based ontology for the purpose of defining a context awareness model that accurately represent context in IoT. The context model is defined using Resources, Actors, Ambients and Policies. The model adds value to the next stage of IoT evolution by using context ambients to bring about predictive and proactive modelling in understanding context and context awareness. IoT context is represented using the hierarchical hybrid context model. This model provides a method of representing contexts based on context quality and availability in an entity relation hierarchy form. The model is exemplified using the context management application based on agents. Experimental results indicate that context awareness in the Internet of Things can be enhanced by the proposed model.

  13. Trust-Based and Context-Aware Authentication in a Software Architecture for Context and Proximity-Aware Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenzini, Gabriele

    We describe an existing software architecture for context and proximity aware services that enables trust-based and context-aware authentication. A service is proximity aware when it automatically detects the presence of entities in its proximity. Authentication is context-aware when it uses contextual information to discern among different identities and to evaluate to which extent they are authentic. The software architecture that we describe here is functioning in our Institute: It manages a sensor network to detect the presence and location of users and their devices. A context manager is responsible to merge the different sources of contextual information, to solve potential contradictions, and to determine the level of authentication of the identity of the person approaching one of the services offered in the coffee-break corners of our Institute. In our solution for context-aware authentication, sensors are managed as if they were recommenders having subjective belief, disbelief, and uncertainty (i.e., trust) on the position and identity of users. A sensor’s subjective trust depends on what it has been sensing in the environment. We discuss the results of an array of simulations that we conducted to validate our concept of trust-based and context-aware authentication. We use Subjective Logic to manage trust.

  14. Antero-posterior (AP) pelvis x-ray imaging on a trolley: Impact of trolley design, mattress design and radiographer practice on image quality and radiation dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tugwell, J.R.; England, A.; Hogg, P.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Physical and technical differences exist between imaging on an x-ray tabletop and imaging on a trolley. This study evaluates how trolley imaging impacts image quality and radiation dose for an antero-posterior (AP) pelvis projection whilst subsequently exploring means of optimising this imaging examination. Methods: An anthropomorphic pelvis phantom was imaged on a commercially available trolley under various conditions. Variables explored included two mattresses, two image receptor holder positions, three source to image distances (SIDs) and four mAs values. Image quality was evaluated using relative visual grading analysis with the reference image acquired on the x-ray tabletop. Contrast to noise ratio (CNR) was calculated. Effective dose was established using Monte Carlo simulation. Optimisation scores were derived as a figure of merit by dividing effective dose with visual image quality scores. Results: Visual image quality reduced significantly (p < 0.05) whilst effective dose increased significantly (p < 0.05) for images acquired on the trolley using identical acquisition parameters to the reference image. The trolley image with the highest optimisation score was acquired using 130 cm SID, 20 mAs, the standard mattress and platform not elevated. A difference of 12.8 mm was found between the image with the lowest and highest magnification factor (18%). Conclusion: The acquisition parameters used for AP pelvis on the x-ray tabletop are not transferable to trolley imaging and should be modified accordingly to compensate for the differences that exist. Exposure charts should be developed for trolley imaging to ensure optimal image quality at lowest possible dose. - Highlights: • Acquisition parameters used for AP pelvis imaging on a trolley need adapting from those used on the x-ray tabletop. • Radiation dose significantly increases for trolley imaging. • An increase in SID can reduce radiation dose and magnification for trolley imaging

  15. Dynamic Context Bindings, Infrastructural Support for Context-aware Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broens, T.H.F.

    2008-01-01

    The world is increasingly equipped with high-capacity, interconnected, mobile and embedded computing devices. Context-awareness provides an attractive approach to personalize applications such that they better suit the user’s needs in this rich computing environment. Context-aware applications use

  16. Context-aware Mobile Hypermedia: Concepts, Framework, and Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Frank Allan

    the requirements for context aware mobile hypermedia, both theoretically and practically, and is realized by: • A conceptual model for context-aware hypermedia, • HyCon, a framework for context-aware mobile hypermedia, • A range of hypermedia applications utilizing context-awareness to support mobile fieldwork...... moves beyond the desktop and into the physical environments we live and work in, it may be worthwhile to support these digital-physical relationships. The thesis addresses the definition, design and requirements for context-aware mobile hypermedia systems. Context-aware hypermedia applies ubiquitous...... of a framework for context-aware hypermedia, HyCon, implementing general abstractions for acquiring context information and demonstrating how traditional anchor based hypermedia models can be extended to encompass both digital and physical entities. Several prototype applications built atop HyCon are also...

  17. Middleware Support for Quality of Context in Pervasive Context-Aware Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sheikh, K.; Wegdam, M.; van Sinderen, Marten J.

    Middleware support for pervasive context-aware systems relieves context-aware applications from dealing with the complexity of context-specific operations such as context acquisition, aggregation, reasoning and distribution. The middleware decouples applications from the underlying heterogeneous

  18. Context-aware computing and self-managing systems

    CERN Document Server

    Dargie, Waltenegus

    2009-01-01

    Bringing together an extensively researched area with an emerging research issue, Context-Aware Computing and Self-Managing Systems presents the core contributions of context-aware computing in the development of self-managing systems, including devices, applications, middleware, and networks. The expert contributors reveal the usefulness of context-aware computing in developing autonomous systems that have practical application in the real world.The first chapter of the book identifies features that are common to both context-aware computing and autonomous computing. It offers a basic definit

  19. A Framework for Developing Context-aware Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vangalur Alagar

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware computing refers to a general class of mobile real-time reactive systems that continuously sense their physical environment, and adapt their behavior accordingly. Context-awareness is an essential inherent property of ubiquitous computing or pervasive computing systems. Such systems are much richer and more complex than many software systems. The richness mainly comes from context-awareness, the heterogeneity of mobile devices and their service types, while complexity arises in the multitude of adaptations enforced by system policies. In order to provide the true intended effect on the application of services without compromising on the richness, the complexity must be tamed. Towards this goal, this paper proposes a component-based architecture for a Context-aware Framework in which context, awareness capabilities, reactions, and adaptations are formally dealt with. Two formal languages are designed to express context situations and express workflow policies, which respectively lead to a context reasoner and to enforce adaptations.With these formalisms and a component design that can be formalized, this work fulfills a formal approach to construct context-aware applications. Two case studies are explained, of which one is a proof-of-concept case study from service-oriented domain. It is fully implemented to illustrate the expressiveness of the framework design and robustness of its implementation.

  20. Context aware sensing for health monitoring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landete, F.; Chen, W.; Bouwstra, S.; Feijs, L.M.G.; Bambang Oetomo, S.

    2012-01-01

    Health Monitoring systems with textile sensors offer more comfort compared to gel electrodes, however they tend to suffer from poor skin contact and motion artifacts. In order to improve the monitoring reliability, we propose to apply multiple sensors and context aware sensing. A context aware

  1. The Fermiac or Fermi's Trolley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coccetti, F.

    2016-03-01

    The Fermiac, known also as Fermi's trolley or Monte Carlo trolley, is an analog computer used to determine the change in time of the neutron population in a nuclear device, via the Monte Carlo method. It was invented by Enrico Fermi and constructed by Percy King at Los Alamos in 1947, and used for about two years. A replica of the Fermiac was built at INFN mechanical workshops of Bologna in 2015, on behalf of the Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche "Enrico Fermi", thanks to the original drawings made available by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This reproduction of the Fermiac was put in use, and a simulation was developed.

  2. Distributed context-aware systems

    CERN Document Server

    Ferreira, Paulo

    2014-01-01

    Context-aware systems aim to deliver a rich user experience by taking into?account the current user context (location, time, activity, etc.), possibly?captured without his intervention. For example, cell phones are now able to?continuously update a user's location while, at the same time, users execute?an increasing amount of activities online, where their actions may be easily?captured (e.g. login in a web application) without user consent. In the last decade, this topic has seen numerous developments that demonstrate its relevance and usefulness. The?trend was accelerated with the widespread?availability of powerful mobile devices (e.g. smartphones) that include a myriad of?sensors which enable applications to capture the user context. However, there are several challenges that must be addressed; we focus on scalability?(large number of context aware messages) and privacy (personal data that may be propagated).?This book is organized in five chapters starting with an introduction to?the theme raising the mo...

  3. GENDER AND SHOPPING BEHAVIOR OUTCOMES IN THE CONTEXT OF SHOPPING CENTERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Nicoleta ABRUDAN

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Understanding consumer behavior can be divided into three parts: before visiting the stores or shopping centers, during the visit, and after. From the point of view of the final result intended by retailers, satisfying customers in terms of profitability, all three components are equally important. A relevant segmentation criterion for most products and stores is gender. Previous research suggests that gender influences shopping motivations, the way people shop and shopping behavior outcomes. The purpose of this article is to investigate if there are, indeed, differences between shopping behavior outputs of women and men (affective loyalty (satisfaction and conative loyalty, as found by certain researchers, and also in terms of the factors that influence the formation of conative loyalty. The results confirm that there are few significant differences in the satisfaction level, although for women all values are slightly higher, and none in the repurchase and recommendation intentions between the two genders. Conative loyalty formation (defined as intent to repurchase and recommend takes place differently between the two genders.

  4. Efficacy of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys: A call for a basic standard and layout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Sian E; Boleat, Elizabeth; Goodwin, Alison; Sheikh, Asme; Goonasekera, Chulananda

    2015-01-01

    Providing safe anaesthesia to children especially in emergency situations goes hand in hand with instant availability of appropriately sized equipment and monitoring. This is best achieved using a designated paediatric anaesthetic trolley containing essential equipment. Guidance for the contents of such trolleys is neither explicit nor standard. We used a survey and a qualitative enquiry to develop a checklist suitable for standardisation of contents and layout of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys. We conducted an observational study of our current practice and paediatric anaesthetic trolleys in a tertiary care hospital. We also performed a qualitative enquiry from experienced paediatric anaesthetists and operating department practitioners.We developed an empirical checklist to ensure the minimum 'essential' equipment is available on these trolleys and implemented a standard layout to facilitate its use. We identified 11 areas in our hospital where anaesthesia is provided to children, each with a designated paediatric anaesthetic trolley. There were considerable deficiencies of items in all areas with no standard pattern or layout. Different types of trolleys contributed to the confusion. In addition, overstocking of inappropriate items hindered its efficient use. Standardising the contents and layout of the paediatric anaesthetic trolley is an essential pre-requisite for safer paediatric anaesthetic practice.

  5. Awareness of Entities, Activities and Contexts in Ambient Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Bent Bruun

    2013-01-01

    Ambient systems are modeled by entities, activities and contexts, where entities exist in contexts and engage in activities. A context supports a dynamic collection of entities by services and offers awareness information about the entities. Activities also exist in contexts and model ongoing...... collaborations between entities. Activities and local contexts also obtain awareness information from the context about the dynamic collection of entities. Similarly activities, local contexts and entities are offered awareness information about activities and local contexts....

  6. Service-oriented Context-aware Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    László Kovács

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Location- and context-aware services are emerging technologies in mobile and desktop environments, however, most of them are difficult to use and do not seem to be beneficial enough. Our research focuses on designing and creating a service-oriented framework that helps location- and context-aware, client-service type application development and use. Location information is combined with other contexts such as the users' history, preferences and disabilities. The framework also handles the spatial model of the environment (e.g. map of a room or a building as a context. The framework is built on a semantic backend where the ontologies are represented using the OWL description language. The use of ontologies enables the framework to run inference tasks and to easily adapt to new context types. The framework contains a compatibility layer for positioning devices, which hides the technical differences of positioning technologies and enables the combination of location data of various sources.

  7. Hybrid context aware recommender systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Rajshree; Tyagi, Jaya; Singh, Sandeep Kumar; Alam, Taj

    2017-10-01

    Recommender systems and context awareness is currently a vital field of research. Most hybrid recommendation systems implement content based and collaborative filtering techniques whereas this work combines context and collaborative filtering. The paper presents a hybrid context aware recommender system for books and movies that gives recommendations based on the user context as well as user or item similarity. It also addresses the issue of dimensionality reduction using weighted pre filtering based on dynamically entered user context and preference of context. This unique step helps to reduce the size of dataset for collaborative filtering. Bias subtracted collaborative filtering is used so as to consider the relative rating of a particular user and not the absolute values. Cosine similarity is used as a metric to determine the similarity between users or items. The unknown ratings are calculated and evaluated using MSE (Mean Squared Error) in test and train datasets. The overall process of recommendation has helped to personalize recommendations and give more accurate results with reduced complexity in collaborative filtering.

  8. Representations for Supporting Students' Context Awareness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demetriadis, Stavros N.; Papadopoulos, Pantelis M.

    2005-01-01

    The context of the specific situation where knowledge is applied affects significantly the problem solving process by forcing people to negotiate and reconsider the priorities of their mental representations and problem solving operators, in relation to this process. In this work we argue...... that students’ context awareness can significantly be enhanced by the use of appropriate external representations which guide them to activate context inducing cognitive processes. By embedding such representations in a case based learning environment we expect to guide students’ processing of the rich...... in contextual information material, in a way that improves both their context awareness and metacontextual competence. After presenting a context model, we discuss the design of such representations based on this model and explain why we expect that their use in a learning situation would enhance context...

  9. Model-Driven Development of Context-Aware Services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Andrade Almeida, João; Iacob, Maria Eugenia; Jonkers, Henk; Quartel, Dick; Eliassen, Frank; Montresor, Alberto

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, we define a model-driven design trajectory for context-aware services consisting of three levels of models with different degrees of abstraction and platform independence. The models at the highest level of platform independence describe the behaviour of a context-aware service and

  10. Multipurpose layout drawing of metalware of bridge crane load trolley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goncharov K.A.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Multipurpose layout drawing of metalware of bridge crane load trolley is proposed. The numerical analysis of proposed layout drawing is conducted using the example of bridge crane load trolley with capacity of 20 t. This analysis is carried out using the finite element method.

  11. Designing and Developing Automatic Trolley for Washing and Dressing the Wounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golvardi Yazdi M. S.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:Many items are needed for dressing including sterile dressing set, antiseptic and washing solutions, leucoplast tape, waste bin for infectious garbage, waste bin for noninfectious garbage, safe disposal trash for sharp cutting instruments, bedpan and sometimes drugs. All the items are laid out on a simple wheeled trolley. The multiplicity of items together with problems in placing tools on trolley, forgetting some items, disturbing sterile condition, falling and damaging equipment and the need for at least two people for each procedure, all are the reasons to design and develop Automatic Trolley for Washing and Dressing the Wounds. Material and Method: To develop a mobile unit which meets our needs for dressing, the trolley patents registered in America and different companies were evaluated as well as the materials and methods used while dressing were considered. Results: Automatic Trolley for Washing and Dressing the Wounds was designed and developed. It comprises the followings: drawer, waste bin for infectious garbage, waste bin for noninfectious garbage, shelves for serum and betadine solution, serum stand, peristaltic pump, flexible tube for connecting serum, a place for bedpan, foot pedal for serum flow, two eye-sensor chambers for solution betadine and scrub, an auxiliary work surface. Conclusion: Due to the usual requirements for dressing, we have designed an equipped mobile unit which covers all the objectives of dressing and increases the speed of procedure. Moreover, due to the contrived equipment on the trolley, procedures are done quickly and second person is not required to assist. Automatic Trolley for Washing and Dressing the Wounds is made up of stainless steel which could be mass housing and commercializing which would play a deserving role in improving the fundamentals of health care and wound treatment.

  12. Investigating the construct validity of quality measures influencing online shopping in a South African context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hung-Joubert Yu-ting

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Online shopping has become popular over the years and is a widely used way to purchase goods and services. For online retailers to succeed, it is important that they have a quality website to attract and retain customers. The aim of this study was to investigate the construct validity of three respective measurement instruments related to website quality factors, namely; system, information and service quality factors, which may influence consumers within the online shopping environment in a South African context. Primary data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. The demographic and online shopping profile of the sample are presented and followed by confirmatory and exploratory factors analyses on the three instruments. The confirmatory factor analysis found poor fit for the original hypothesised models for each of the scales; further exploratory factor analyses revealed slightly different dimensionalities underlying the scales, yet these were still somewhat aligned with the theoretical framework from which the original scales were derived. Despite this, the study provides a platform for future revision of the scales and future research into website quality factors within the online shopping environment in a South African context.

  13. HyCon: A Framework for Context-aware Mobile Hypermedia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bouvin, Niels Olof; Christensen, Bent Guldbjerg; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2003-01-01

    be sensed automatically and/or be provided by the user directly. When mobile, the user may obtain context-aware hypermedia support on a variety of small and medium sized computing platforms such as mobile phones, PDAs, tablet PCs, and laptops. This paper introduces the HyCon (HyperContext) framework......This paper introduces the notion of context-aware mobile hypermedia. Context awareness means to take the users' context such as location, time, objective, community relations, etc., into account when browsing, searching, annotating, and linking. Attributes constituting the context of the user may...

  14. Context incorporation using context-aware language features

    OpenAIRE

    Vlachostergiou, Aggeliki; Marandianos, George; Kollias, Stefanos

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates the problem of context incorporation into human language systems and particular in Sentiment Analysis (SA) systems. So far, the analysis of how different features, when incorporated into such systems, improve their performance, has been discussed in a number of studies. However, a complete picture of their effectiveness remains unexplored. With this work, we attempt to extend the pool of the context - aware language features at the sentence level and to provide the ...

  15. Eyes Wide Shopped: Shopping Situations Trigger Arousal in Impulsive Buyers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serfas, Benjamin G.; Büttner, Oliver B.; Florack, Arnd

    2014-01-01

    The present study proposes arousal as an important mechanism driving buying impulsiveness. We examined the effect of buying impulsiveness on arousal in non-shopping and shopping contexts. In an eye-tracking experiment, we measured pupil dilation while participants viewed and rated pictures of shopping scenes and non-shopping scenes. The results demonstrated that buying impulsiveness is closely associated with arousal as response to viewing pictures of shopping scenes. This pertained for hedonic shopping situations as well as for utilitarian shopping situations. Importantly, the effect did not emerge for non-shopping scenes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that arousal of impulsive buyers is independent from cognitive evaluation of scenes in the pictures. PMID:25489955

  16. Eyes wide shopped: shopping situations trigger arousal in impulsive buyers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serfas, Benjamin G; Büttner, Oliver B; Florack, Arnd

    2014-01-01

    The present study proposes arousal as an important mechanism driving buying impulsiveness. We examined the effect of buying impulsiveness on arousal in non-shopping and shopping contexts. In an eye-tracking experiment, we measured pupil dilation while participants viewed and rated pictures of shopping scenes and non-shopping scenes. The results demonstrated that buying impulsiveness is closely associated with arousal as response to viewing pictures of shopping scenes. This pertained for hedonic shopping situations as well as for utilitarian shopping situations. Importantly, the effect did not emerge for non-shopping scenes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that arousal of impulsive buyers is independent from cognitive evaluation of scenes in the pictures.

  17. Applications of Context-Aware Computing in Hospital Work - Examples and Design Principles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bardram, Jacob Eyvind

    2004-01-01

    Context-awareness is a key concept in ubiquitous computing, which sometimes seems to be a technology looking for a purpose. In this paper we report on the application of context-aware computing for medical work in hospitals, which has appeared to be a strong case for applying context-aware comput...... of designing, developing, and evaluating context-aware clinical applications, the paper outlines some key design principles for a context-awareness framework, supporting the development and deployment of context-aware clinical computer applications.......Context-awareness is a key concept in ubiquitous computing, which sometimes seems to be a technology looking for a purpose. In this paper we report on the application of context-aware computing for medical work in hospitals, which has appeared to be a strong case for applying context......-aware computing. We present the design of a context-aware pill container and a context-aware hospital bed, both of which reacts and adapts according to what is happening in their context. The applications have been evaluated in a number of workshop with clinicians and patients. Based on this empirical work...

  18. Eyes wide shopped: shopping situations trigger arousal in impulsive buyers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin G Serfas

    Full Text Available The present study proposes arousal as an important mechanism driving buying impulsiveness. We examined the effect of buying impulsiveness on arousal in non-shopping and shopping contexts. In an eye-tracking experiment, we measured pupil dilation while participants viewed and rated pictures of shopping scenes and non-shopping scenes. The results demonstrated that buying impulsiveness is closely associated with arousal as response to viewing pictures of shopping scenes. This pertained for hedonic shopping situations as well as for utilitarian shopping situations. Importantly, the effect did not emerge for non-shopping scenes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that arousal of impulsive buyers is independent from cognitive evaluation of scenes in the pictures.

  19. CAreDroid: Adaptation Framework for Android Context-Aware Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmalaki, Salma; Wanner, Lucas; Srivastava, Mani

    2015-09-01

    Context-awareness is the ability of software systems to sense and adapt to their physical environment. Many contemporary mobile applications adapt to changing locations, connectivity states, available computational and energy resources, and proximity to other users and devices. Nevertheless, there is little systematic support for context-awareness in contemporary mobile operating systems. Because of this, application developers must build their own context-awareness adaptation engines, dealing directly with sensors and polluting application code with complex adaptation decisions. In this paper, we introduce CAreDroid, which is a framework that is designed to decouple the application logic from the complex adaptation decisions in Android context-aware applications. In this framework, developers are required- only-to focus on the application logic by providing a list of methods that are sensitive to certain contexts along with the permissible operating ranges under those contexts. At run time, CAreDroid monitors the context of the physical environment and intercepts calls to sensitive methods, activating only the blocks of code that best fit the current physical context. CAreDroid is implemented as part of the Android runtime system. By pushing context monitoring and adaptation into the runtime system, CAreDroid eases the development of context-aware applications and increases their efficiency. In particular, case study applications implemented using CAre-Droid are shown to have: (1) at least half lines of code fewer and (2) at least 10× more efficient in execution time compared to equivalent context-aware applications that use only standard Android APIs.

  20. Reduction of discomfort in pushing an industrial trolley using ergonomics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, M. Wilson; Vijay, S. J.; Vasudev, K. L.; Darius Gnanaraj, S.

    2017-11-01

    Poor design of industrial trolleys lead to more compressive stress on the low back of industrial workers. The research work reported in this paper recommends a handle height of an industrial trolley for use by the local population, which reduces the compressive stress on the low back. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory on five subjects of varying stature 165, 173, 174, 175 and 182 cm, with five different handle heights 90, 95, 100, 105 and 110 cm. A four wheeled trolley has been used to conduct the experiments. Caster wheels diameters of 100, 125 and 150 mm made of polyurethane were used. It is found that a handle height of 110 cm allows the users to exert minimum force during the initial pushing. A biomechanical model was employed to calculate the compressive force experienced by L5/S1 disc and it is found that the compressive load will be the least when the handle height is 110 cm. Optimization of handle height using Genetic Algorithm approach, Heart rate analysis and EMG analysis confirm that a handle height of 110 cm and a wheel diameter of 150 mm will reduce the discomfort of industry workers pushing trolleys.

  1. EgoSENSE: A Framework for Context-Aware Mobile Applications Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. M. Milic

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a context-aware mobile framework (or middleware, intended to support the implementation of context-aware mobile services. The overview of basic concepts, architecture and components of context-aware mobile framework is given. The mobile framework provide acquisition and management of context, where raw data sensed from physical (hardware sensors and virtual (software sensors are combined, processed and analyzed to provide high-level context and situation of the user to the mobile context-aware applications in near real-time. Using demo mobile health application, its most important components and functions, such as these supposed to detect urgent or alarming health conditions of a mobile user and to initiate appropriate actions demonstrated.

  2. The Fermiac or Fermi's Trolley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coccetti, F.

    2016-01-01

    The Fermiac, known also as Fermi’s trolley or Monte Carlo trolley, is an analog computer used to determine the change in time of the neutron population in a nuclear device, via the Monte Carlo method. It was invented by Enrico Fermi and constructed by Percy King at Los Alamos in 1947, and used for about two years. A replica of the Fermiac was built at INFN mechanical workshops of Bologna in 2015, on behalf of the 'Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche' “Enrico Fermi”, thanks to the original drawings made available by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This reproduction of the Fermiac was put in use, and a simulation was developed.

  3. A Multi-Temporal Context-Aware System for Competences Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, João H.; Barbosa, Jorge L.; Kich, Marcos; Brito, Lucas

    2015-01-01

    The evolution of computing technology and wireless networks has contributed to the miniaturization of mobile devices and their increase in power, providing services anywhere and anytime. In this scenario, applications have considered the user's contexts to make decisions (Context Awareness). Context-aware applications have enabled new…

  4. A Formal Model for Context-Awareness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun; Bunde-Pedersen, Jonathan

    here is a definite lack of formal support for modeling real- istic context-awareness in pervasive computing applications. The Conawa calculus presented in this paper provides mechanisms for modeling complex and interwoven sets of context-information by extending ambient calculus with new construc...

  5. Introduction to This Special Issue on Context-Aware Computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Thomas P.; Dourish, Paul

    2001-01-01

    Discusses pervasive, or ubiquitous, computing; explains the notion of context; and defines context-aware computing as the key to disperse and enmesh computation into our lives. Considers context awareness in human-computer interaction and describes the broad topic areas of the essays included in this special issue. (LRW)

  6. Multi Canister Overpack (MCO) Handling Machine Trolley Seismic Uplift Constraint Design Loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    SWENSON, C.E.

    2000-01-01

    The MCO Handling Machine (MHM) trolley moves along the top of the MHM bridge girders on east-west oriented rails. To prevent trolley wheel uplift during a seismic event, passive uplift constraints are provided as shown in Figure 1-1. North-south trolley wheel movement is prevented by flanges on the trolley wheels. When the MHM is positioned over a Multi-Canister Overpack (MCO) storage tube, east-west seismic restraints are activated to prevent trolley movement during MCO handling. The active seismic constraints consist of a plunger, which is inserted into slots positioned along the tracks as shown in Figure 1-1. When the MHM trolley is moving between storage tube positions, the active seismic restraints are not engaged. The MHM has been designed and analyzed in accordance with ASME NOG-1-1995. The ALSTHOM seismic analysis (Reference 3) reported seismic uplift restraint loading and EDERER performed corresponding structural calculations. The ALSTHOM and EDERER calculations were performed with the east-west seismic restraints activated and the uplift restraints experiencing only vertical loading. In support of development of the CSB Safety Analysis Report (SAR), an evaluation of the MHM seismic response was requested for the case where the east-west trolley restraints are not engaged. For this case, the associated trolley movements would result in east-west lateral loads on the uplift constraints due to friction, as shown in Figure 1-2. During preliminary evaluations, questions were raised as to whether the EDERER calculations considered the latest ALSTHOM seismic analysis loads (See NCR No. 00-SNFP-0008, Reference 5). Further evaluation led to the conclusion that the EDERER calculations used appropriate vertical loading, but the uplift restraints would need to be re-analyzed and modified to account for lateral loading. The disposition of NCR 00-SNFP-0008 will track the redesign and modification effort. The purpose of this calculation is to establish bounding seismic

  7. Analysis of Characteristics of Power Consumption for Context-Aware Mobile Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meeyeon Lee

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, a large portion of smartphone applications (Apps has targeted context-aware services. They aim to perceive users’ real-time context like his/her location, actions, or even emotion, and to provide various customized services based on the inferred context. However, context-awareness in mobile environments has some challenging issues due to limitations of devices themselves. Limited power is regarded as the most critical problem in context-awareness on smartphones. Many studies have tried to develop low-power methods, but most of them have focused on the power consumption of H/W modules of smartphones such as CPU and LCD. Only a few research papers have recently started to present some S/W-based approaches to improve the power consumption. That is, previous works did not consider energy consumed by context-awareness of Apps. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on the power consumption of context-aware Apps. We analyze the characteristics of context-aware Apps in a perspective of the power consumption, and then define two main factors which significantly influence the power consumption: a sort of context that context-aware Apps require for their services and a type of ways that a user uses them. The experimental result shows the reasonability and the possibility to develop low-power methods based on our analysis. That is, our analysis presented in this paper will be a foundation for energy-efficient context-aware services in mobile environments.

  8. Nonlinear Vibration of Ladle Crane due to a Moving Trolley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunsheng Xin

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The structural vibration of the main beam of a crane causes fatigue damage and discomfort to the driver. The swing of the payload has an effect on positioning precision, especially for a ladle crane, and this directly affects production safety. To study the influence of system parameters on the vibration of a crane’s main beam and the angle of the payload, a system consisting of the main beam, trolley, payload, and cabin was constructed. A rigid-flexible coupling dynamic model of a moving trolley with a hanging payload that moves on the flexible main beam with a concentrated cabin mass is established, and the direct integration method is used to solve the nonlinear differential equations of system vibration, which are obtained through Lagrange’s equation. Then, the time domain responses of the flexible main beam, payload angle, and cabin vibration are obtained. The influences of the trolley running speed, quality of the payload, and quality and position of the cabin on the vibration of the main beam and payload angle are analyzed. The results indicate that the amplitude of the main beam is directly proportional to the quality of the trolley, payload, and cab; the position of the cabin is closer to the mid-span; the amplitude of the main beam is larger; the structural damping has some influence on the vibration of the main beam; and the swing angle of the payload is related to the maximum running speed of the trolley, acceleration time, and length of the wire rope. In order to reduce the vibration of the main beam and cabin, the connection stiffness of the cabin should be ensured during installation.

  9. ContextProvider: Context awareness for medical monitoring applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Michael; Meyers, Christopher; Wang, An-I Andy; Tyson, Gary

    2011-01-01

    Smartphones are sensor-rich and Internet-enabled. With their on-board sensors, web services, social media, and external biosensors, smartphones can provide contextual information about the device, user, and environment, thereby enabling the creation of rich, biologically driven applications. We introduce ContextProvider, a framework that offers a unified, query-able interface to contextual data on the device. Unlike other context-based frameworks, ContextProvider offers interactive user feedback, self-adaptive sensor polling, and minimal reliance on third-party infrastructure. ContextProvider also allows for rapid development of new context and bio-aware applications. Evaluation of ContextProvider shows the incorporation of an additional monitoring sensor into the framework with fewer than 100 lines of Java code. With adaptive sensor monitoring, power consumption per sensor can be reduced down to 1% overhead. Finally, through the use of context, accuracy of data interpretation can be improved by up to 80%.

  10. Context Aware Systems, Methods and Trends in Smart Home Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robles, Rosslin John; Kim, Tai-Hoon

    Context aware applications respond and adapt to changes in the computing environment. It is the concept of leveraging information about the end user to improve the quality of the interaction. New technologies in context-enriched services will use location, presence, social attributes, and other environmental information to anticipate an end user's immediate needs, offering more-sophisticated, situation-aware and usable functions. Smart homes connect all the devices and appliances in your home so they can communicate with each other and with you. Context-awareness can be applied to Smart Home technology. In this paper, we discuss the context-aware tools for development of Smart Home Systems.

  11. Swisstrolley 3 - An articulated trolley bus; SWISSTROLLEY 3. Gelenktrolleybus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gisler, H.-J.

    2006-07-01

    This illustrated final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) takes a look at the Swisstrolley 3 low-floor, articulated trolley bus developed in Switzerland by the Hess AG company. Various features of the variants of the trolley bus, including single vehicle, single and double-articulated buses and bus trailers, are discussed. The reductions achieved in energy consumption, weight and noise are discussed. Typical values for power consumption are presented in graphical form. Economic viability and passenger-friendliness are examined, as are possibilities for further improvement.

  12. Environment-Aware Production Schedulingfor Paint Shops in Automobile Manufacturing: A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rui

    2017-12-25

    The traditional way of scheduling production processes often focuses on profit-driven goals (such as cycle time or material cost) while tending to overlook the negative impacts of manufacturing activities on the environment in the form of carbon emissions and other undesirable by-products. To bridge the gap, this paper investigates an environment-aware production scheduling problem that arises from a typical paint shop in the automobile manufacturing industry. In the studied problem, an objective function is defined to minimize the emission of chemical pollutants caused by the cleaning of painting devices which must be performed each time before a color change occurs. Meanwhile, minimization of due date violations in the downstream assembly shop is also considered because the two shops are interrelated and connected by a limited-capacity buffer. First, we have developed a mixed-integer programming formulation to describe this bi-objective optimization problem. Then, to solve problems of practical size, we have proposed a novel multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm characterized by problem-specific improvement strategies. A branch-and-bound algorithm is designed for accurately assessing the most promising solutions. Finally, extensive computational experiments have shown that the proposed MOPSO is able to match the solution quality of an exact solver on small instances and outperform two state-of-the-art multi-objective optimizers in literature on large instances with up to 200 cars.

  13. Framework for Designing Context-Aware Learning Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tortorella, Richard A. W.; Kinshuk; Chen, Nian-Shing

    2018-01-01

    Today people learn in many diverse locations and contexts, beyond the confines of classical brick and mortar classrooms. This trend is ever increasing, progressing hand-in-hand with the progress of technology. Context-aware learning systems are systems which adapt to the learner's context, providing tailored learning for a particular learning…

  14. Experiences from Real-World Deployment of Context-Aware Technologies in a Hospital Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Hansen, Thomas Riisgaard; Mogensen, Martin

    2006-01-01

    and discuss our experiences from an ongoing deployment of a suite of context-aware technologies and applications in a hospital environment, including a context-awareness infrastructure, a location tracking system, and two context-aware applications running on interactive wall displays and mobile phones. Based......Context-aware computing is a central concept in ubiquitous computing and many suggestions for context-aware technologies and applications have been proposed. There is, however, little evidence on how these concepts and technologies play out in a real-world setting. In this paper we describe...... on an analysis of the use of these systems, we observe that many of the ideas behind context-aware computing are valid, and that the context-aware applications are useful for clinicians in their work. By reflecting on the nature of the designed context-aware technologies, we present a model which states...

  15. Effectiveness and efficiency of the two trolley system as an infection control mechanism in the operating theatre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuisawana, Viliame

    2009-11-01

    A good infection control manager understands the need to prevent a complete cycle of infection. The Infection Control Working Group Manual of Fiji, emphasised that the Cycle of Infection is the series of stage in which infection is spread. Operating theatres have infection control protocols. Most equipments and instruments used in operating theatre circulate within the theatre. The theatre trolleys are a main component in managing an operating theatre but the least recognised. This paper reviews the effectiveness and efficiency of the current two-trolley system as an infection control mechanism in theatre. The paper will discuss infection control using the current trolley system in relation to the layout of Labasa Hospital operating theatre, human resource, equipment standard and random swab results. The following are random swab results of theatre equipments taken by the Infection Control Nurse from 2006 to 2008. The Labasa Hospital Infection Committee have discouraged random swab sample from mid 2008 based on new guidelines on infection control. The two trolley system, in which an allocated outside trolley transports patients from the ward to a semi-sterile area in theatre. The inside trolley which transports the patient to the operating table. The two trolley system means more trolleys, extra staffs for lifting, additional handling of very sick patients, congestion and delay in taking patients to operating table in theatres should be considered. The one-trolley system in theatre greatly reduces the chances of manually lifting patients, thus reducing the risk of patient injury from fall and risk of back injuries to nurses. There are other evident based practices which can compliment the one trolley system for an effective infection control mechanism in theatres. The Fiji Infection Control Manual (2002) emphases the importance of regularly cleaning the environment and equipments in theatre but there is never a mention about using a two trolley system as an

  16. Turning shopping habits of young consumers into green

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bialkova, Svetlana; van 't Erve, Sanne; van Hoof, Joris Jasper; Pruyn, Adriaan T.H.; Bigné, Enrique

    2014-01-01

    Consumers have strong shopping habits, and although being aware of sustainable issues, they hardly do green shopping. Therefore, a challenging question is: how to break the old shopping habits and turn those into green? The current study addresses this question looking at barriers and potential

  17. Context-aware modeling of neuronal morphologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin eTorben-Nielsen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal morphologies are pivotal for brain functioning: physical overlap between dendrites and axons constrain the circuit topology, and the precise shape and composition of dendrites determine the integration of inputs to produce an output signal. At the same time, morphologies are highly diverse and variant. The variance, presumably, originates from neurons developing in a densely packed brain substrate where they interact (e.g., repulsion or attraction with other actors in this substrate. However, when studying neurons their context is never part of the analysis and they are treated as if they existed in isolation.Here we argue that to fully understand neuronal morphology and its variance it is important to consider neurons in relation to each other and to other actors in the surrounding brain substrate, i.e., their context. We propose a context-aware computational framework, NeuroMaC, in which large numbers of neurons can be grown simultaneously according to growth rules expressed in terms of interactions between the developing neuron and the surrounding brain substrate.As a proof of principle, we demonstrate that by using NeuroMaC we can generate accurate virtual morphologies of distinct classes both in isolation and as part of neuronal forests. Accuracy is validated against population statistics of experimentally reconstructed morphologies. We show that context-aware generation of neurons can explain characteristics of variation. Indeed, plausible variation is an inherent property of the morphologies generated by context-aware rules. We speculate about the applicability of this framework to investigate morphologies and circuits, to classify healthy and pathological morphologies, and to generate large quantities of morphologies for large-scale modeling.

  18. Handling trolley for Argonne M8, Pye Mo 1815, Pye Heavy Duty, etc. remote manipulators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roussel, E.; Labiche, M.; Chevallier, E.

    1962-01-01

    The removal and installation of remote manipulators and periscopes in hot cells are delicate operations requiring a specific handling trolley. This note describes the technical specifications of such a trolley having the following advantages: occupies a minimal space when not in use, easy and efficient fastening and monitoring, smooth moving of the remote manipulators during removal or installation, trolley stability and immobility during operation, requires only two operators

  19. Commuter Shopping : A study in understanding commuting in the context of shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Andersson, Åsa; Skoog, Sara; Svensson, Johanna

    2014-01-01

    Background For ages people have commuted to work, or to other activities, located outside their home municipality. Statements found indicate that the basic decision for commuting are based on utility maximisation and no matter what the character of the benefit is; it should be higher than what can be found closer to the home location. This thesis aims to investigate if people are also commuting with the purpose of obtaining benefits from shopping. The shopping location will in this thesis be ...

  20. Forced-choice decision-making in modified trolley dilemma situations: a virtual reality and eye tracking study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skulmowski, Alexander; Bunge, Andreas; Kaspar, Kai; Pipa, Gordon

    2014-01-01

    Based on the frameworks of dual-process theories, we examined the interplay between intuitive and controlled cognitive processes related to moral and social judgments. In a virtual reality (VR) setting we performed an experiment investigating the progression from fast, automatic decisions towards more controlled decisions over multiple trials in the context of a sacrificing scenario. We repeatedly exposed participants to a modified ten-to-one version and to three one-to-one versions of the trolley dilemma in VR and varied avatar properties, such as their gender and ethnicity, and their orientation in space. We also investigated the influence of arousing music on decisions. Our experiment replicated the behavioral pattern observed in studies using text versions of the trolley dilemma, thereby validating the use of virtual environments in research on moral judgments. Additionally, we found a general tendency towards sacrificing male individuals which correlated with socially desirable responding. As indicated by differences in response times, the ten-to-one version of the trolley dilemma seems to be faster to decide than decisions requiring comparisons based on specific avatar properties as a result of differing moral content. Building upon research on music-based emotion induction, we used music to induce emotional arousal on a physiological level as measured by pupil diameter. We found a specific temporal signature displaying a peak in arousal around the moment of decision. This signature occurs independently of the overall arousal level. Furthermore, we found context-dependent gaze durations during sacrificing decisions, leading participants to look prolonged at their victim if they had to choose between avatars differing in gender. Our study confirmed that moral decisions can be explained within the framework of dual-process theories and shows that pupillometric measurements are a promising tool for investigating affective responses in dilemma situations.

  1. Forced-choice decision-making in modified trolley dilemma situations: a virtual reality and eye tracking study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander eSkulmowski

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Based on the frameworks of dual-process theories, we examined the interplay between intuitive and controlled cognitive processes related to moral and social judgments. In a virtual reality setting we performed an experiment investigating the progression from fast, automatic decisions towards more controlled decisions over multiple trials in the context of a sacrificing scenario. We repeatedly exposed participants to a modified ten-to-one version and to three one-to-one versions of the trolley dilemma in virtual reality and varied avatar properties, such as their gender and ethnicity, and their orientation in space. We also investigated the influence of arousing music on decisions. Our experiment replicated the behavioral pattern observed in studies using text versions of the trolley dilemma, thereby validating the use of virtual environments in research on moral judgments. Additionally, we found a general tendency towards sacrificing male individuals which correlated with socially desirable responding. As indicated by differences in response times, the ten-to-one version of the trolley dilemma seems to be faster to decide than decisions requiring comparisons based on specific avatar properties as a result of differing moral content. Building upon research on music-based emotion induction, we used music to induce emotional arousal on a physiological level as measured by pupil diameter. We found a specific temporal signature displaying a peak in arousal around the moment of decision. This signature occurs independently of the overall arousal level. Furthermore, we found context-dependent gaze durations during sacrificing decisions, leading participants to look prolonged at their victim if they had to choose between avatars differing in gender. Our study confirmed that moral decisions can be explained within the framework of dual-process theories and shows that pupillometric measurements are a promising tool for investigating affective responses in

  2. Experimental analysis of the influence of context awareness on service discovery in PNs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Nickelsen, Anders; Nielsen, Jimmy Jessen

    2006-01-01

    In this paper we present an experimental prototype for context aware service discovery specifically aimed for Personal Networks. In the paper the concept of context aware service discovery, an architecture and the necessary components for performing context aware service discovery in Personal...... Networks is presented. The paper also presents a set of preliminary performance results of context aware service discovery. This is compared to normal service discovery, and as expected context awareness costs in performance....

  3. Online Shopping Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Shahzad, Hashim

    2015-01-01

    Online shopping is a very much developed phenomena in Scandinavian countries. Different online factors impact online consumers’ behavior differently depending on the environment of different regions. Sweden is one of the developed and technologically advanced countries. To see the impact of different factors on consumers’ online shopping behavior, the purpose of this study is to analyse the factors that influence consumers’ online shopping behavior in Sweden’s context. One of the objectives o...

  4. Recognizing the Importance of Brand Awareness on E-commerce Sales while Shopping on Internet: Empirical Analysis of European Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atallah Al-Shatnawi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The reason to conduct this research is to investigate and recognize the importance of brand awareness on E-commerce sales while shopping on internet. Empirical analysis of seven top internet purchasing European countries is done by using the report of (Eurostat’s 2011. The units of analysis are those individuals who are residing in Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Sweden and Norway making purchases from the internet. Data is collected from the report of Eurostat’s for the ten years from 2002 – 2011. To find out the relationship between explanatory and Dependent Variable (DV in the online business world, the study has done statistical analyses which are implemented by using E-views 5 software. The main motive to carry out the study is to find out the impact and importance of brand image/ awareness in the minds of online shopper, when they go for shopping on internet. Findings of this study illustrate significant positive relationship between brand awareness an E-commerce sale. Findings are beneficial for those companies which are working on internet and selling their products or services, so with the help of results of this study they can be able to know European online shopper’s mind and can develop certain strategies in order to sell the most.

  5. Determination of vertical pressures on running wheels of freight trolleys of bridge type cranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncharov, K. A.; Denisov, I. A.

    2018-03-01

    The problematic issues of the design of the bridge-type trolley crane, connected with ensuring uniform load distribution between the running wheels, are considered. The shortcomings of the existing methods of calculation of reference pressures are described. The results of the analytical calculation of the pressure of the support wheels are compared with the results of the numerical solution of this problem for various schemes of trolley supporting frames. Conclusions are given on the applicability of various methods for calculating vertical pressures, depending on the type of metal structures used in the trolley.

  6. Architectural support for mobile context-aware applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dockhorn Costa, P.; Ferreira Pires, Luis; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Khalil Ibrahim, I.

    2006-01-01

    Context-awareness has emerged as an important and desirable feature in distributed mobile systems, since it benefits from the changes in the user's context to dynamically tailor services to the user's current situation and needs. This chapter presents our efforts on designing a flexible

  7. C-Arc: A Novel Architecture for Next Generation Context- Aware ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper, the common architecture principles of context-aware systems are presented and the crucial contextaware architecture issues to support the next generation context-aware systems which will enable seamless service provisioning in heterogeneous, dynamically varying computing and communication ...

  8. Trust management support for context-aware service platforms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neisse, R.; Wegdam, M.; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Aldini, A.; Bogliolo, A.

    High quality context information retrieved from trustworthy context providers allows a more reliable context-aware service adaption but also implies a higher risk for the service users in case of privacy violations. In this chapter we present a trust management model that support users and providers

  9. Designing middleware for context awareness in agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjær, Kristian Ellebæk

    2008-01-01

    feeding- and ventilation systems to tractors have build in computers, and, in most cases, can also be queried or controlled remotely. These systems provide an excellent base for gathering context, which may then be exploited to ease the work of the farmer. Furthermore, additional sensors may collect......More than a decade ago, pervasive computing and context awareness where envisioned as the future of computing [16], initial work concentrating on location, typically indoor. Today, small, handheld computers of various forms and purposes are becoming pervasive in the form of PDAs, mobile phones......, and increasingly advanced GPS units. However, except for location based services, like knowing your location based on GPS, context awareness has not really materialised yet. In modern agriculture, computers are pervasive, but only in the sense that they are present everywhere. All types of equipment, ranging from...

  10. Intelligent Context-Aware and Adaptive Interface for Mobile LBS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Jiangfan; Liu, Yanhong

    2015-01-01

    Context-aware user interface plays an important role in many human-computer Interaction tasks of location based services. Although spatial models for context-aware systems have been studied extensively, how to locate specific spatial information for users is still not well resolved, which is important in the mobile environment where location based services users are impeded by device limitations. Better context-aware human-computer interaction models of mobile location based services are needed not just to predict performance outcomes, such as whether people will be able to find the information needed to complete a human-computer interaction task, but to understand human processes that interact in spatial query, which will in turn inform the detailed design of better user interfaces in mobile location based services. In this study, a context-aware adaptive model for mobile location based services interface is proposed, which contains three major sections: purpose, adjustment, and adaptation. Based on this model we try to describe the process of user operation and interface adaptation clearly through the dynamic interaction between users and the interface. Then we show how the model applies users' demands in a complicated environment and suggested the feasibility by the experimental results.

  11. Consumer value of context aware and location based mobile services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Vos, Henny; Haaker, Timber; Teerling, Marije; Kleijnen, M.H.P.

    2008-01-01

    Context aware services have the ability to utilize information about the user's context to adapt services to the user's current situation and needs. In this paper we consider users' perceptions of the added value of location awareness and presence information in mobile services. We use an

  12. Context-Aware user interfaces in automation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Mikkel Holm

    2007-01-01

    Automation is deployed in a great range of different domains such as the chemical industry, the production of consumer goods, the production of energy (both in terms of power plants and in the petrochemical industry), transportation and several others. Through several decades the complexity...... of automation systems and the level of automation have been rising. This has caused problems regarding the operator's ability to comprehend the overall situation and state of the automation system, in particular in abnormal situations. The amount of data available to the operator results in information overload....... Since context-aware applications have been developed in other research areas it seems natural to analyze the findings of this research and examine how this can be applied to the domain of automation systems. By evaluating existing architectures for the development of context-aware applications we find...

  13. Validating a Questionnaire Assessing Knowledge and Awareness of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rwanda Journal Series F: Medicine and Health Sciences Vol. 2 No. 2, 2015. Validating a Questionnaire Assessing Knowledge and Awareness of Emergen- cy Trolleys: Revisions Required to Account for Variances in a Low Resource. Setting. Charles Twagirayezu1, Stephanie Taylor1, Julie Pfeffer1. 1University Teaching ...

  14. Consumer characteristics and their effect on accepting online shopping, in the context of different product types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keisidou, E.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Online shopping is among the most popular activities of the internet, yet the reasons why consumers buy online are still unclear. Although it is implied that consumer acceptance of online shopping is affected by different products not many studies have adopted this view. This study attempts to examine consumers' attitude when making online purchases in the context of different product types. A theoretical framework is proposed based on the determinants of consumer behaviour and user acceptance of online shopping, as well as online product classification. The factors that were selected to be tested are Personal Innovativeness of Information Technology (PIIT, Self-efficacy, Perceived security, Privacy, Product involvement and how they affect consumer attitude towards online shopping. Correlation analysis, at first, to determine the relationships among the variables and regression analysis afterwards to verify the extent of the variable interaction were used to test the hypotheses. Based on the aforementioned analyses, results were drawn and compared to the results found by Lian and Lin (2008 in a similar study. It has been found that PIIT, perceived security and product involvement have an effect on the attitude towards online shopping, yet the results vary among the different product types.

  15. Report on FS survey for project of introduction of highly energy-efficient trolley buses into the Mexico Metropolitan Area in FY 1997; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho (Mexico city eno sho energy gata trolley bus donyu project FS chosa)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    Traffic jam and air pollution by automobiles are currently getting severe in the Mexico Metropolitan Area. Trolley buses were introduced for improving the environment more than ten years ago. Vehicles become too old for use, and their energy efficiency is low. In this project, 200 highly energy-efficient trolley buses are introduced to replace old inefficient trolley buses, which results in the improved traffic convenience in the City and enhanced energy efficiency. The new energy-efficient trolley buses are made of energy-efficient control VVVF inverters produced and exported by MELCO (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), energy-efficient motors by MELMEX (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mexico), and bodies by MASA which is a major manufacturer of bus bodies. The objective of this research is to analyze the background of introduction of new energy-efficient trolley buses and the effects of the present project. The results of analysis are going to be utilized for future promotion of the Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism. 30 refs., 30 figs., 24 tabs.

  16. Context-aware system design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Christine S.; Ostertag, Michael H.; Akyürek, Alper Sinan; Šimunić Rosing, Tajana

    2017-05-01

    The Internet of Things envisions a web-connected infrastructure of billions of sensors and actuation devices. However, the current state-of-the-art presents another reality: monolithic end-to-end applications tightly coupled to a limited set of sensors and actuators. Growing such applications with new devices or behaviors, or extending the existing infrastructure with new applications, involves redesign and redeployment. We instead propose a modular approach to these applications, breaking them into an equivalent set of functional units (context engines) whose input/output transformations are driven by general-purpose machine learning, demonstrating an improvement in compute redundancy and computational complexity with minimal impact on accuracy. In conjunction with formal data specifications, or ontologies, we can replace application-specific implementations with a composition of context engines that use common statistical learning to generate output, thus improving context reuse. We implement interconnected context-aware applications using our approach, extracting user context from sensors in both healthcare and grid applications. We compare our infrastructure to single-stage monolithic implementations with single-point communications between sensor nodes and the cloud servers, demonstrating a reduction in combined system energy by 22-45%, and multiplying the battery lifetime of power-constrained devices by at least 22x, with easy deployment across different architectures and devices.

  17. Intelligent Context-Aware and Adaptive Interface for Mobile LBS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangfan Feng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware user interface plays an important role in many human-computer Interaction tasks of location based services. Although spatial models for context-aware systems have been studied extensively, how to locate specific spatial information for users is still not well resolved, which is important in the mobile environment where location based services users are impeded by device limitations. Better context-aware human-computer interaction models of mobile location based services are needed not just to predict performance outcomes, such as whether people will be able to find the information needed to complete a human-computer interaction task, but to understand human processes that interact in spatial query, which will in turn inform the detailed design of better user interfaces in mobile location based services. In this study, a context-aware adaptive model for mobile location based services interface is proposed, which contains three major sections: purpose, adjustment, and adaptation. Based on this model we try to describe the process of user operation and interface adaptation clearly through the dynamic interaction between users and the interface. Then we show how the model applies users’ demands in a complicated environment and suggested the feasibility by the experimental results.

  18. A cross-cultural comparison of expatriates’ shopping behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijnen, G.J.; Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Janssen, I.I.

    2012-01-01

    Explored is how shopping centre attributes can be adapted to culture-related shopping behaviour of expatriates. While awareness of consumer ethnicity and effectiveness of culture-based market segmentation are on-going and relevant topics in retailing, there is only limited information available on

  19. Context-Aware Generative Adversarial Privacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chong Huang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Preserving the utility of published datasets while simultaneously providing provable privacy guarantees is a well-known challenge. On the one hand, context-free privacy solutions, such as differential privacy, provide strong privacy guarantees, but often lead to a significant reduction in utility. On the other hand, context-aware privacy solutions, such as information theoretic privacy, achieve an improved privacy-utility tradeoff, but assume that the data holder has access to dataset statistics. We circumvent these limitations by introducing a novel context-aware privacy framework called generative adversarial privacy (GAP. GAP leverages recent advancements in generative adversarial networks (GANs to allow the data holder to learn privatization schemes from the dataset itself. Under GAP, learning the privacy mechanism is formulated as a constrained minimax game between two players: a privatizer that sanitizes the dataset in a way that limits the risk of inference attacks on the individuals’ private variables, and an adversary that tries to infer the private variables from the sanitized dataset. To evaluate GAP’s performance, we investigate two simple (yet canonical statistical dataset models: (a the binary data model; and (b the binary Gaussian mixture model. For both models, we derive game-theoretically optimal minimax privacy mechanisms, and show that the privacy mechanisms learned from data (in a generative adversarial fashion match the theoretically optimal ones. This demonstrates that our framework can be easily applied in practice, even in the absence of dataset statistics.

  20. Context-Aware Generative Adversarial Privacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chong; Kairouz, Peter; Chen, Xiao; Sankar, Lalitha; Rajagopal, Ram

    2017-12-01

    Preserving the utility of published datasets while simultaneously providing provable privacy guarantees is a well-known challenge. On the one hand, context-free privacy solutions, such as differential privacy, provide strong privacy guarantees, but often lead to a significant reduction in utility. On the other hand, context-aware privacy solutions, such as information theoretic privacy, achieve an improved privacy-utility tradeoff, but assume that the data holder has access to dataset statistics. We circumvent these limitations by introducing a novel context-aware privacy framework called generative adversarial privacy (GAP). GAP leverages recent advancements in generative adversarial networks (GANs) to allow the data holder to learn privatization schemes from the dataset itself. Under GAP, learning the privacy mechanism is formulated as a constrained minimax game between two players: a privatizer that sanitizes the dataset in a way that limits the risk of inference attacks on the individuals' private variables, and an adversary that tries to infer the private variables from the sanitized dataset. To evaluate GAP's performance, we investigate two simple (yet canonical) statistical dataset models: (a) the binary data model, and (b) the binary Gaussian mixture model. For both models, we derive game-theoretically optimal minimax privacy mechanisms, and show that the privacy mechanisms learned from data (in a generative adversarial fashion) match the theoretically optimal ones. This demonstrates that our framework can be easily applied in practice, even in the absence of dataset statistics.

  1. Context-Aware Location Recommendation Using Geotagged Photos in Social Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haosheng Huang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the increasing availability of digital cameras and the rapid advances in social media have led to the accumulation of a large number of geotagged photos, which may reflect people’s travel experiences in different cities and can be used to generate location recommendations for tourists. Research on this aspect mainly focused on providing personalized recommendations matching a tourist’s travel preferences, while ignoring the context of the visit (e.g., weather, season and time of the day that potentially influences his/her travel behavior. This article explores context-aware methods to provide location recommendations matching a tourist’s travel preferences and visiting context. Specifically, we apply clustering methods to detect touristic locations and extract travel histories from geotagged photos on Flickr. We then propose a novel context similarity measure to quantify the similarity between any two contexts and develop three context-aware collaborative filtering methods, i.e., contextual pre-filtering, post-filtering and modeling. With these methods, location recommendations like “in similar contexts, other tourists similar to you often visited …” can be provided to the current user. Results of the evaluation with a publicly-available Flickr photo collection show that these methods are able to provide a tourist with location recommendations matching his/her travel preferences and visiting context. More importantly, compared to other state-of-the-art methods, the proposed methods, which employ the introduced context similarity measure, can provide tourists with significantly better recommendations. While Flickr data have been used in this study, these context-aware collaborative filtering (CaCF methods can also be extended for other kinds of travel histories, such as GPS trajectories and Foursquare check-ins, to provide context-aware recommendations.

  2. Zone-Aware Service Platform: A New Concept of Context-Aware Networking and Communications for Smart-Home Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinsung Byun

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in networking and communications removed the restrictions of time and space in information services. Context-aware service systems can support the predefined services in accordance with user requests regardless of time and space. However, due to their architectural limitations, the recent systems are not so flexible to provide device-independent services by multiple service providers. Recently, researchers have focused on a new service paradigm characterized by high mobility, service continuity, and green characteristics. In line with these efforts, improved context-aware service platforms have been suggested to make the platform possible to manage the contexts to provide the adaptive services for multi-user and locations. However, this platform can only support limited continuity and mobility. In other words, the existing system cannot support seamless service provision among different service providers with respect to the changes of mobility, situation, device, and network. Furthermore, the existing context-aware service platform is significant reliance on always-on infrastructure, which leads to great amounts of energy consumption inevitably. Therefore, we subsequently propose a new concept of context-aware networking and communications, namely a zone-aware service platform. The proposed platform autonomously reconfigures the infrastructure and maintains a service session interacting with the middleware to support cost- and energy-efficient pervasive services for smart-home sustainability.

  3. Towards context aware food sales prediction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zliobaite, I.; Bakker, J.; Pechenizkiy, M.

    2009-01-01

    Sales prediction is a complex task because of a large number of factors affecting the demand. We present a context aware sales prediction approach, which selects the base predictor depending on the structural properties of the historical sales. In the experimental part we show that there exist

  4. Evaluating Mobile Proactive Context-Aware Retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menegon, Davide; Mizzaro, Stefano; Nazzi, Elena

    We present the evaluation of a novel application for Web content perusal by means of context-aware mobile devices that proactively query an external search engine. To this aim, we develop a TREC-like benchmark and we use it to evaluate different strategies for automatic query construction...

  5. Security in Context-aware Mobile Business Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Tatli, Emin Islam

    2008-01-01

    The support of location computation on mobile devices (e.g. mobile phones, PDAs) has enabled the development of context-aware and especially location-aware applications (e.g. Restaurant Finder, Friend Finder) which are becoming the new trend for future software applications. However, fears regarding security and privacy are the biggest barriers against their success. Especially, mobile users are afraid of the possible threats against their private identity and personal data. Within the M-Busi...

  6. Bluetooth-Assisted Context-Awareness in Educational Data Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Castano, F. J.; Garcia-Reinoso, J.; Gil-Castineira, F.; Costa-Montenegro, E.; Pousada-Carballo, J. M.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we propose an auxiliary "location network", to support user-independent context-awareness in educational data networks; for example, to help visitors in a museum. We assume that, in such scenarios, there exist "service servers" that need to be aware of user location in real-time. Specifically, we propose the implementation of a…

  7. Concepts and architectures for mobile context-aware applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dockhorn Costa, P.; Ferreira Pires, Luis; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Ibrahim, I.K.

    2008-01-01

    Context-awareness has been investigated for almost a decade and is considered as a convenient and desirable feature in distributed mobile systems since it allows these systems to benefit from the changes in their users’ context to dynamically tailor services to their users’ current situation and

  8. On Sustaining Dynamic Adaptation of Context-Aware Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boudjemaa Boudaa

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The modern human is getting more and more mobile having access to online services by using mobile cutting-edge computational devices. In the last decade, the field of context-aware services had led to emerge several works. However, most of the proposed approaches have not provided clear adaptation strategies in case of unforeseen contexts. Dealing with this last at runtime is also another crucial need that has been ignored in their proposals. This paper aims to propose a generic dynamic adaptation process as a phase in a model-driven development life-cycle for context-aware services using the MAPE-K control loop to meet the runtime adaptation. This process is validated by implementing an illustrative application on FraSCAti platform. The main benefit of the proposed process is to sustain the self-reconfiguration of such services at model and code levels by enabling successive dynamic adaptations depending on the changing context.

  9. Trust, trolleys and social dilemmas: A replication study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bostyn, Dries H; Roets, Arne

    2017-05-01

    The present manuscript addresses how perceived trustworthiness of cooperative partners in a social dilemma context is influenced by the moral judgments those partners make on Trolley-type moral dilemmas; an issue recently investigated by Everett, Pizarro, and Crockett (2016). The present research comprises 2 studies that were conducted independently, simultaneously with, and incognizant of the Everett studies. Whereas the present studies aimed at investigating the same research hypothesis, a different and more elaborate methodology was used, as such providing a conceptual replication opportunity and extension to the Everett et al. Overall, the present studies clearly confirmed the main finding of Everett et al., that deontologists are more trusted than consequentialists in social dilemma games. Study 1 replicates Everett et al.'s effect in the context of trust games. Study 2 generalizes the effect to public goods games, thus demonstrating that it is not specific to the type of social dilemma game used in Everett et al. Finally, both studies build on these results by demonstrating that the increased trust in deontologists may sometimes, but not always, be warranted: deontologists displayed increased cooperation rates but only in the public goods game and not in trust games. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. A Two-Stage Composition Method for Danger-Aware Services Based on Context Similarity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Junbo; Cheng, Zixue; Jing, Lei; Ota, Kaoru; Kansen, Mizuo

    Context-aware systems detect user's physical and social contexts based on sensor networks, and provide services that adapt to the user accordingly. Representing, detecting, and managing the contexts are important issues in context-aware systems. Composition of contexts is a useful method for these works, since it can detect a context by automatically composing small pieces of information to discover service. Danger-aware services are a kind of context-aware services which need description of relations between a user and his/her surrounding objects and between users. However when applying the existing composition methods to danger-aware services, they show the following shortcomings that (1) they have not provided an explicit method for representing composition of multi-user' contexts, (2) there is no flexible reasoning mechanism based on similarity of contexts, so that they can just provide services exactly following the predefined context reasoning rules. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a two-stage composition method based on context similarity to solve the above problems. The first stage is composition of the useful information to represent the context for a single user. The second stage is composition of multi-users' contexts to provide services by considering the relation of users. Finally the danger degree of the detected context is computed by using context similarity between the detected context and the predefined context. Context is dynamically represented based on two-stage composition rules and a Situation theory based Ontology, which combines the advantages of Ontology and Situation theory. We implement the system in an indoor ubiquitous environment, and evaluate the system through two experiments with the support of subjects. The experiment results show the method is effective, and the accuracy of danger detection is acceptable to a danger-aware system.

  11. Process Waste Assessment - Paint Shop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, N.M.

    1993-06-01

    This Process Waste Assessment was conducted to evaluate hazardous wastes generated in the Paint Shop, Building 913, Room 130. Special attention is given to waste streams generated by the spray painting process because it requires a number of steps for preparing, priming, and painting an object. Also, the spray paint booth covers the largest area in R-130. The largest and most costly waste stream to dispose of is open-quote Paint Shop wasteclose quotes -- a combination of paint cans, rags, sticks, filters, and paper containers. These items are compacted in 55-gallon drums and disposed of as solid hazardous waste. Recommendations are made for minimizing waste in the Paint Shop. Paint Shop personnel are very aware of the need to minimize hazardous wastes and are continuously looking for opportunities to do so

  12. A Novel Architecture for Next Generation Context- Aware Systems

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user1

    mobile applications to maintain the required contexts independently. It is also not .... significantly eases the development of mobile, context-aware applications. ..... Ph.D. Thesis Dissertation, College of Computing, Georgia Tech. ▫ DEY, A.

  13. Context-aware distributed cloud computing using CloudScheduler

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seuster, R.; Leavett-Brown, CR; Casteels, K.; Driemel, C.; Paterson, M.; Ring, D.; Sobie, RJ; Taylor, RP; Weldon, J.

    2017-10-01

    The distributed cloud using the CloudScheduler VM provisioning service is one of the longest running systems for HEP workloads. It has run millions of jobs for ATLAS and Belle II over the past few years using private and commercial clouds around the world. Our goal is to scale the distributed cloud to the 10,000-core level, with the ability to run any type of application (low I/O, high I/O and high memory) on any cloud. To achieve this goal, we have been implementing changes that utilize context-aware computing designs that are currently employed in the mobile communication industry. Context-awareness makes use of real-time and archived data to respond to user or system requirements. In our distributed cloud, we have many opportunistic clouds with no local HEP services, software or storage repositories. A context-aware design significantly improves the reliability and performance of our system by locating the nearest location of the required services. We describe how we are collecting and managing contextual information from our workload management systems, the clouds, the virtual machines and our services. This information is used not only to monitor the system but also to carry out automated corrective actions. We are incrementally adding new alerting and response services to our distributed cloud. This will enable us to scale the number of clouds and virtual machines. Further, a context-aware design will enable us to run analysis or high I/O application on opportunistic clouds. We envisage an open-source HTTP data federation (for example, the DynaFed system at CERN) as a service that would provide us access to existing storage elements used by the HEP experiments.

  14. Avoiding the conflict: Metacognitive awareness drives the selection of low-demand contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desender, Kobe; Buc Calderon, Cristian; Van Opstal, Filip; Van den Bussche, Eva

    2017-07-01

    Previous research attempted to explain how humans strategically adapt behavior in order to achieve successful task performance. Recently, it has been suggested that 1 potential strategy is to avoid tasks that are too demanding. Here, we report 3 experiments that investigate the empirically neglected role of metacognitive awareness in this process. In these experiments, participants could freely choose between performing a task in either a high-demand or a low-demand context. Using subliminal priming, we ensured that participants were not aware of the visual stimuli creating these different demand contexts. Our results showed that participants who noticed a difference in task difficulty (i.e., metacognitive aware participants) developed a clear preference for the low-demand context. In contrast, participants who experienced no difference in task difficulty (i.e., metacognitive unaware participants) based their choices on variables unrelated to cognitive demand (e.g., the color or location associated with a context), and did not develop a preference for the low-demand context. Crucially, this pattern was found despite identical task performance in both metacognitive awareness groups. A multiple regression approach confirmed that metacognitive awareness was the main factor driving the preference for low-demand contexts. These results argue for an important role of metacognitive awareness in the strategic avoidance of demanding tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Farmers' market shopping and dietary behaviours among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jilcott Pitts, Stephanie B; Wu, Qiang; Demarest, Chelsea L; Dixon, Crystal E; Dortche, Ciarra Jm; Bullock, Sally L; McGuirt, Jared; Ward, Rachel; Ammerman, Alice S

    2015-09-01

    Because farmers' markets include a variety of fruits and vegetables, shopping at farmers' markets would likely improve diet quality among low-income consumers, as well as promote sustainable direct farm-to-consumer business models. However, not much is known about how to promote farmers' market shopping among low-income consumers. Therefore, the purpose of the present paper was to examine barriers to and facilitators of shopping at farmers' markets and associations between shopping at farmers' markets and self-reported dietary behaviours (fruit and vegetable, sugar-sweetened beverage and fast-food consumption) and BMI. Cross-sectional analyses of associations between farmers' market shopping frequency, awareness of markets, access to markets, dietary behaviours and BMI. Department of Social Services, Pitt County, eastern North Carolina, USA. Between April and July 2013, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants (n 205) completed a quantitative survey. Barriers to shopping at farmers' markets included does not accept SNAP/electronic benefit transfer, out of the way and lack of transportation. Farmers' market shopping was associated with awareness of farmers' markets (estimate =0·18 (se 0·04), Pmarket shopping (estimate =1·06 (se 0·32), P=0·001). Our study is one of the first to examine SNAP participants' farmers' market shopping, distance to farmers' markets and dietary behaviours. Barriers to shopping at farmers' markets and increasing awareness of existing markets should be addressed in future interventions to increase SNAP participants' use of farmers' markets, ultimately improving diet quality in this high-risk group.

  16. Context-Aware HCI Service Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao Shen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Context-awareness has become a key issue in Human-Computer Interaction(HCI to provide better user experience under multi-device and multi-modal environment. With this intuition, we have proposed a web service based framework, which associates interactions with services, and provided service selection mechanism using context knowledge to achieve smart interaction migration [1]. A fundamental problem of such a service-oriented framework for interaction migration is to design an effective while scalable algorithm for service selection. In this paper, we propose a service selection algorithm considering not only context information and user preferences but also inter-service relations such as relative location. Our algorithm detects interaction hot spots within user active scope and presents the best service combination based on evaluation of interaction effectiveness. We also conduct simulation and the results illustrate that our algorithm is effective and scalable for interaction service selection.

  17. Towards Pervasive Augmented Reality: Context-Awareness in Augmented Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grubert, Jens; Langlotz, Tobias; Zollmann, Stefanie; Regenbrecht, Holger

    2017-06-01

    Augmented Reality is a technique that enables users to interact with their physical environment through the overlay of digital information. While being researched for decades, more recently, Augmented Reality moved out of the research labs and into the field. While most of the applications are used sporadically and for one particular task only, current and future scenarios will provide a continuous and multi-purpose user experience. Therefore, in this paper, we present the concept of Pervasive Augmented Reality, aiming to provide such an experience by sensing the user's current context and adapting the AR system based on the changing requirements and constraints. We present a taxonomy for Pervasive Augmented Reality and context-aware Augmented Reality, which classifies context sources and context targets relevant for implementing such a context-aware, continuous Augmented Reality experience. We further summarize existing approaches that contribute towards Pervasive Augmented Reality. Based our taxonomy and survey, we identify challenges for future research directions in Pervasive Augmented Reality.

  18. UrbanWeb: a Platform for Mobile Context-aware Social Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Frank Allan; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2010-01-01

    UrbanWeb is a novel Web-based context-aware hypermedia plat- form. It provides essential mechanisms for mobile social comput- ing applications: the framework implements context as an exten- sion to Web 2.0 tagging and provides developers with an easy to use platform for mobile context......-aware applications. Services can be statically or dynamically defined in the user’s context, data can be pre-cached for data intensive mobile applications, and shared state supports synchronization between running applications such as games. The paper discusses how UrbanWeb acquires cues about the user’s context...... from sensors in mobile phones, ranging from GPS data, to 2D barcodes, and manual entry of context in- formation, as well as how to utilize this context in applications. The experiences show that the UrbanWeb platform efficiently supports a rich variety of urban computing applications in differ- ent...

  19. Lightweight context aware routing in wireless sensor networks for environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aijaz, S.

    2015-01-01

    Design and implementation of a WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) that can efficiently work for a longer time period must include identification of the deployment environment context and to conform to the behavior of the sensor nodes. The context information when treated with evaluation factor becomes a process of context awareness and the evaluation factor is called the context attribute. In this paper, we consider the context factor of energy. The paper identifies analyses and evaluates efficiency of two when used in a context aware environment. Furthermore, the study also highlights the strengths and weaknesses of sensor SPIN (Sensor Protocol for Information via Negotiation) and LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) protocols with respect to the support for WSN with heavy network traffic conditions. The performance has been evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, data packet transmission, network status, data management, reliability, etc. (author)

  20. Minimalism context-aware displays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yang

    2004-12-01

    Despite the rapid development of cyber technologies, today we still have very limited attention and communication bandwidth to process the increasing information flow. The goal of the study is to develop a context-aware filter to match the information load with particular needs and capacities. The functions include bandwidth-resolution trade-off and user context modeling. From the empirical lab studies, it is found that the resolution of images can be reduced in order of magnitude if the viewer knows that he/she is looking for particular features. The adaptive display queue is optimized with real-time operational conditions and user's inquiry history. Instead of measuring operator's behavior directly, ubiquitous computing models are developed to anticipate user's behavior from the operational environment data. A case study of the video stream monitoring for transit security is discussed in the paper. In addition, the author addresses the future direction of coherent human-machine vision systems.

  1. Using Context Awareness for Self Management in Pervasive Service Middleware

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Weishan; Hansen, Klaus Marius

    2011-01-01

    Context-awareness is an important feature in Ambient Intelligence environments including in pervasive middleware. In addition, there is a growing trend and demand on self-management capabilities for a pervasive middleware in order to provide high-level dependability for services. In this chapter......, we propose to make use of context-awareness features to facilitate self-management. To achieve self-management, dynamic contexts for example device and service statuses, are critical to take self-management actions. Therefore, we consider dynamic contexts in context modeling, specifically as a set...... of OWL/SWRL ontologies, called the Self-Management for Pervasive Services (SeMaPS) ontologies. Self-management rules can be developed based on the SeMaPS ontologies to achieve self-management goals. Our approach is demonstrated within the LinkSmart pervasive middleware. Finally, our experiments...

  2. Enrichment of Multi-criteria Communities for Context-aware Recommendations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thuy Ngoc Nguyen

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Recommender systems are designed to help users alleviate the information overload problem by offering personalized recommendations. Most systems apply collaborative filtering to predict individual preferences based on opinions of like-minded people through their ratings on items. Recently, context-aware recommender systems (CARSs are developed to offer users more suitable recommendations by exploiting additional context data such as time, location, etc. However, most CARSs use only ratings as a criterion for building communities, and ignore other available data allowing users to be grouped into communities. This paper presents a novel approach for exploiting multi-criteria communities to provide context-aware recommendations. The main idea of the proposed algorithm is that for a given context, the significance of multi-criteria communities could be different. So communities from the most suitable criteria followed by a learning phase are incorporated into the recommendation process.

  3. Adams National Historic Park Trolley Vehicle Replacement Selection Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    Adams NHP owns three trolley vehicles that were purchased in the early 2000s and, while their accrued mileage remains low, they have reached the end of their useful lives due in large part to vehicle parts becoming unavailable. Both the original trol...

  4. On the Modelling of Context-Aware Security for Mobile Devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Zurek

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Security management in wireless networks has to deal with the changing character of the environment, which can further lead to decision making problem for unexpected events. Among a huge list of devices, the mobile ones are especially vulnerable to this situation. The solution for adapting systems and applications to dynamic environments can be context-aware description of the user actions, which gives a possibility to take into account the factors that influence these actions. In the article, we propose a context-aware security adjusting model, which is based on proposition logic and incorporates mechanisms that assist in the reasoning process. The main benefits that differentiate our approach from similar ones are a formal representation of the model, the usage of the whole spectrum of context attributes, the detection and analysis of contextual data integrity, and conflicting rules’ eradication capability. All these traits transcribe into a more effective way of adjusting security measures in accordance with existing circumstances. To illustrate the proposed approach, we present the case study of context-aware security management for mobile devices.

  5. Context aware adaptive security service model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunia, Marcin A.

    2015-09-01

    Present systems and devices are usually protected against different threats concerning digital data processing. The protection mechanisms consume resources, which are either highly limited or intensively utilized by many entities. The optimization of these resources usage is advantageous. The resources that are saved performing optimization may be utilized by other mechanisms or may be sufficient for longer time. It is usually assumed that protection has to provide specific quality and attack resistance. By interpreting context situation of business services - users and services themselves, it is possible to adapt security services parameters to countermeasure threats associated with current situation. This approach leads to optimization of used resources and maintains sufficient security level. This paper presents architecture of adaptive security service, which is context-aware and exploits quality of context data issue.

  6. An Efficient Context-Aware Privacy Preserving Approach for Smartphones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lichen Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the proliferation of smartphones and the usage of the smartphone apps, privacy preservation has become an important issue. The existing privacy preservation approaches for smartphones usually have less efficiency due to the absent consideration of the active defense policies and temporal correlations between contexts related to users. In this paper, through modeling the temporal correlations among contexts, we formalize the privacy preservation problem to an optimization problem and prove its correctness and the optimality through theoretical analysis. To further speed up the running time, we transform the original optimization problem to an approximate optimal problem, a linear programming problem. By resolving the linear programming problem, an efficient context-aware privacy preserving algorithm (CAPP is designed, which adopts active defense policy and decides how to release the current context of a user to maximize the level of quality of service (QoS of context-aware apps with privacy preservation. The conducted extensive simulations on real dataset demonstrate the improved performance of CAPP over other traditional approaches.

  7. Culturally Informed Notions of Mobile Context Awareness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qin, Xiangang; Tan, Chee-Wee; Bødker, Mads

    2017-01-01

    associated with such applications. To this end, this study endeavours to shed light on how context-aware applications are construed by users. Drawing inspiration from the ‘future workshop’ methodological approach, two focus groups were conducted in Denmark and China to elicit insights into the benefits...

  8. Designing middleware for context awareness in agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjær, Kristian Ellebæk

    2008-01-01

    , and increasingly advanced GPS units. However, except for location based services, like knowing your location based on GPS, context awareness has not really materialised yet. In modern agriculture, computers are pervasive, but only in the sense that they are present everywhere. All types of equipment, ranging from...

  9. AI Techniques in a Context-Aware Ubiquitous Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coppola, Paolo; Mea, Vincenzo Della; di Gaspero, Luca; Lomuscio, Raffaella; Mischis, Danny; Mizzaro, Stefano; Nazzi, Elena; Scagnetto, Ivan; Vassena, Luca

    Nowadays, the mobile computing paradigm and the widespread diffusion of mobile devices are quickly changing and replacing many common assumptions about software architectures and interaction/communication models. The environment, in particular, or more generally, the so-called user context is claiming a central role in everyday’s use of cellular phones, PDAs, etc. This is due to the huge amount of data “suggested” by the surrounding environment that can be helpful in many common tasks. For instance, the current context can help a search engine to refine the set of results in a useful way, providing the user with a more suitable and exploitable information. Moreover, we can take full advantage of this new data source by “pushing” active contents towards mobile devices, empowering the latter with new features (e.g., applications) that can allow the user to fruitfully interact with the current context. Following this vision, mobile devices become dynamic self-adapting tools, according to the user needs and the possibilities offered by the environment. The present work proposes MoBe: an approach for providing a basic infrastructure for pervasive context-aware applications on mobile devices, in which AI techniques (namely a principled combination of rule-based systems, Bayesian networks and ontologies) are applied to context inference. The aim is to devise a general inferential framework to make easier the development of context-aware applications by integrating the information coming from physical and logical sensors (e.g., position, agenda) and reasoning about this information in order to infer new and more abstract contexts.

  10. A Service-oriented Approach towards Context-aware Mobile Learning Management Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    towards a pervasive university. Keywords-context-aware computing, service-oriented archi- tecture, mobile computing, elearning , learn management sys- tem I...usage of device- specific features provide support for various ubiquitous and pervasive eLearning scenarios [2][3]. By knowing where the user currently...data from the mobile device towards a context-aware mobile LMS. II. BASIC CONCEPTS For a better understanding of the presented eLearning sce- narios

  11. A Calculus for Context-Awareness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zimmer, Pascal

    2005-01-01

    In order to answer the challenge of pervasive computing, we propose a new process calculus, whose aim is to describe dynamic systems composed of agents able to move and react differently depending on their location. This Context-Aware Calculus features a hierarchical structure similar to mobile...... ambients, and a generic multi-agent synchronization mechanism, inspired from the join-calculus. After general ideas and introduction, we review the full calculus' syntax and semantics, as well as some motivating examples, study its expressiveness, and show how the notion of computation itself can be made...

  12. Spatial models for context-aware indoor navigation systems: A survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Imad Afyouni

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper surveys indoor spatial models developed for research fields ranging from mobile robot mapping, to indoor location-based services (LBS, and most recently to context-aware navigation services applied to indoor environments. Over the past few years, several studies have evaluated the potential of spatial models for robot navigation and ubiquitous computing. In this paper we take a slightly different perspective, considering not only the underlying properties of those spatial models, but also to which degree the notion of context can be taken into account when delivering services in indoor environments. Some preliminary recommendations for the development of indoor spatial models are introduced from a context-aware perspective. A taxonomy of models is then presented and assessed with the aim of providing a flexible spatial data model for navigation purposes, and by taking into account the context dimensions.

  13. The system was blinking red: Awareness Contexts and Disasters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vivian B. Martin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The awareness context has been a source of inspiration for grounded theories for more than 50 years; yet little has been done to extend the theory beyond nursing and the medical field, and a few works on identity. This paper extends the awareness context by examining its role in several high-profile disasters, natural and man-made, where gaining a clear sense of what was going on was often blocked by poor information flow and general communication failures, interpersonal and technological. Selective coding and the introduction of new concepts after analyzing hundreds of pages of documents issued by special commissions in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf, and the Sago Mine Disaster not only explain various processes around awareness in the midst of crisis, but also illuminate pre-crisis patterns that, if attended, could have mitigated the impact of the disasters.

  14. Fuzzy Privacy Decision for Context-Aware Access Personal Information

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHANG Qingsheng; QI Yong; ZHAO Jizhong; HOU Di; NIU Yujie

    2007-01-01

    A context-aware privacy protection framework was designed for context-aware services and privacy control methods about access personal information in pervasive environment. In the process of user's privacy decision, it can produce fuzzy privacy decision as the change of personal information sensitivity and personal information receiver trust. The uncertain privacy decision model was proposed about personal information disclosure based on the change of personal information receiver trust and personal information sensitivity. A fuzzy privacy decision information system was designed according to this model. Personal privacy control policies can be extracted from this information system by using rough set theory. It also solves the problem about learning privacy control policies of personal information disclosure.

  15. Discovering context-aware conditional functional dependencies

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yuefeng DU; Derong SHEN; Tiezheng NIE; Yue KOU; Ge YU

    2017-01-01

    Conditional functional dependencies(CFDs) are important techniques for data consistency.However,CFDs are limited to 1) provide the reasonable values for consistency repairing and 2) detect potential errors.This paper presents context-aware conditional functional dependencies(CCFDs) which contribute to provide reasonable values and detect potential errors.Especially,we focus on automatically discovering minimal CCFDs.In this paper,we present context relativity to measure the relationship of CFDs.The overlap of the related CFDs can provide reasonable values which result in more accuracy consistency repairing,and some related CFDs are combined into CCFDs.Moreover,we prove that discovering minimal CCFDs is NP-complete and we design the precise method and the heuristic method.We also present the dominating value to facilitate the process in both the precise method and the heuristic method.Additionally,the context relativity of the CFDs affects the cleaning results.We will give an approximate threshold of context relativity according to data distribution for suggestion.The repairing results are approved more accuracy,even evidenced by our empirical evaluation.

  16. Motivate: context aware mobile application for activity recommendation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lin, Y.; Jessurun, A.J.; Vries, de B.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Keyson, D.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a context-aware recommendation system that promotes the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle. A Smartphone application that provides personalized and contextualized advice based on geo information, weather, user location and

  17. Evaluation of context-aware recommendation systems for information re-finding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sappelli, M.; Verberne, S.; Kraaij, W.

    2016-01-01

    In this article we evaluate context-aware recommendation systems for information re-finding by knowledge workers. We identify 4 criteria that are relevant for evaluating the quality of knowledge worker support: context relevance, document relevance, prediction of user action, and diversity of the

  18. Lightweight Context Aware Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks for Real Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samia Aijaz

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Design and implementation of a WSN (Wireless Sensor Network that can efficiently work for a longer time period must include identification of the deployment environment context and to conform to the behavior of the sensor nodes. The context information when treated with evaluation factor becomes a process of context awareness and the evaluation factor is called the context attribute. In this paper, we consider the context factor of energy. The paper identifies analyses and evaluates efficiency of two when used in a context aware environment. Furthermore, the study also highlights the strengths and weaknesses of sensor SPIN (Sensor Protocol for Information via Negotiation and LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy protocols with respect to the support for WSN with heavy network traffic conditions. The performance has been evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, data packet transmission, network status, data management, reliability, etc.

  19. Supporting Information Access in a Hospital Ward by a Context-Aware Mobile Electronic Patient Record

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Mikael B.; Høegh, Rune Thaarup

    2006-01-01

    Context-awareness holds promise for improving the utility of software products. Context-aware mobile systems encompass the ability to automatically discover and react to changes in an environment. Most contemporary context-aware mobile systems aim to support users in private situations, for example......Ward is to support nurses in conducting morning procedures in a hospital ward. MobileWard is context-aware as it is able to discover and react autonomously according to changes in the environment and since it integrates the ability to provide information and services to the user where the relevancy depends....... Implications and limitations of the proposed solution are further discussed....

  20. Difficulty and independence in shopping among older Americans: more than just leaving the house.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brenner, Allison B; Clarke, Philippa J

    2017-11-09

    The built, social and economic environments are associated with disability, but knowledge of how these environmental characteristics simultaneously influence older adults' ability to shop independently is limited. We investigated cross-sectional associations between the outdoor home, local neighborhood and macrosocioeconomic levels of the environment and shopping difficulty and interactions between environmental factors and shopping difficulty. Using nationally representative data from a study of Medicare-eligible adults, we conducted a cross-sectional secondary data analysis to examine associations between the environment and difficulty shopping (N = 5504). Sidewalk conditions, broken steps, neighborhood social cohesion and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage were associated with more difficulty shopping, although health factors partially accounted for associations between broken steps and disadvantage and shopping difficulty. The association between social cohesion and shopping difficulty also depended on the degree of socioeconomic disadvantage in the neighborhood. Overall, results suggest that factors in the outdoor and local neighborhood environment influence the ability to shop independently for older adults, but that it also may depend on the socioeconomic context of the neighborhood. Interventions aimed at improving the built environment directly outside of older adults' homes and helping increase social cohesion among neighbors, has the potential to reduce difficulty in carrying out this important activity. Implications for rehabilitation Built features of the outdoor home environment including sidewalks and broken steps influence whether older adults are able to safely leave their home to conduct daily activities such as shopping, so it is important that clinicians and rehabilitation professionals are aware of these challenges when helping their patients resume daily activities such as shopping. The physical condition and safety of the immediate

  1. Risk identication of tailorable context-aware systems: a case study and lessons learned

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zarifi Eslami, Mohammed; Sapkota, Brahmananda; Zarghami, Alireza; Vriezekolk, E.; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Wieringa, Roelf J.; Wieringa, P.A.

    In this paper, we discuss possible risks posed by the application of tailorable context-aware systems in real-life practices. We use a tailorable context-aware system in the homecare domain as a case study to identify and analyse such risks. Next, we discuss which of these risks can be generalized

  2. Context-Aware Community Construction in Proximity-Based Mobile Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Na Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Sensor-equipped mobile devices have allowed users to participate in various social networking services. We focus on proximity-based mobile social networking environments where users can share information obtained from different places via their mobile devices when they are in proximity. Since people are more likely to share information if they can benefit from the sharing or if they think the information is of interest to others, there might exist community structures where users who share information more often are grouped together. Communities in proximity-based mobile networks represent social groups where connections are built when people are in proximity. We consider information influence (i.e., specify who shares information with whom as the connection and the space and time related to the shared information as the contexts. To model the potential information influences, we construct an influence graph by integrating the space and time contexts into the proximity-based contacts of mobile users. Further, we propose a two-phase strategy to detect and track context-aware communities based on the influence graph and show how the context-aware community structure improves the performance of two types of mobile social applications.

  3. Online versus conventional shopping: Consumers' risk perception and regulatory focus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Noort, G.; Kerkhof, P.; Fennis, B.M.

    2007-01-01

    In two experiments, the impact of shopping context on consumers' risk perceptions and regulatory focus was examined. We predicted that individuals perceive an online (vs. conventional) shopping environment as more risky and that an online shopping environment, by its risky nature, primes a

  4. Online versus Conventional Shopping: Consumers' Risk Perception and Regulatory Focus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Noort, Guda; Kerkhof, Peter; Fennis, B.M.

    2007-01-01

    In two experiments, the impact of shopping context on consumers' risk perceptions and regulatory focus was examined. We predicted that individuals perceive an online (vs. conventional) shopping environment as more risky and that an online shopping environment, by its risky nature, primes a

  5. Design guidelines for rapid and simple context-aware mobile application development – an android case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Shams

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Presenting a context-aware service and information is a key aspect of ubiquitous computing, but development of such applications is quite complicated. Context-aware applications should be able to obtain raw data fromsensors, create highlevel context information, detect the user’s situation, and adapt the behavior of the application to the recognized situation . These complexities caused to reduce the impact of context -awareness in mobile computing while sensors of smartphones have made huge potential for developing context aware mobile applications. In this paper, we explain some guidelines to overcome the existing obstacles by separating the context -aware application layers and make a loosely coupled connection between them. These guidelines will bring easy and rapid development, reusability of the code and flexibility for developers. Finally, we provide a case study example in the Android platform to demonstrate how the guidelines can be used in a real application.

  6. Reference model of future ubiquitous convergent network and context-aware telecommunication service platform

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    QIAO Xiu-quan; LI Xiao-feng; LIANG Shou-qing

    2006-01-01

    A reference model for future ubiquitous convergent network is analyzed. To provide user-centric, intelligent,personalized service, this article presents a context-aware telecommunication service platform (CaTSP) to adapt to dynamically changing context. This article focuses on the new design method of context-aware telecommunication service platform and its architecture. Through the use of model-driven architecture (MDA) and semantic web technologies, CaTSP can enable context reasoning and service personalization adaption.This article explores a new approach for service intelligence,personalization, and adaptability in the semantic web service computing era.

  7. Privacy and user trust in context-aware systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koldijk, S.J.; Koot, G.; Neerincx, M.A.; Kraaij, W.

    2014-01-01

    Context-aware systems (CAS) that collect personal information are a general trend. This leads to several privacy considerations, which we outline in this paper. We present as use-case the SWELL system, which collects information from various contextual sensors to provide support for well-being at

  8. An Explanatory Study of Lean Practices in Job Shop Production/ Special Job Production/ Discrete Production/ Batch Shop Production Industries

    OpenAIRE

    Lavlesh Kumar Sharma; Ravindra Mohan Saxena

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, the study explores the benefits and advantages of Lean Practices or Lean Thinking in Job shop production/ Special job production/ Discrete production/ Batch shop production industries. The Lean Practices have been applied more compatible in Job shop production than in the continuous/ mass production because of several barriers and hurdles in the industrial context that influence the whole processes again and again, this happens due to the lack of knowledge about...

  9. Supporting context-aware mobile applications : an infrastructure approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Sinderen, Marten J.; van Halteren, Aart; Wegdam, M.; Meeuwissen, H.B.; Eertink, E.H.; Eertink, E.H.

    Mobile phones and PDAs are converging into mobile lifestyle devices that offer a wide range of applications to end users. Many of these applications will have the ability to adapt themselves to the user’s situation, commonly referred to as context awareness. We argue that an infrastructure is needed

  10. Energy efficiency in U.K. shopping centres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangiarotti, Michela

    Energy efficiency in shopping centres means providing comfortable internal environment and services to the occupants with minimum energy use in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner. This research considers the interaction of three factors affecting the energy efficiency of shopping centres: i) performance of the building fabric and services ii) management of the building in terms of operation, control, maintenance and replacement of the building fabric and services, and company's energy policy iii) occupants' expectation for comfort and awareness of energy efficiency. The aim of the investigation is to determine the role of the above factors in the energy consumption and carbon emissions of shopping centres and the scope for reducing this energy usage by changing one or all the three factors. The study also attempts to prioritize the changes in the above factors that are more cost-effective at reducing that energy consumption and identify the benefits and main economic and legal drivers for energy efficiency in shopping centres. To achieve these targets, three case studies have been analysed. Using energy data from bills, the performance of the selected case studies has been assessed to establish trends and current energy consumption and carbon emissions of shopping centres and their related causes. A regression analysis has attempted to break down the energy consumption of the landlords' area by end-use to identify the main sources of energy usage and consequently introduce cost-effective measures for saving energy. A monitoring and occupants' survey in both landlords' and tenants' areas have been carried out at the same time to compare the objective data of the environmental conditions with the subjective impressions of shoppers and shopkeepers. In particular, the monitoring aimed at assessing the internal environment to identify possible causes of discomfort and opportunities for introducing energy saving measures. The survey looked at

  11. Using Semantic Web Services for Context-Aware Mobile Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Sheshagiri , Mithun; Sadeh , Norman; Gandon , Fabien

    2004-01-01

    International audience; One way of overcoming the challenges associated with mobile and pervasive computing environments involves providing users with higher levels of automation. This in turn requires capturing the context within which the user operates. In this paper, we describe ongoing research aimed leveraging Semantic Web Services in support of context awareness. This includes modeling sources of contextual information as web services that can be automatically discovered and accessed by...

  12. Current trends in context-aware applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Loayza

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available (Received: 2013/10/07 - Accepted: 2013/12/10Context-aware applications adapt their behavior and settings according to the environment conditions and to the user preferences. This state-of-the-art survey identifies the current trends related to the technics and tools for the development of this kind of software, as well as the areas of interest of the scientific community on the subject. It stands out the research on multimodal interfaces, localization, activity detection, interruptions control, predictive and wellbeing applications.

  13. A "Neurological Emergency Trolley" reduces turnaround time for high-risk medications in a general intensive care unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajzenberg, Henry; Newman, Paula; Harris, Gail-Anne; Cranston, Marnie; Boyd, J Gordon

    2018-02-01

    To reduce medication turnaround times during neurological emergencies, a multidisciplinary team developed a neurological emergency crash trolley in our intensive care unit. This trolley includes phenytoin, hypertonic saline and mannitol, as well as other equipment. The aim of this study was to assess whether the cart reduced turnaround times for these medications. In this retrospective cohort study, medication delivery times for two year epochs before and after its implementation were compared. Eligible patients were identified from our intensive care unit screening log. Adults who required emergent use of phenytoin, hypertonic saline or mannitol while in the intensive care unit were included. Groups were compared with nonparametric analyses. 33-bed general medical-surgical intensive care unit in an academic teaching hospital. Time to medication administration. In the pre-intervention group, there were 43 patients with 66 events. In the post-intervention group, there were 45 patients with 80 events. The median medication turnaround time was significantly reduced after implementation of the neurological emergency trolley (25 vs. 10minutes, p=0.003). There was no statistically significant difference in intensive care or 30-day survival between the two cohorts. The implementation of a novel neurological emergency crash trolley in our intensive care unit reduced medication turnaround times. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. A MOF Metamodel for the Development of Context-Aware Mobile Applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guareis de farias, Cléver; Leite, M.M.; Calvi, C.Z.; Mantovaneli Pessoa, Rodrigo; Pereira Filho, J.G.; Pereira Filho, J.

    Context-aware mobile applications are increasingly attracting interest of the research community. To facilitate the development of this class of applications, it is necessary that both applications and support platforms share a common context metamodel. This paper presents a metamodel defined using

  15. A Context-Aware Solution in Mobile Language Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatahipour, Majid; Ghaseminajm, Mahnaz

    2014-01-01

    Despite obvious benefits, some challenges exist in the way of sustainable utilization of mobile phone technology for language learning tasks. This paper shows how these challenges can be better addressed in the light of recent advancements in mobile phone technology, like context aware mobile learning, informed with a sound pedagogical basis for…

  16. An Expert System-based Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning Approach for Conducting Science Learning Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Po-Han; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Tsai, Wen-Hung

    2013-01-01

    Context-aware ubiquitous learning has been recognized as being a promising approach that enables students to interact with real-world learning targets with supports from the digital world. Several researchers have indicated the importance of providing learning guidance or hints to individual students during the context-aware ubiquitous learning…

  17. Maintenance of working capacity of movement mechanism of load trolley with linear traction electric drive of bridge type crane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncharov, K. A.; Denisov, I. A.

    2017-10-01

    The article considers the influence of the air gap size between the linear motor elements on the stability of the traction drive of the movement mechanism of the trolley of the bridge type crane. The main factors affecting the air gap size and the causes of their occurrence are described. The technique of calculating the magnitude of air gap variation is described in relation to the general deformation of the crane metal structure. Recommendations on the need for installation of additional equipment for load trolleys of various designs are given. The optimal values of the length of the trolley base are proposed. Observance of these values ensures normal operation of the traction drive.

  18. A hierarchical recurrent encoder-decoder for generative context-aware query suggestion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sordoni, Alessandro; Bengio, Yoshua; Vahabi, Hossein

    2015-01-01

    Users may strive to formulate an adequate textual query for their information need. Search engines assist the users by presenting query suggestions. To preserve the original search intent, suggestions should be context-aware and account for the previous queries issued by the user. Achieving context...

  19. UPCaD: A Methodology of Integration Between Ontology-Based Context-Awareness Modeling and Relational Domain Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinícius Maran

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Context-awareness is a key feature for ubiquitous computing scenarios applications. Currently, technologies and methodologies have been proposed for the integration of context-awareness concepts in intelligent information systems to adapt them to the execution of services, user interfaces and data retrieval. Recent research proposed conceptual modeling alternatives to the integration of the domain modeling in RDBMS and context-awareness modeling. The research described using highly expressiveness ontologies. The present work describes the UPCaD (Unified Process for Integration between Context-Awareness and Domain methodology, which is composed of formalisms and processes to guide the data integration considering RDBMS and context modeling. The methodology was evaluated in a virtual learning environment application. The evaluation shows the possibility to use a highly expressive context ontology to filter the relational data query and discusses the main contributions of the methodology compared with recent approaches.

  20. Secure Data Flow in a Calculus for Context Awareness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bucur, Doina; Nielsen, Mogens

    2008-01-01

    We present a Mobile-Ambients-based process calculus to describe context-aware computing in an infrastructure-based Ubiquitous Computing setting. In our calculus, computing agents can provide and discover contextual information and are owners of security policies. Simple access control to contextual...

  1. The influence of traveler context on the evaluation of shopping center access

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Waerden, van der P.J.H.J.; Borgers, A.W.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes a study on travelers’ evaluation of a shopping centers’ access. Using an Internet based questionnaire, residents of the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands were asked to evaluate the access of a regional shopping center. The evaluation covered not only three different transport

  2. Online versus conventional shopping: consumers' risk perception and regulatory focus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Noort, Guda; Kerkhof, Peter; Fennis, Bob M

    2007-10-01

    In two experiments, the impact of shopping context on consumers' risk perceptions and regulatory focus was examined. We predicted that individuals perceive an online (vs. conventional) shopping environment as more risky and that an online shopping environment, by its risky nature, primes a prevention focus. The findings in Study 1 demonstrate these effects by using self-report measures for risk perception and prevention focus. In Study 2, we replicated these findings and demonstrated that the effect of an online shopping environment carries over to behavior in a domain unrelated to shopping.

  3. Architecture and User-Context Models of CoCare: A Context-Aware Mobile Recommender System for Health Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerón-Rios, Gineth; López, Diego M; Blobel, Bernd

    2017-01-01

    Recommender systems (RS) are useful tools for filtering and sorting items and information for users. There is a wide diversity of approaches that help creating personalized recommendations. Context-aware recommender systems (CARS) are a kind of RS which provide adaptation capabilities to the user's environment, e.g., by sensing data through wearable devices or other biomedical sensors. In healthcare and wellbeing, CARS can support health promotion and health education, considering that each individual requires tailored intervention programs. Our research aims at proposing a context-aware mobile recommender system for the promotion of healthy habits. The system is adapted to the user's needs, his/her health information, interests, time, location and lifestyles. In this paper, the CARS computational architecture and the user and context models of health promotion are presented, which were used to implement and test a prototype recommender system.

  4. How practice contributes to trolley food waste. A qualitative study among staff involved in serving meals to hospital patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofei, K T; Holst, M; Rasmussen, H H; Mikkelsen, B E

    2014-12-01

    This study investigated the generation of trolley food waste at the ward level in a hospital in order to provide recommendations for how practice could be changed to reduce food waste. Three separate focus group discussions were held with four nurses, four dietitians and four service assistants engaged in food service. Furthermore, single qualitative interviews were conducted with a nurse, a dietitian and two service assistants. Observations of procedures around trolley food serving were carried out during lunch and supper for a total of 10 weekdays in two different wards. All unserved food items discarded as waste were weighed after each service. Analysis of interview and observation data revealed five key themes. The findings indicate that trolley food waste generation is a practice embedded within the limitations related to the procedures of meal ordering. This includes portion size choices and delivery, communication, tools for menu information, portioning and monitoring of food waste, as well as the use of unserved food. Considering positive changes to these can be a way forward to develop strategies to reduce trolley food waste at the ward level. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Disarming the Trolley Problem –Why Self-driving Cars do not Need to Choose Whom to Kill

    OpenAIRE

    Johansson , Rolf; Nilsson , Jonas

    2016-01-01

    International audience; Many claim that the “Trolley problem” is hindering the introduction of self-driving cars. Self-driving cars must, as all safety-critical products, be designed such that the probability of morally hard (“trolley”) situations is acceptably low. In this paper we argue that the introduction of self-driving cars can solve this ethical dilemma. In short the solution to the trolley problem is that a self-driving car must be able to estimate its own operational capability for ...

  6. AI empowered context-aware smart system for medication adherence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiong Wu

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – Poor medication adherence leads to high hospital admission rate and heavy amount of health-care cost. To cope with this problem, various electronic pillboxes have been proposed to improve the medication adherence rate. However, most of the existing electronic pillboxes use time-based reminders which may often lead to ineffective reminding if the reminders are triggered at inopportune moments, e.g. user is sleeping or eating. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors propose an AI-empowered context-aware smart pillbox system. The pillbox system collects real-time sensor data from a smart home environment and analyzes the user’s contextual information through a computational abstract argumentation-based activity classifier. Findings – Based on user’s different contextual states, the smart pillbox will generate reminders at appropriate time and on appropriate devices. Originality/value – This paper presents a novel context-aware smart pillbox system that uses argumentation-based activity recognition and reminder generation.

  7. a Context-Aware Tourism Recommender System Based on a Spreading Activation Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahramian, Z.; Abbaspour, R. Ali; Claramunt, C.

    2017-09-01

    Users planning a trip to a given destination often search for the most appropriate points of interest location, this being a non-straightforward task as the range of information available is very large and not very well structured. The research presented by this paper introduces a context-aware tourism recommender system that overcomes the information overload problem by providing personalized recommendations based on the user's preferences. It also incorporates contextual information to improve the recommendation process. As previous context-aware tourism recommender systems suffer from a lack of formal definition to represent contextual information and user's preferences, the proposed system is enhanced using an ontology approach. We also apply a spreading activation technique to contextualize user preferences and learn the user profile dynamically according to the user's feedback. The proposed method assigns more effect in the spreading process for nodes which their preference values are assigned directly by the user. The results show the overall performance of the proposed context-aware tourism recommender systems by an experimental application to the city of Tehran.

  8. A CONTEXT-AWARE TOURISM RECOMMENDER SYSTEM BASED ON A SPREADING ACTIVATION METHOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Bahramian

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Users planning a trip to a given destination often search for the most appropriate points of interest location, this being a non-straightforward task as the range of information available is very large and not very well structured. The research presented by this paper introduces a context-aware tourism recommender system that overcomes the information overload problem by providing personalized recommendations based on the user’s preferences. It also incorporates contextual information to improve the recommendation process. As previous context-aware tourism recommender systems suffer from a lack of formal definition to represent contextual information and user’s preferences, the proposed system is enhanced using an ontology approach. We also apply a spreading activation technique to contextualize user preferences and learn the user profile dynamically according to the user’s feedback. The proposed method assigns more effect in the spreading process for nodes which their preference values are assigned directly by the user. The results show the overall performance of the proposed context-aware tourism recommender systems by an experimental application to the city of Tehran.

  9. Towards a Context-Aware Framework for Improving Collaboration of Users in Groupware Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis G. Montané-Jiménez

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available A Context-Aware Groupware System (CAGS enables the members of a team to communicate, cooperate and coordinate their activities to achieve a common goal, by providing them tools that are aware of their current execution context and adapt accordingly. CAGS can be found in several domains such as entertainment, particularly Collaborative First-Person-Shooter (FPS video games. In CAGS, the means of collaboration traditionally provided to users (e.g. text and audio messaging are not necessarily adequate: for instance, in a FPS, messages can distract the gamer due to the speed of the game. This paper reports a study that, for Collaborative FPS, identifies advantages/disadvantages of current means of collaboration and social behaviors that arise when players interact face-to-face or remotely. Based on this study, a context-aware conceptual model and architecture is proposed for CAGS aimed to improve user collaboration.

  10. Understanding social disparities in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control: the role of neighborhood context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morenoff, Jeffrey D; House, James S; Hansen, Ben B; Williams, David R; Kaplan, George A; Hunte, Haslyn E

    2007-11-01

    The spatial segregation of the US population by socioeconomic position and especially race/ethnicity suggests that the social contexts or "neighborhoods" in which people live may substantially contribute to social disparities in hypertension. The Chicago Community Adult Health Study did face-to-face interviews, including direct measurement of blood pressure, with a representative probability sample of adults in Chicago. These data were used to estimate socioeconomic and racial-ethnic disparities in the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, and to analyze how these disparities are related to the areas in which people live. Hypertension was significantly negatively associated with neighborhood affluence/gentrification, and adjustments for context eliminated the highly significant disparity between blacks/African-Americans and whites, and reduced the significant educational disparity by 10-15% to borderline statistical significance. Awareness of hypertension was significantly higher in more disadvantaged neighborhoods and in places with higher concentrations of blacks (and lower concentrations of Hispanics and immigrants). Adjustment for context completely eliminated blacks' greater awareness, but slightly accentuated the lesser awareness of Hispanics and the greater levels of awareness among the less educated. There was no consistent evidence of either social disparities in or contextual associations with treatment of hypertension, given awareness. Among those on medication, blacks were only 40-50% as likely as whites to have their hypertension controlled, but context played little or no role in either the level of or disparities in control of hypertension. In sum, residential contexts potentially play a large role in accounting for racial/ethnic and, to a lesser degree, socioeconomic disparities in hypertension prevalence and, in a different way, awareness, but not in treatment or control of diagnosed hypertension.

  11. Service platform for rapid development and deployment of context-Aware, mobile applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pokraev, S.; Koolwaaij, Johan; van Setten, Mark; Broens, Tom; Dockhorn Costa, Patrícia; Wibbels, Martin; Ebben, Peter; Strating, Patrick

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we present a web services-based platform that facilitates and speeds up the development and deployment of context-aware, integrated mobile speech and data applications. The platform is capable of handling different types of context and offers sophisticated personalization mechanisms.

  12. Journal of Consumer Sciences - Vol 33 (2005)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The virtual shopping basket versus the shopping trolley: An exploratory investigation of consumers' experience · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. S van Staden, DJF Maree ...

  13. Determinants of Customer Continuance Intention of Online Shopping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al-maghrabi, T.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to clarify theory and identify factors that could explain the level of continuance intention of e-shopping. A revised technology acceptance model integrates expectation confirmation theory and investigates effects of age differences. An online survey of internet shoppers in Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modelling and invariance analysis confirm model fit. The findings confirm that perceived usefulness, enjoyment and social pressure are determinants of e-shopping continuance. The structural weights are mostly equivalent between young and old but the regression path from perceived usefulness to social pressure is stronger for younger respondents. This research moves beyond e-shopping intentions to factors affecting e-shopping continuance, explaining 55% of intention to continue shopping online. Online strategies cannot ignore direct and indirect effects on continuance intentions. The findings contribute to literature on internet shopping and continuance intentions in the context of Saudi Arabia.

  14. [Aedes aegypti larval infestation index and identification of awareness, attitudes and practices related to Dengue in tire shops in Atlántico, Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maestre-Serrano, Ronald; Pacheco-Lugo, Lisandro; Salcedo-Mendoza, Soraya

    2015-10-01

    Objective To identify the awareness, attitudes and practices related to dengue in owners and workers of tire ships, as well as the levels of mosquito infestation in tire shops in Atlántico department - Colombia. Methods We conducted a descriptive study. The variables were described as percentages and measures of central tendency and dispersion. Index of larval infestation and containers were calculated in each of the municipalities studied. We visited and inspected 111 tire shops. 26.1 % (29/111) of these were found positive for Ae. aegypti larvae. The municipalities of Piojó, Santo Tomás, Santa Lucia, Sabanagrande and Luruaco were characterized by a higher larval infestation index. Results Regarding dengue, 90.9 % of respondents considered it a problem for them and their families. 94.6 % know that is transmitted by mosquitoes. 91.1 % know the vector larvae under the name "sarapico", 3.6 % as "gusarapo". 98.2 % felt that there is a relationship between the larva and Ae. aegypti mosquito. 100 % of participantes recognized tires to be a breeding for mosquitoes. 85.7% believed fever to be the most common symptom. 83 % reported accessing the health post to cure the disease. 90.8 % throw out unusable tires as if they were garbage. Conclusion In the population studied, there is good awareness of dengue and its vector. Nevertheless, there are problems related to attitudes and prevention practices.

  15. A Bio-Inspired Model-Based Approach for Context-Aware Post-WIMP Tele-Rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Víctor López-Jaquero

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Tele-rehabilitation is one of the main domains where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT have been proven useful to move healthcare from care centers to patients’ home. Moreover, patients, especially those carrying out a physical therapy, cannot use a traditional Window, Icon, Menu, Pointer (WIMP system, but they need to interact in a natural way, that is, there is a need to move from WIMP systems to Post-WIMP ones. Moreover, tele-rehabilitation systems should be developed following the context-aware approach, so that they are able to adapt to the patients’ context to provide them with usable and effective therapies. In this work a model-based approach is presented to assist stakeholders in the development of context-aware Post-WIMP tele-rehabilitation systems. It entails three different models: (i a task model for designing the rehabilitation tasks; (ii a context model to facilitate the adaptation of these tasks to the context; and (iii a bio-inspired presentation model to specify thoroughly how such tasks should be performed by the patients. Our proposal overcomes one of the limitations of the model-based approach for the development of context-aware systems supporting the specification of non-functional requirements. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate how this proposal can be put into practice to design a real world rehabilitation task.

  16. The Trouble with Teaching Ethics on Trolley Cars and Train Tracks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seider, Scott

    2009-01-01

    In this study, I investigate the beliefs of privileged adolescents about their obligations to those contending with hunger and poverty as well as the impact of "trolley problems" upon these adolescents' beliefs. To consider the attitudes of the young adults in this study, I draw upon their student writing from a course on social issues…

  17. A trolley mounted magazine for reactor maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brennan, P.J.; Madani, M.; Ridgway, G.H.; Lundy, E.; Knight, D.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes the design of a mechanism incorporating a rotary magazine to be mounted on a fuelling machine transport trolley for use at a Darlington reactor during a feeder replacement or maintenance outage. The magazine stores reactor channel maintenance components, such as channel isolation plugs and vented closure plugs, in twelve available magazine channels. Use of the magazine rather than a fuelling machine reduces the time required to transfer such components between the Central Service Area and reactor channels. Component transfers are accomplished by locking the fuelling machine onto one of the magazine channels and using a local controller to execute commands received from the fuel handling control system. (author)

  18. A trolley mounted magazine for reactor maintenance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brennan, P.J.; Madani, M.; Ridgway, G.H. [GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada, Peterborough, Ontario (Canada)], E-mail: patrick1.brennan@ge.com, mehdi.madani@ge.com, guy.ridgway@ge.com; Lundy, E.; Knight, D. [IM and CS (Inspection, Maintenance and Commerical Services), Ontario Power Generation, Ajax, Ontario (Canada)], E-mail: erroll.lundy@opg.com, david.knight@opg.com

    2009-03-15

    This paper describes the design of a mechanism incorporating a rotary magazine to be mounted on a fuelling machine transport trolley for use at a Darlington reactor during a feeder replacement or maintenance outage. The magazine stores reactor channel maintenance components, such as channel isolation plugs and vented closure plugs, in twelve available magazine channels. Use of the magazine rather than a fuelling machine reduces the time required to transfer such components between the Central Service Area and reactor channels. Component transfers are accomplished by locking the fuelling machine onto one of the magazine channels and using a local controller to execute commands received from the fuel handling control system. (author)

  19. A trolley mounted magazine for reactor maintenance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brennan, P.J.; Madani, M.; Ridgway, G.H., E-mail: patrick1.brennan@ge.com, E-mail: mehdi.madani@ge.com, E-mail: guy.ridgway@ge.com [GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada, Peterborough, Ontario (Canada); Lundy, E.; Knight, D., E-mail: erroll.lundy@opg.com, E-mail: david.knight@opg.com [Ontario Power Generation, Inspection, Maintenance and Commercial Services, Ajax, Ontario (Canada)

    2008-07-01

    This paper describes the design of a mechanism incorporating a rotary magazine to be mounted on a fuelling machine transport trolley for use at a Darlington reactor during a feeder replacement or maintenance outage. The magazine stores reactor channel maintenance components, such as channel isolation plugs and vented closure plugs, in twelve available magazine channels. Use of the magazine rather than a fuelling machine reduces the time required to transfer such components between the Central Service Area and reactor channels. Component transfers are accomplished by locking the fuelling machine onto one of the magazine channels and using a local controller to execute commands received from the fuel handling control system. (author)

  20. A trolley mounted magazine for reactor maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brennan, P.J.; Madani, M.; Ridgway, G.H.; Lundy, E.; Knight, D.

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the design of a mechanism incorporating a rotary magazine to be mounted on a fuelling machine transport trolley for use at a Darlington reactor during a feeder replacement or maintenance outage. The magazine stores reactor channel maintenance components, such as channel isolation plugs and vented closure plugs, in twelve available magazine channels. Use of the magazine rather than a fuelling machine reduces the time required to transfer such components between the Central Service Area and reactor channels. Component transfers are accomplished by locking the fuelling machine onto one of the magazine channels and using a local controller to execute commands received from the fuel handling control system. (author)

  1. User Adaptive and Context-Aware Smart Home Using Pervasive and Semantic Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aggeliki Vlachostergiou

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous Computing is moving the interaction away from the human-computer paradigm and towards the creation of smart environments that users and things, from the IoT perspective, interact with. User modeling and adaptation is consistently present having the human user as a constant but pervasive interaction introduces the need for context incorporation towards context-aware smart environments. The current article discusses both aspects of the user modeling and adaptation as well as context awareness and incorporation into the smart home domain. Users are modeled as fuzzy personas and these models are semantically related. Context information is collected via sensors and corresponds to various aspects of the pervasive interaction such as temperature and humidity, but also smart city sensors and services. This context information enhances the smart home environment via the incorporation of user defined home rules. Semantic Web technologies support the knowledge representation of this ecosystem while the overall architecture has been experimentally verified using input from the SmartSantander smart city and applying it to the SandS smart home within FIRE and FIWARE frameworks.

  2. A Framework for Exploiting Internet of Things for Context-Aware Trust-Based Personalized Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abayomi Otebolaku

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In the last years, we have witnessed the introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT as an integral part of the Internet with billions of interconnected and addressable everyday objects. On one hand, these objects generate a massive volume of data that can be exploited to gain useful insights into our day-to-day needs. On the other hand, context-aware recommender systems (CARSs are intelligent systems that assist users to make service consumption choices that satisfy their preferences based on their contextual situations. However, one of the key challenges facing the development and deployment of CARSs is the lack of functionality for providing dynamic and reliable context information required by the recommendation decision process. Thus, data obtained from IoT objects and other sources can be exploited to build CARSs that satisfy users’ preferences, improve quality of experience, and boost recommendation accuracy. This article describes various components of a conceptual IoT-based framework for context-aware personalized recommendations. The framework addresses the weakness whereby CARSs rely on static and limited contexts from user’s mobile phone by providing additional components for reliable and dynamic context information, using IoT context sources. The core of the framework consists of a context classification and reasoning management and a dynamic user profile model, incorporating trust to improve the accuracy of context-aware personalized recommendations. Experimental evaluations show that incorporating context and trust into personalized recommendation process can improve accuracy.

  3. QoE loss score value for service migration in context aware environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saeed, Aamir; Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein

    2014-01-01

    . This paper has identified the factors that contribute to the loss of user experience for seamless application migration in a context aware environment. These are the context information updates, transfer time and resumption time. To quantify the loss of user experience, a Quality of experience (QoE) Loss...

  4. Context-aware Recommender Systems for Learning: a Survey and Future Challenges

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verbert, Katrien; Manouselis, Nikos; Xavier, Ochoa; Wolpers, Martin; Drachsler, Hendrik; Ivana, Bosnic; Erik, Duval

    2011-01-01

    Verbert, K., Manouselis, N., Xavier, O., Wolpers, M., Drachsler, H., Bosnic, I., & Duval, E. (accepted). Context-aware Recommender Systems for Learning: a Survey and Future Challenges. IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (TLT).

  5. Motivate: towards context-aware recommendation mobile system for healthy living

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lin, Y.; Jessurun, J.; Vries, de B.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the practices of a research aiming at the design of a context-aware recommendation system that promotes the adoption of a healthy and active lifestyle. A Smartphone application that provides personalized and contextualized advice on physical activities was developed. The goal of

  6. A Methodology and a Web Platform for the Collaborative Development of Context-Aware Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín, David; López-de-Ipiña, Diego; Alzua-Sorzabal, Aurkene; Lamsfus, Carlos; Torres-Manzanera, Emilio

    2013-01-01

    Information and services personalization is essential for an optimal user experience. Systems have to be able to acquire data about the user's context, process them in order to identify the user's situation and finally, adapt the functionality of the system to that situation, but the development of context-aware systems is complex. Data coming from distributed and heterogeneous sources have to be acquired, processed and managed. Several programming frameworks have been proposed in order to simplify the development of context-aware systems. These frameworks offer high-level application programming interfaces for programmers that complicate the involvement of domain experts in the development life-cycle. The participation of users that do not have programming skills but are experts in the application domain can speed up and improve the development process of these kinds of systems. Apart from that, there is a lack of methodologies to guide the development process. This article presents as main contributions, the implementation and evaluation of a web platform and a methodology to collaboratively develop context-aware systems by programmers and domain experts. PMID:23666131

  7. An architecture to support design of context-aware mobile applications

    OpenAIRE

    Stoica, George Adrian

    2010-01-01

    This thesis deals with the problem of interaction with context-aware mobile applications in digitally augmented physical spaces. The term "mobile application" is used as an umbrella term for any piece of software that can run on a mobile device in order to support a human task. “Context-aware” refers to the ability of such applications to use information about the environment or the user to adapt their behaviour accordingly. A "physical hyperlink" is a mechanism that associates a physical obj...

  8. The virtual shopping basket versus the shopping trolley: An ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use · Contact AJOL · News. OTHER RESOURCES... for Researchers · for Journals · for Authors · for Policy Makers · about Open Access · Journal Quality.

  9. An Exploratory Study of Factors Affecting Consumer International Online Shopping Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Pingjun Jiang; David B. Jones

    2014-01-01

    Few studies in the literature on electronic commerce provide empirical investigation of consumer behavior in the international online shopping context. This study identifies and discusses factors that influence international online purchases and profile the characteristics of those who purchase and those who do not purchase from online stores overseas in three main categories: the online shopping experiential factors, the international shopping motivational factors, and the international trus...

  10. E-Commerce Performance. Shopping Cart Key Performance Indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihaela I. MUNTEAN

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In an e-commerce performance framework is important to identify the key performance indicators that measure success and together provide the greatest context into the business perfor-mance. Shopping carts are an essential part of ecommerce, a minimal set of key performance indicators being the subject of our debate. The theoretical approach is sustained by a case study, an e-shop implemented using PHP and MySQL, for simulating main business processes within the considered performance framework. Our approach opens a perspective for future research using additional indicators in order to properly evaluate the global performance of any e-shop.

  11. Integrated Context-Aware Driver Assistance System Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elhadi M. Shakshuki

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently, significant improvements have been made in the area of vehicular communication systems. Furthermore, vehicle-to-vehicle communication is considered a key concept for keeping roads safe. An efficient implementation of these systems is necessary to ensure the safety of driving situations and to reduce the collision rates. This paper proposes a Context-Aware Driver Assistance System that links drivers with the physical environment surrounding them using multiple types of sensors and traffic systems as well as considering the senior driver's difficulties and the system processing time. This is achieved by developing a warning system that assists drivers to avoid collisions and improve their response times. The proposed system architecture consists of a set of components to process the user's request such as parking assistance, and to provide responses and advices when needed. These components include communication, knowledge exchange, knowledge update, and context-history. Also, it includes other processes such as context-history manipulation, hazard detection, and hazard detection control. The main goal of the proposed system is to reduce the number of car accidents and improve driver's decisions. The NXT Robotic environment is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.

  12. Motivate : a context-aware mobile application for physical activity promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lin, Y.

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this research is to explore the potential and feasibility of LBS on mobile platform in the field of healthy living promotion. The context-aware suggestion on physical activity intervenes at the right time and location. We are interested in the user acceptance of contextualized and

  13. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Byoungjip; Kang, Seungwoo; Ha, Jin-Young; Song, Junehwa

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user’s place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense. PMID:26193275

  14. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Byoungjip; Kang, Seungwoo; Ha, Jin-Young; Song, Junehwa

    2015-07-16

    In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user's place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense.

  15. Mining Context-Aware Association Rules Using Grammar-Based Genetic Programming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luna, Jose Maria; Pechenizkiy, Mykola; Del Jesus, Maria Jose; Ventura, Sebastian

    2017-09-25

    Real-world data usually comprise features whose interpretation depends on some contextual information. Such contextual-sensitive features and patterns are of high interest to be discovered and analyzed in order to obtain the right meaning. This paper formulates the problem of mining context-aware association rules, which refers to the search for associations between itemsets such that the strength of their implication depends on a contextual feature. For the discovery of this type of associations, a model that restricts the search space and includes syntax constraints by means of a grammar-based genetic programming methodology is proposed. Grammars can be considered as a useful way of introducing subjective knowledge to the pattern mining process as they are highly related to the background knowledge of the user. The performance and usefulness of the proposed approach is examined by considering synthetically generated datasets. A posteriori analysis on different domains is also carried out to demonstrate the utility of this kind of associations. For example, in educational domains, it is essential to identify and understand contextual and context-sensitive factors that affect overall and individual student behavior and performance. The results of the experiments suggest that the approach is feasible and it automatically identifies interesting context-aware associations from real-world datasets.

  16. UrbanWeb: a Platform for Mobile, Context-aware Web Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Frank Allan; Grønbæk, Kaj

    2011-01-01

    much benefit from being informed about the user’s context and tailored to the user’s location or the activities the user is engaged in. In this article we focus on the definition of context and context-awareness for mobile Web 2.0 services and we present a framework, UrbanWeb, which has been designed......’s context from sensors in today mobile phones, ranging from GPS data, to 2D visual barcodes, and manual entry of context information and how to utilize this information in Web applications. Finally a number of applications built with the framework are presented.......Faster Internet connections on the mobile Internet and new advanced mobile terminals make it possible to use Web 2.0 applications and service beyond the desktop wherever and whenever you want. However, even though some service may scale in their current form to the mobile Internet, others will very...

  17. Context-Aware Mobile Collaborative Systems: Conceptual Modeling and Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luis G. Montané-Jiménez

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available A Mobile Collaborative System (MCOS enable the cooperation of the members of a team to achieve a common goal by using a combination of mobile and fixed technologies. MCOS can be enhanced if the context of the group of users is considered in the execution of activities. This paper proposes a novel model for Context-Aware Mobile COllaborative Systems (CAMCOS and a functional architecture based on that model. In order to validate both the model and the architecture, a prototype system in the tourism domain was implemented and evaluated.

  18. Peer Interaction and Social Network Analysis of Online Communities with the Support of Awareness of Different Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jian-Wei; Mai, Li-Jung; Lai, Yung-Cheng

    2015-01-01

    Although several studies related to social-context awareness (SA) and knowledge-context awareness (KA) argued that each (SA or KA) can individually enhance peer interaction in an online learning community, other studies reached opposite conclusions. These conflicting findings likely stem from different experimental settings. Most importantly, few…

  19. Effectiveness of the Positioning Statement: Experimental Test on Brand Awareness in Competitive Contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Barreiros Porto

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Good positioning statements have an effect on consumer brand awareness. However, the competitive context formed by the novelty of the category and the brand market structure may hinder the assimilation of positioning and its association with the pre-existing image. This study assesses the effectiveness of positioning statements in the generation of brand awareness, considering its competitive context. Using an experimental design, with a group of control, the exposure of brands and their competitive contexts were manipulated and the positioning statement remained constant for a sample of consumers. The results show the positioning statement had an effect on both assimilation of the message and valence of image association, which adds awareness for the brand, but only for the traditional category. The effectiveness on the message assimilation occurred within the weak brand and within the less known median brand. For the image valence, it occurred only between the weak brand and the strong one from the traditional category. These findings are distinct among consumer segments. The research brings up a classic theme, but presents a new methodological approach to measure the effectiveness of brand positioning.

  20. A Descriptive Longitudinal Study of Changes in Vape Shop Characteristics and Store Policies in Anticipation of the 2016 FDA Regulations of Tobacco Products, Including E-Cigarettes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila Yu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available After proposing the “Deeming Rule” in 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA began regulating the manufacturing, marketing, and sales of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette products as tobacco products in 2016. The current study conducted vape shop store observations and surveyed Los Angeles–area shop employees (assessing their beliefs, awareness, and perceptions of e-cigarettes and related FDA regulations at two time points one year apart to better understand what vape shop retailers would do given FDA’s soon-to-be-enacted Deeming Rule. The study also compared retailer beliefs/awareness/actions and store characteristics immediately after the Deeming Rule proposal versus a year after the Rule had been proposed, right before its enactment. Two data collection waves occurred before the Deeming Rule enactment, with Year 1 surveying 77 shops (2014 and Year 2 surveying 61 shops (2015–2016. Between the data collection points, 16 shops had closed. Among the shops that were open at both time points, the majority (95% in Year 1; 74% in Year 2 were aware of some FDA regulations or other policies applying to vape shops. However, overall awareness of FDA regulations and state/local policies governing e-cigarettes significantly decreased from Year 1 to Year 2. At both time points, all shops offered customers free puffs of nicotine-containing e-liquids (prohibited by the then upcoming Deeming Rule. Perceptions of e-cigarette safety also significantly decreased between the years. Exploring vape shop retailer perceptions and store policies (i.e., free puffs/samples displays, perceptions of e-cigarette safety, etc. over time will help the FDA assess the needs of the vape shop community and develop more effective retailer education campaigns and materials targeted to increase compliance with the newly enacted regulations.

  1. A Descriptive Longitudinal Study of Changes in Vape Shop Characteristics and Store Policies in Anticipation of the 2016 FDA Regulations of Tobacco Products, Including E-Cigarettes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Sheila; Escobedo, Patricia; Garcia, Robert; Cruz, Tess Boley; Unger, Jennifer B; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Meza, Leah; Sussman, Steve

    2018-02-11

    After proposing the "Deeming Rule" in 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating the manufacturing, marketing, and sales of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) products as tobacco products in 2016. The current study conducted vape shop store observations and surveyed Los Angeles-area shop employees (assessing their beliefs, awareness, and perceptions of e-cigarettes and related FDA regulations) at two time points one year apart to better understand what vape shop retailers would do given FDA's soon-to-be-enacted Deeming Rule. The study also compared retailer beliefs/awareness/actions and store characteristics immediately after the Deeming Rule proposal versus a year after the Rule had been proposed, right before its enactment. Two data collection waves occurred before the Deeming Rule enactment, with Year 1 surveying 77 shops (2014) and Year 2 surveying 61 shops (2015-2016). Between the data collection points, 16 shops had closed. Among the shops that were open at both time points, the majority (95% in Year 1; 74% in Year 2) were aware of some FDA regulations or other policies applying to vape shops. However, overall awareness of FDA regulations and state/local policies governing e-cigarettes significantly decreased from Year 1 to Year 2. At both time points, all shops offered customers free puffs of nicotine-containing e-liquids (prohibited by the then upcoming Deeming Rule). Perceptions of e-cigarette safety also significantly decreased between the years. Exploring vape shop retailer perceptions and store policies (i.e., free puffs/samples displays, perceptions of e-cigarette safety, etc.) over time will help the FDA assess the needs of the vape shop community and develop more effective retailer education campaigns and materials targeted to increase compliance with the newly enacted regulations.

  2. Understanding Cooperative Learning in Context-aware Recommender Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Na; Tan, Chee-Wee; Wang, Weiquan

    2017-01-01

    Context-Aware Recommender Systems (CARSs) are becoming commonplace. Yet, there is a paucity of studies that investigates how such systems could affect usage behavior from a user-system interaction perspective. Building on the Social Interdependence Theory (SIT), we construct a research model...... of users’ promotive interaction with CARSs, which in turn, dictates the performance of such recommender systems. Furthermore, we introduce scrutability features as design interventions that can be harnessed by developers to mitigate the impact of users’ promotive interaction on the performance of CARSs....

  3. SmartContent—Self-Protected Context-Aware Active Documents for Mobile Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Luca De Angelis

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Mobile devices make it possible to create, store, access, share or publish personal content on the Internet, anywhere and at anytime. This leads to situations of potential intentional or unintentional misuse of content as well as privacy issues. Recent techniques involving the use of contextual information focus on access of documents stored in clouds, or authentication for secured Web sites. These techniques or more traditional solutions, such as steganography or Digital Rights Management, do not empower the user itself, or data controller in professional settings, with a fine-grained control of the access to or manipulations actions on documents stored on mobile devices, e.g., copying, sharing, etc. In this paper, we propose SmartContent, a novel approach for content protection and privacy. Documents are active and context-aware documents that sense and analyse their current context, e.g., location, noise, neighbouring devices, social network, expiration time, etc. Based on user provided policies, they grant, deny or limit access and manipulation actions, or destroy themselves if necessary. We present the generic model of SmartContent, a concrete architecture and an implementation of a proof-of-concept specifically designed for mobile devices. We deployed it on tablets and showed that a picture dynamically reveals or conceals itself based on sensed context or on changing policies. The implementation leverages the SAPERE middleware specifically developed for context-aware systems.

  4. Designing Context-Aware Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Unipolar and Bipolar Disorders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Frost, Mads; Tuxen, Nanna

    2016-01-01

    This position paper presents our preliminary design of context-aware cognitive behavioral therapy for unipolar and bipolar disorders. We report on the background for this study and the methods applied in the ongoing design process. The paper ends by presenting and discussing different design...

  5. VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Byoungjip Kim

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user’s place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense.

  6. Context-aware system for pre-triggering irreversible vehicle safety actuators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhmländer, Dennis; Dirndorfer, Tobias; Al-Bayatti, Ali H; Brandmeier, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    New vehicle safety systems have led to a steady improvement of road safety and a reduction in the risk of suffering a major injury in vehicle accidents. A huge leap forward in the development of new vehicle safety systems are actuators that have to be activated irreversibly shortly before a collision in order to mitigate accident consequences. The triggering decision has to be based on measurements of exteroceptive sensors currently used in driver assistance systems. This paper focuses on developing a novel context-aware system designed to detect potential collisions and to trigger safety actuators even before an accident occurs. In this context, the analysis examines the information that can be collected from exteroceptive sensors (pre-crash data) to predict a certain collision and its severity to decide whether a triggering is entitled or not. A five-layer context-aware architecture is presented, that is able to collect contextual information about the vehicle environment and the actual driving state using different sensors, to perform reasoning about potential collisions, and to trigger safety functions upon that information. Accident analysis is used in a data model to represent uncertain knowledge and to perform reasoning. A simulation concept based on real accident data is introduced to evaluate the presented system concept. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Science Shops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    1999-01-01

    The paper prsents the overall concept of science shops as practised in most of the European science shops and present the concept practised and some experience obtained at the Technical University of Denmark. An outline for the planning of new sceince shops is presented.......The paper prsents the overall concept of science shops as practised in most of the European science shops and present the concept practised and some experience obtained at the Technical University of Denmark. An outline for the planning of new sceince shops is presented....

  8. Context-aware patient guidance during blood pressure self-measurement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandager, Puk; Lindahl, Camilla; Schlütter, Jacob Mørup

    2013-01-01

    The importance of accurate measurement of blood pressure in the screening and management of hypertension during pregnancy is well established. Blood pressure levels can be measured manually by healthcare staff or by using a blood pressure self-measurement device, either at home or in the clinic...... the blood pressure self-measurement process. Preliminary results indicate that such active and context-aware guidance leads to more reliable measurements by inhibiting non-adherent patient behavior...

  9. A case study on the transformation of context-aware domain data onto XML schemas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Guareis de farias, Cléver; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Ferreira Pires, Luis; Hammoudi, S.

    2007-01-01

    In order to accelerate the development of context-aware applications, it would be convenient to have a smooth path between the context models and the automated services that support these models. This paper discusses how MDA technology (metamodelling and the QVT standard) can support the

  10. Staff's awareness of abuse in health care varies according to context and possibilities to act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swahnberg, Katarina; Wijma, Barbro

    2011-06-01

    The aim of this study was to explore awareness of abuse in health care (AHC) from a staff perspective. Patient evaluation studies often focus on patient satisfaction, and serious negative experiences might therefore be obscured. In our research, we have found that abuse in health care (AHC) is commonly reported by male and female patients, when asked for in a strait way, but so far no intervention studies against AHC have been published. Investigating staff's awareness of AHC is our first step toward developing interventions against AHC. Data were collected at a Swedish clinic of obstetrics and gynecology. Qualitative interviews with 21 informants were analysed with constant comparative analyses. The core category - 'Staff's awareness of AHC varies according to context and possibilities to act' - was derived from the interaction between five categories; Moral imagination, Relativism, Explanations, Dissociation from AHC and Acting against AHC. Awareness of AHC was not a permanent state that did/did not exist as all participants displayed both high and low awareness; depending on the context. Staff's awareness depends on more than personal characteristics; therefore, AHC interventions have to target individual behavior as well as cultures and structures in health care.

  11. Towards Context-Aware Search and Analysis on Social Media Data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Derczynski, Leon; Yang, Bin; Jensen, Christian S.

    2013-01-01

    Social media has changed the way we communicate. Social media data capture our social interactions and utterances in machine readable format. Searching and analysing massive and frequently updated social media data brings significant and diverse rewards across many different application domains......, from politics and business to social science and epidemiology. A notable proportion of social media data comes with explicit or implicit spatial annotations, and almost all social media data has temporal metadata. We view social media data as a constant stream of data points, each containing text...... with spatial and temporal contexts. We identify challenges relevant to each context, which we intend to subject to context aware querying and analysis, specifically including longitudinal analyses on social media archives, spatial keyword search, local intent search, and spatio-temporal intent search. Finally...

  12. Solving LR Conflicts Through Context Aware Scanning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leon, C. Rodriguez; Forte, L. Garcia

    2011-09-01

    This paper presents a new algorithm to compute the exact list of tokens expected by any LR syntax analyzer at any point of the scanning process. The lexer can, at any time, compute the exact list of valid tokens to return only tokens in this set. In the case than more than one matching token is in the valid set, the lexer can resort to a nested LR parser to disambiguate. Allowing nested LR parsing requires some slight modifications when building the LR parsing tables. We also show how LR parsers can parse conflictive and inherently ambiguous languages using a combination of nested parsing and context aware scanning. These expanded lexical analyzers can be generated from high level specifications.

  13. Com que Cor Eu Vou pro Shopping que Você me Convidou?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco César Ribeiro Nascimento

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This article analyzes how discourses on user profiles of shopping malls in the city of Belo Horizonte evidence two aspects of Brazilian socio-historical context: race relations and spatial segregation in organizational contexts. We discuss race relations in Brazil considering color as a discursive construction and shopping malls as organizations that can be configured as spaces of spatial segregation that constitute symbolically private spaces for certain social groups. We used French-style discourse analysis as a methodological strategy. The body of analysis was constituted by discourses present in the Facebook social network and refers to an image that was published by a news outlet about the city of Belo Horizonte that profiled the city's shopping mall clientele in a series of six photos. The research results evidence the discursive construction of color as a dimension of meaning of social practices and representations of individuals that symbolically demarcate who can circulate, and where, in determined organizational spaces, especially in shopping malls.

  14. Shifting configurations of shopping practices and food safety dynamics in Hanoi, Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wertheim-Heck, S.C.O.; Spaargaren, Gert

    2016-01-01

    This paper offers a historical analysis of contemporary practices of shopping for vegetables in the highly dynamic context of urban Hanoi during the period from 1975 to 2014. Focusing on everyday shopping practices from a food safety perspective, we assess the extent to which the policy-enforced

  15. Factors Affecting the Behavior of Engineering Students toward Safety Practices in the Machine Shop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessie Kristian M. Neria

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the behavior of engineering student toward safety practices in the machine shop. Descriptive type of research was utilized in the study. Results showed that most of the engineering students clearly understand the signage shown in the machine shop. Students are aware that they should not leave the machines unattended. Most of the engineering students handle and use the machine properly. The respondents have an average extent of safety practices in the machine shop which means that they are applying safety practices in their every activity in machine shop. There is strong relationship between the safety practices and the factors affecting behavior in terms of signage, reminder of teacher and rules and regulation.

  16. Towards an understanding of Internet-based problem shopping behaviour: The concept of online shopping addiction and its proposed predictors

    Science.gov (United States)

    ROSE, SUSAN; DHANDAYUDHAM, ARUN

    2014-01-01

    Background: Compulsive and addictive forms of consumption and buying behaviour have been researched in both business and medical literature. Shopping enabled via the Internet now introduces new features to the shopping experience that translate to positive benefits for the shopper. Evidence now suggests that this new shopping experience may lead to problematic online shopping behaviour. This paper provides a theoretical review of the literature relevant to online shopping addiction (OSA). Based on this selective review, a conceptual model of OSA is presented. Method: The selective review of the literature draws on searches within databases relevant to both clinical and consumer behaviour literature including EBSCO, ABI Pro-Quest, Web of Science – Social Citations Index, Medline, PsycINFO and Pubmed. The article reviews current thinking on problematic, and specifically addictive, behaviour in relation to online shopping. Results: The review of the literature enables the extension of existing knowledge into the Internet-context. A conceptual model of OSA is developed with theoretical support provided for the inclusion of 7 predictor variables: low self-esteem, low self-regulation; negative emotional state; enjoyment; female gender; social anonymity and cognitive overload. The construct of OSA is defined and six component criteria of OSA are proposed based on established technological addiction criteria. Conclusions: Current Internet-based shopping experiences may trigger problematic behaviours which can be classified on a spectrum which at the extreme end incorporates OSA. The development of a conceptual model provides a basis for the future measurement and testing of proposed predictor variables and the outcome variable OSA. PMID:25215218

  17. Towards an understanding of Internet-based problem shopping behaviour: The concept of online shopping addiction and its proposed predictors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Susan; Dhandayudham, Arun

    2014-06-01

    Compulsive and addictive forms of consumption and buying behaviour have been researched in both business and medical literature. Shopping enabled via the Internet now introduces new features to the shopping experience that translate to positive benefits for the shopper. Evidence now suggests that this new shopping experience may lead to problematic online shopping behaviour. This paper provides a theoretical review of the literature relevant to online shopping addiction (OSA). Based on this selective review, a conceptual model of OSA is presented. The selective review of the literature draws on searches within databases relevant to both clinical and consumer behaviour literature including EBSCO, ABI Pro-Quest, Web of Science - Social Citations Index, Medline, PsycINFO and Pubmed. The article reviews current thinking on problematic, and specifically addictive, behaviour in relation to online shopping. The review of the literature enables the extension of existing knowledge into the Internet-context. A conceptual model of OSA is developed with theoretical support provided for the inclusion of 7 predictor variables: low self-esteem, low self-regulation; negative emotional state; enjoyment; female gender; social anonymity and cognitive overload. The construct of OSA is defined and six component criteria of OSA are proposed based on established technological addiction criteria. Current Internet-based shopping experiences may trigger problematic behaviours which can be classified on a spectrum which at the extreme end incorporates OSA. The development of a conceptual model provides a basis for the future measurement and testing of proposed predictor variables and the outcome variable OSA.

  18. Context-Aware Integrability and Maintainability of Cyber-Physical Ecosystems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tomlein, Matus

    2018-01-01

    -users. This work proposes tactics that utilize context-awareness of industrial systems, domain knowledge codified by domain experts or collected from previous experience and reasoning using rules and machine learning. The tactics provide novel approaches in order to achieve and optimize the two quality attributes...... physical processes. This development provides completely new opportunities for developing industrial ecosystems. A paradigm shift can be made from a situation where development of customized systems requires deep ties between organizations or dedicated hardware components to a situation where customized...... focuses on common maintenance operations and enables reuse of trained models for activity recognition using “transfer learning” to retain the ability to recognize usage and maintenance activities when the sensed context changes due to the maintenance operations. The tools were developed with feedback from...

  19. Drivers and Barriers to Online Shopping in a Newly Digitalized Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Shakaib Akram

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Despite the massive penetration of internet in the developed and the developing world, e-commerce is still struggling in most of the developing and emerging economies. In this context, this study investigates why the customers, in developing countries, do not prefer online shopping for apparel despite the several benefits such as convenience, control, variety and enjoyment being offered by this mode of shopping. Moreover, the study assesses the boundary conditions under which consumers’ perceived risk diminishes online shopping benefits. With data from prospective online customers in an emerging economy, the proposed concept is tested using SmartPLS 3.0 based SEM approach. The results indicate a significant positive effect of online shopping benefits on consumers’ purchase intention for online shopping. In addition, the relationship between online shopping benefits and purchase intention is contingent on the consumers’ level of perceived risk in the digital environment. The paper concludes with a discussion on the managerial and the theoretical implications.

  20. Analyzing the Effects of Context-Aware Mobile Design Principles on Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seneca, Eric

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of mobile technology is rapidly transforming how individuals obtain information. Learning occurs when content is accessed in a recursive process of awareness, exploration, reflection and resolution within one's social context. Specifically, the most visible, current definitions of mobile learning provide an overview of the learning…

  1. Increasing Community Awareness About Alzheimer's Disease in Puerto Rico Through Coffee Shop Education and Social Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman, Daniela B; Gibson, Andrea; Torres, William; Irizarry, Jessica; Rodriguez, John; Tang, Weizhou; Kannaley, Kristie

    2016-10-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the fourth leading cause of death in Puerto Rico. Using multi-media resources and in-person education may be an effective approach to improve knowledge and awareness of AD. The Un Café por el Alzheimer program in Puerto Rico incorporates an education component at coffee shops and a social media campaign using Facebook. The current study evaluates this initiative through an analysis of pre/post education survey results and social media content and use. Surveys contained close-ended and open-ended questions to understand participants' perceptions and knowledge about AD. Post-education surveys also included questions related to program satisfaction. Social media analysis of the Facebook community page examined posts from March 1 to September 30, 2015. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze survey and Facebook data. Four education sessions were conducted with a total of 212 participants. Fifty-one of the participants completed both pre- and post-surveys. Following the education program participants reported improved knowledge of risk and protective factors. All participants reported learning new information from the program. There were a total of 250 posts on the Un Café por el Alzheimer community Facebook page; 168 posts related to AD. The Facebook page reached 294,109 people, with 9963 page likes, 610 comments, 17,780 post clicks, and 3632 shares. There was an average increase of 64.8 % in number of people reached by the Facebook page following the education sessions. The approach of combining social media resources and in-person education is beneficial to increase public awareness of AD and disseminate health information.

  2. Context-Aware Middleware for Pervasive Elderly Homecare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pung, Hung Keng; Gu, Tao; Xue, Wenwei

    2009-01-01

    The growing aging population faces a number of challenges, including rising medical cost, inadequate number of medical doctors and healthcare professionals, as well as higher incidence of misdiagnosis. There is an increasing demand for a better healthcare support for the elderly and one promising......-aware service management. It can be used to support the development and deployment of various homecare services for the elderly such as patient monitoring, location-based emergency response, anomalous daily activity detection, pervasive access to medical data and social networking. We have developed a prototype...... of the middleware and demonstrated the concept of providing a continuing-care to an elderly with the collaborative interactions spanning multiple physical spaces: person, home, office and clinic. The results of the prototype show that our middleware approach achieves good efficiency of context query processing...

  3. Gold-decorated shopping centre; Golddekoriertes Shopping Center

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Altmannshofer, Robert

    2010-11-15

    In the autumn 2009, the German quality seal sustainable construction for commercial new buildings was introduced. Thus, owners and operators of retail real estate and shopping centres can make clear their commitment in the matter of sustainability. The Ernst-August-Galerie (Hanover, Federal Republic of Germany) developed and operated by ECE Projektmanagement GmbH and Co. KG (Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany) was a pilot project and also the first gold in one. With its around 150 shops, the Ernst-August-Galerie offers a supermarket, fashion outlets, a food court, service outlets and restaurants/cafes. The spacious and elegantly designed shopping mall with its piazzas and light-flooded rotundas exudes a Mediterranean air, making it a high-quality venue for shopping, strolling and leisure activities.

  4. Youth and Shopping Malls: A Case Study about Youth Preference in Mall Use

    OpenAIRE

    Güliz MUĞAN AKINCI

    2013-01-01

    Shopping malls demonstrate the growth of consumption culture in contemporary urban life. After the 1980s, a liberalized economy and changing global factors made shopping malls important components of Turkish urban identity. As shopping malls have become such a significant part of the social world of youth in the last twenty years, it seems crucial to concentrate on ‘malls and youth’ as a subject of study. In this context, this study aims to analyze the leisure time activities and preferred le...

  5. Fine-tuning a Context-Aware system application by using User-Centred Design methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jimenez Garcia, Juan; Boerema, Simone Theresa; Hermens, Hermanus J.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

    2010-01-01

    Context-Aware Systems in the home environment can provide an effective solution for supporting wellbeing and autonomy for the elderly. The definition and implementation of the system architecture for a particular assisted living healthcare application entail both technological and usability

  6. Rehabilitation in the real-life environment of a shopping mall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labbé, Delphine; Poldma, Tiiu; Fichten, Catherine; Havel, Alice; Kehayia, Eva; Mazer, Barbara; McKinley, Patricia; Rochette, Annie; Swaine, Bonnie

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study was to explore how shopping malls could be used during rehabilitation and to identify the facilitators and barriers to their use. Two focus groups, conducted with 15 rehabilitation professionals from various disciplines and working with people with disabilities of all ages were structured around two topics: (i) The usage of malls for rehabilitation and (ii) Factors that facilitate or limit rehabilitation professionals' use of the mall as an environment for clinical assessment and/or intervention. The thematic analysis revealed that shopping malls were used to achieve several rehabilitation goals targeting physical and cognitive skills, psychological health and socialization. This real-life environment is motivating and helps foster independence and normalization. Factors affecting mall use during rehabilitation included personal factors (e.g. clients' personality and level of readiness) and environmental factors (e.g. clinical context, accessibility of the mall and social attitudes of store owners). Shopping malls may be a relevant rehabilitation assessment and treatment environment that could contribute to optimizing community integration of people with disabilities. Implications for rehabilitation To ensure successful community reintegration, clients could be trained at some point during their rehabilitation, to perform activities in real-life settings, such as a shopping mall. Shopping malls appear to enable the attainment of rehabilitation goals targeting a variety of skills. This real-life environment appears to be motivating and helps foster independence and normalization. Factors felt to affect mall use during rehabilitation include personal factors (e.g. clients' personality and level of readiness) and environmental factors (e.g. clinical context, accessibility of the mall and social attitudes of store owners). The shopping mall may be an untapped resource as it appears to be a relevant rehabilitation assessment and treatment

  7. Architecture for WSN Nodes Integration in Context Aware Systems Using Semantic Messages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larizgoitia, Iker; Muguira, Leire; Vazquez, Juan Ignacio

    Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are becoming extremely popular in the development of context aware systems. Traditionally WSN have been focused on capturing data, which was later analyzed and interpreted in a server with more computational power. In this kind of scenario the problem of representing the sensor information needs to be addressed. Every node in the network might have different sensors attached; therefore their correspondent packet structures will be different. The server has to be aware of the meaning of every single structure and data in order to be able to interpret them. Multiple sensors, multiple nodes, multiple packet structures (and not following a standard format) is neither scalable nor interoperable. Context aware systems have solved this problem with the use of semantic technologies. They provide a common framework to achieve a standard definition of any domain. Nevertheless, these representations are computationally expensive, so a WSN cannot afford them. The work presented in this paper tries to bridge the gap between the sensor information and its semantic representation, by defining a simple architecture that enables the definition of this information natively in a semantic way, achieving the integration of the semantic information in the network packets. This will have several benefits, the most important being the possibility of promoting every WSN node to a real semantic information source.

  8. “It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop”: Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluijs, Winfried; Miller, Martine; MacGregor, Andy; Sharp, Clare; Amos, Amanda; Best, Catherine; Stead, Martine; Eadie, Douglas; Pearce, Jamie; Frank, John; Haw, Sally

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: As further restrictions have been placed on tobacco advertising and promotions, point-of-sale (PoS) displays of cigarettes in shops have become an increasingly important source of young people’s exposure to tobacco products. This study explored the relationship between PoS displays of cigarettes and brand awareness among secondary school students in Scotland. Methods: Cross-sectional school surveys (n = 1406) and focus groups (n = 86) were conducted with S2 (13–14 years) and S4 (15–16 years) students in four schools of differing socioeconomic status in 2013, prior to the PoS display ban in large shops. Adjusted negative binomial regression analysis examined associations between brand awareness and exposure variables (visiting tobacco retailers, noticing displays of tobacco products). Results: Students visiting small shops more frequently (relative rate ratio [RRR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.41) and those who noticed cigarette displays in small shops (RRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03–1.51) and large supermarkets (RRR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01–1.30) had higher brand awareness. The focus groups supported these findings. Participants described PoS tobacco displays as being eye-catching, colorful and potentially attractive to young people. Conclusions: This mixed-methods study showed that higher cigarette brand awareness was significantly associated with regularly visiting small shops and noticing PoS displays in small and large shops, even when students’ smoking status, smoking in their social networks, leisure activities, and demographics were included as confounding variables. This highlights the importance of PoS displays of tobacco products in increasing brand awareness, which is known to increase youth smoking susceptibility, and thus the importance of implementing PoS display bans in all shops. Implications: As increasing restrictions have been placed on tobacco promotion in many countries, PoS displays of cigarettes in shops have become

  9. Aesthetic quality inference for online fashion shopping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ming; Allebach, Jan

    2014-03-01

    On-line fashion communities in which participants post photos of personal fashion items for viewing and possible purchase by others are becoming increasingly popular. Generally, these photos are taken by individuals who have no training in photography with low-cost mobile phone cameras. It is desired that photos of the products have high aesthetic quality to improve the users' online shopping experience. In this work, we design features for aesthetic quality inference in the context of online fashion shopping. Psychophysical experiments are conducted to construct a database of the photos' aesthetic evaluation, specifically for photos from an online fashion shopping website. We then extract both generic low-level features and high-level image attributes to represent the aesthetic quality. Using a support vector machine framework, we train a predictor of the aesthetic quality rating based on the feature vector. Experimental results validate the efficacy of our approach. Metadata such as the product type are also used to further improve the result.

  10. Comparison Shopping Agents and Czech Online Customers’ Shopping Behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pilik Michal

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The internet has changed the lifestyles and shopping behaviours of customers. Online purchasing enables people to obtain information about products and services provided more effectively and easily, with the result that home shopping has become ordinary and usual. This paper presents part of a research focusing on online shopping customers’ behaviour in the Czech Republic. The article pertains to comparison shopping agents (CPAs, a tool which provides information to customers and helps find the best offer. The research was conducted on the basis of an online questionnaire available on an internet web page. The main results confirmed a dependency between online purchasing and the use of shopping agents, which are very popular in the Czech Republic. Almost two-thirds of online shoppers use CPAs when they engage in internet shopping. The final part of the paper addresses references and customers’ reviews as an important factor for the selection of online retailer.

  11. The role of food shopping in later life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettigrew, Simone; Worrall, Caitlin; Biagioni, Nicole; Talati, Zenobia; Jongenelis, Michelle

    2017-04-01

    By the time they reach retirement, individuals are typically highly experienced in sourcing food products and they have strong familiarity with food retailing environments. To investigate the ongoing role of food shopping in later life, the present study explored seniors' attitudes to food shopping and their food-selection behaviours through the lens of their broader lifestyles. The aim was to provide insights of relevance to the development of future efforts to optimise seniors' food shopping experiences and nutrition-related outcomes. Interviews were conducted with 75 Western Australians aged 60 + years to discuss food shopping in the context of their day-to-day lives. The sample was comprised mainly of women (n = 64) and the average age was 74 years. In general, food shopping was perceived to be a manageable but mundane part of life. The findings suggest that there has been an improvement in food retailing practices because many of the numerous areas of concern identified in previous research conducted in this geographical location a decade ago were not nominated as relevant by the interviewees. Instead, food-related issues reported to be most problematic included the difficulties associated with sourcing affordable food products that had been produced locally and that did not contain unacceptable food additives. Seniors' food shopping concerns thus appear to have changed from functional aspects of the physical store environment to product attributes that reflect the increasing industrialisation of the food industry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. A Personal Context-Aware Multi-Device Coaching Service that Supports a Healthy Lifestyle

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    op den Akker, Hendrikus J.A.; Klaassen, Randy; Lavrysen, Tine; Geleijnse, Gijs; van Halteren, Aart; Schwietert, Henk; van der Hout, Marloes

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes work in progress in the European Artemis project Smarcos. Smarcos focuses on interusability of multi-device embedded and networked services. The work presented here is devoted to the development of context-aware personal coaching service systems that give users personalized

  13. Mobile Learning in Context — Context-aware Hypermedia in the Wild

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Frank Allan; Bouvin, Niels Olof

    2009-01-01

    Modern project-based education requires students to be able to work with digital materials both in and out of the classroom. Field trips are often an integral part of such projects and greatly benefit students' learning by allowing them to engage with real-world environments first-hand. However......, the infrastructure for accessing context sensitive information and supporting in-situ authoring by students while in the field is often lacking. In this paper we present the HyCon framework for mobile, context-aware, and multi-platform hypermedia that aims at supporting several aspects of fieldtrips and project...

  14. Shopping Centres and Selected Aspects of Shopping Behaviour (Brno, the Czech Republic)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kunc, J.; Tonev, P.; Szczyrba, Z.; Frantál, Bohumil

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 2 (2012), s. 39-51 ISSN 2065-4421 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : shopping centres * shopping habits * commuting to retail shops Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography http://technicalgeography.org/pdf/2_2012/05_josef_kunc_petr_tonev_zdenek_szczyrba_bohumil_frantal_shopping_centres_and_selected_aspects_of_shopping_behaviour.pdf

  15. The Outcome and Patterns of Traumatic Brain Injury in the Paediatric Population of a Developing Country Secondary to TV Trolley Tip-Over.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waqas, Muhammad; Javed, Gohar; Nathani, Karim Rizwan; Ujjan, Badar; Quadri, Syed A; Tahir, Muhammad Zubair

    2018-01-01

    Television (TV) trolley tip-over incidences are common and can cause significant morbidity and mortality in children. This study was aimed at analyzing the pattern and outcomes of head injuries resulting from TV trolley tip-over. We conducted a medical chart review of children with TV trolley tip-over head injuries from January 2009 to April 2016. We collected data on demographics, the mechanism of injury, clinical and radiological features of the injury, and outcomes. Outcomes were measured by means of the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at 6 months (except in 1 case). A descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS v19. Twenty-two children were included in the study (median age 23.5 months). Sixteen children were male. Most of the children (n = 16) were aged 12-35 months. The median Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission was 15. The median Rotterdam Score for the patients was 2.0. Common symptoms upon admission were vomiting, irritability, scalp laceration, and bruises. Median length of hospital stay was 3 days. Skull bone fractures were present in 12 children. Other CT findings included contusions, extradural and subdural haematomas, intraventricular haemorrhage, and pneumocranium. Surgical intervention was required in 4 cases. Although most of the patients made a good recovery (GOS = 5), 1 patient developed a mild disability and another died in hospital. TV trolley tip-over is most common in toddlers and can lead to significant head injury and mortality. This can be avoided by parental supervision and adjustments in the household. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  16. Large-Scale Context-Aware Volume Navigation using Dynamic Insets

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Awami, Ali

    2012-07-01

    Latest developments in electron microscopy (EM) technology produce high resolution images that enable neuro-scientists to identify and put together the complex neural connections in a nervous system. However, because of the massive size and underlying complexity of this kind of data, processing, navigation and analysis suffer drastically in terms of time and effort. In this work, we propose the use of state-of- the-art navigation techniques, such as dynamic insets, built on a peta-scale volume visualization framework to provide focus and context-awareness to help neuro-scientists in their mission to analyze, reconstruct, navigate and explore EM neuroscience data.

  17. Context-aware local Intrusion Detection in SCADA systems : a testbed and two showcases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chromik, Justyna Joanna; Haverkort, Boudewijn R.H.M.; Remke, Anne Katharina Ingrid; Pilch, Carina; Brackmann, Pascal; Duhme, Christof; Everinghoff, Franziska; Giberlein, Artur; Teodorowicz, Thomas; Wieland, Julian

    2017-01-01

    This paper illustrates the use of a testbed that we have developed for context-aware local intrusion detection. This testbed is based on the co-simulation framework Mosaik and allows for the validation of local intrusion detection mechanisms at field stations in power distribution networks. For two

  18. Choice experiments versus revealed choice models : a before-after study of consumer spatial shopping behavior

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmermans, H.J.P.; Borgers, A.W.J.; Waerden, van der P.J.H.J.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to compare a set of multinomial logit models derived from revealed choice data and a decompositional choice model derived from experimental data in terms of predictive success in the context of consumer spatial shopping behavior. Data on consumer shopping choice

  19. Internet of Things: A Review of Surveys Based on Context Aware Intelligent Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, David; Ferrández, Antonio; Mora-Mora, Higinio; Peral, Jesús

    2016-01-01

    The Internet of Things (IoT) has made it possible for devices around the world to acquire information and store it, in order to be able to use it at a later stage. However, this potential opportunity is often not exploited because of the excessively big interval between the data collection and the capability to process and analyse it. In this paper, we review the current IoT technologies, approaches and models in order to discover what challenges need to be met to make more sense of data. The main goal of this paper is to review the surveys related to IoT in order to provide well integrated and context aware intelligent services for IoT. Moreover, we present a state-of-the-art of IoT from the context aware perspective that allows the integration of IoT and social networks in the emerging Social Internet of Things (SIoT) term. PMID:27409623

  20. Internet of Things: A Review of Surveys Based on Context Aware Intelligent Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Gil

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The Internet of Things (IoT has made it possible for devices around the world to acquire information and store it, in order to be able to use it at a later stage. However, this potential opportunity is often not exploited because of the excessively big interval between the data collection and the capability to process and analyse it. In this paper, we review the current IoT technologies, approaches and models in order to discover what challenges need to be met to make more sense of data. The main goal of this paper is to review the surveys related to IoT in order to provide well integrated and context aware intelligent services for IoT. Moreover, we present a state-of-the-art of IoT from the context aware perspective that allows the integration of IoT and social networks in the emerging Social Internet of Things (SIoT term.

  1. Internet of Things: A Review of Surveys Based on Context Aware Intelligent Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, David; Ferrández, Antonio; Mora-Mora, Higinio; Peral, Jesús

    2016-07-11

    The Internet of Things (IoT) has made it possible for devices around the world to acquire information and store it, in order to be able to use it at a later stage. However, this potential opportunity is often not exploited because of the excessively big interval between the data collection and the capability to process and analyse it. In this paper, we review the current IoT technologies, approaches and models in order to discover what challenges need to be met to make more sense of data. The main goal of this paper is to review the surveys related to IoT in order to provide well integrated and context aware intelligent services for IoT. Moreover, we present a state-of-the-art of IoT from the context aware perspective that allows the integration of IoT and social networks in the emerging Social Internet of Things (SIoT) term.

  2. Prototype of an auto-calibrating, context-aware, hybrid brain-computer interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faller, J; Torrellas, S; Miralles, F; Holzner, C; Kapeller, C; Guger, C; Bund, J; Müller-Putz, G R; Scherer, R

    2012-01-01

    We present the prototype of a context-aware framework that allows users to control smart home devices and to access internet services via a Hybrid BCI system of an auto-calibrating sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) based BCI and another assistive device (Integra Mouse mouth joystick). While there is extensive literature that describes the merit of Hybrid BCIs, auto-calibrating and co-adaptive ERD BCI training paradigms, specialized BCI user interfaces, context-awareness and smart home control, there is up to now, no system that includes all these concepts in one integrated easy-to-use framework that can truly benefit individuals with severe functional disabilities by increasing independence and social inclusion. Here we integrate all these technologies in a prototype framework that does not require expert knowledge or excess time for calibration. In a first pilot-study, 3 healthy volunteers successfully operated the system using input signals from an ERD BCI and an Integra Mouse and reached average positive predictive values (PPV) of 72 and 98% respectively. Based on what we learned here we are planning to improve the system for a test with a larger number of healthy volunteers so we can soon bring the system to benefit individuals with severe functional disability.

  3. A Context-Aware S-Health Service System for Drivers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingkun Chang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available As a stressful and sensitive task, driving can be disturbed by various factors from the health condition of the driver to the environmental variables of the vehicle. Continuous monitoring of driving hazards and providing the most appropriate business services to meet actual needs can guarantee safe driving and make great use of the existing information resources and business services. However, there is no in-depth research on the perception of a driver’s health status or the provision of customized business services in case of various hazardous situations. In order to constantly monitor the health status of the drivers and react to abnormal situations, this paper proposes a context-aware service system providing a configurable architecture for the design and implementation of the smart health service system for safe driving, which can perceive a driver’s health status and provide helpful services to the driver. With the context-aware technology to construct a smart health services system for safe driving, this is the first time that such a service system has been implemented in practice. Additionally, an assessment model is proposed to mitigate the impact of the acceptable abnormal status and, thus, reduce the unnecessary invocation of the services. With regard to different assessed situations, the business services can be invoked for the driver to adapt to hazardous situations according to the services configuration model, which can take full advantage of the existing information resources and business services. The evaluation results indicate that the alteration of the observed status in a valid time range T can be tolerated and the frequency of the service invocation can be reduced.

  4. The ethics of accident-algorithms for self-driving cars: an applied trolley problem?

    OpenAIRE

    Nyholm, S.R.; Smids, J.

    2016-01-01

    Self-driving cars hold out the promise of being safer than manually driven cars. Yet they cannot be a 100 % safe. Collisions are sometimes unavoidable. So self-driving cars need to be programmed for how they should respond to scenarios where collisions are highly likely or unavoidable. The accident-scenarios self-driving cars might face have recently been likened to the key examples and dilemmas associated with the trolley problem. In this article, we critically examine this tempting analogy....

  5. Context-Aware Multimodal FIDO Authenticator for Sustainable IT Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seung-Hyun Kim

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Existing sustainable IT services have several problems related to user authentication such as the inefficiency of managing the system security, low security, and low usability. In this paper, we propose a Fast IDentity Online (FIDO authenticator that performs continuous authentication with implicit authentication based on user context and multimodal authentication. The proposed FIDO authenticator, a context-aware multimodal FIDO authentication (CAMFA method, combines information such as the user context, state of the mobile device, and user biometrics, then applies implicit and explicit authentication methods to meet the level of authentication required by the service provider. This reduces the user’s explicit authentication burden and continually authenticates users at risk during the session. Moreover, it is able to respond to attacks such as the theft of the authentication method or session hijacking. To study the effectiveness of CAMFA, we ran a user study by collecting data from 22 participants over 42 days of activity on a practical Android platform. The result of the user study demonstrates that the number of explicit authentication requests could be reduced by half. Based on the results of this study, an advanced user authentication that provides multimodal and continuous authentication could be applied to sustainable IT services.

  6. Modeling Battery Behavior on Sensory Operations for Context-Aware Smartphone Sensing

    OpenAIRE

    Yurur, Ozgur; Liu, Chi Harold; Moreno, Wilfrido

    2015-01-01

    Energy consumption is a major concern in context-aware smartphone sensing. This paper first studies mobile device-based battery modeling, which adopts the kinetic battery model (KiBaM), under the scope of battery non-linearities with respect to variant loads. Second, this paper models the energy consumption behavior of accelerometers analytically and then provides extensive simulation results and a smartphone application to examine the proposed sensor model. Third, a Markov reward process is ...

  7. RELATIONSHIP AMONG E-SERVICE QUALITY, CULTURE, ATTITUDE, TRUST, RISK OF ONLINE SHOPPING

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Al-Nasser; Rushami Zien Yusoff; Rabiul Islam; Abdullah Al-Nasser

    2014-01-01

    Purchasing is considered a risky business specifically in the online purchasing environment. The research was designed to fill the gap in the existing body of knowledge regarding attitudes and differences in electronic service quality perception between two different geographical and cultural countries-Malaysia and Saudi Arabia-regarding online shopping. Specifically, this research extended previous effort done in an online shopping context by providing evidence that high service quality incr...

  8. ShopComm: Community-Supported Online Shopping for Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorkovenko, Katerina; Tigwell, Garreth W; Norrie, Christopher S; Waite, Miriam; Herron, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    The United Kingdom has an ageing population whose members experience significant life transitions as they grow older, for example, losing mobility due to deteriorating health. For these adults, digital technology has the potential to sustain their independence and improve their quality of life. However older adults can be reluctant to use digital solutions. In this paper, we review a local charity providing a grocery shopping service for older adults who are unable to go themselves. We explore how older adults perceive the benefits and drawbacks of both physical and digital shopping. Using these insights, we designed ShopComm to enable and support older adults with mobility impairments to shop online.

  9. A Context Aware Recommender System for Mobile Phone Selection Using Combination of Elimination Method and Analytic Hierarchy Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalal Rezaeenour

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Recommender systems suggest proper items to customers based on their preferences and needs. Needed time to search is reduced and the quality of customer’s choice is increased using recommender systems. The context information like time, location and user behaviors can enhance the quality of recommendations and customer satisfication in such systems. In this paper a context aware recommender system is designed and implemented in android smart phones to help customers select mobile phones. The system removes ineffective criteria on user’s purcheses using customer mobile phones’ sensor data. Then creates analytic hierarchy processing tree and computes weights. Finally the recommender system recommends proper mobile phone to user. The system selects and recommends suitable phones using combination of elimination method and analytic hierarchy processing (AHP. The context aware recommender system is used by mobile phone customers to assess recomendation satisfication and user interface design satisfication. In addition a traditional non-context aware recommender system is used by users to compare the recommendation results in two different systems. The article concludes that using context information can improve the recommendation quality and user satisfication. Because of decreasing criteria and pair-wised comparisions, the user interface design satisfication improves a little too.

  10. A Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) of Routing Protocol for Agricultural Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPAL).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yibo; Chanet, Jean-Pierre; Hou, Kun-Mean; Shi, Hongling; de Sousa, Gil

    2015-08-10

    In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things) technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL), which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this context, as an important role of IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can utilize RPL to design efficient routing protocols for a specific application to increase the ubiquity of networks with resource-constrained WSN nodes that are low-cost and easy to deploy. In this article, our work starts with the description of Agricultural Low-power and Lossy Networks (A-LLNs) complying with the LLN framework, and to clarify the requirements of this application-oriented routing solution. After a brief review of existing optimization techniques for RPL, our contribution is dedicated to a Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF) that can adapt RPL to the environmental monitoring of A-LLNs, through combining energy-aware, reliability-aware, robustness-aware and resource-aware contexts according to the composite routing metrics approach. The correct behavior of this enhanced RPL version (RPAL) was verified by performance evaluations on both simulation and field tests. The obtained experimental results confirm that SCAOF can deliver the desired advantages on network lifetime extension, and high reliability and efficiency in different simulation scenarios and hardware testbeds.

  11. A Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF of Routing Protocol for Agricultural Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yibo Chen

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, IoT (Internet of Things technologies have seen great advances, particularly, the IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-power and Lossy Networks (RPL, which provides a powerful and flexible routing framework that can be applied in a variety of application scenarios. In this context, as an important role of IoT, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs can utilize RPL to design efficient routing protocols for a specific application to increase the ubiquity of networks with resource-constrained WSN nodes that are low-cost and easy to deploy. In this article, our work starts with the description of Agricultural Low-power and Lossy Networks (A-LLNs complying with the LLN framework, and to clarify the requirements of this application-oriented routing solution. After a brief review of existing optimization techniques for RPL, our contribution is dedicated to a Scalable Context-Aware Objective Function (SCAOF that can adapt RPL to the environmental monitoring of A-LLNs, through combining energy-aware, reliability-aware, robustness-aware and resource-aware contexts according to the composite routing metrics approach. The correct behavior of this enhanced RPL version (RPAL was verified by performance evaluations on both simulation and field tests. The obtained experimental results confirm that SCAOF can deliver the desired advantages on network lifetime extension, and high reliability and efficiency in different simulation scenarios and hardware testbeds.

  12. Omni channel fashion shopping

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; van Delft, L.; Borgers, A.W.J.; Pantano, E.

    2015-01-01

    This chapter gives insight into consumers' online and offline fashion shopping behavior, consumers' omni-channel usage during the shopping process, and consumer fashion shopper segments. Based on a literature review, omni-channel shopping behavior during the shopping process was operationalized.

  13. Ubiquitous Geo-Sensing for Context-Aware Analysis: Exploring Relationships between Environmental and Human Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Euro Beinat

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Ubiquitous geo-sensing enables context-aware analyses of physical and social phenomena, i.e., analyzing one phenomenon in the context of another. Although such context-aware analysis can potentially enable a more holistic understanding of spatio-temporal processes, it is rarely documented in the scientific literature yet. In this paper we analyzed the collective human behavior in the context of the weather. We therefore explored the complex relationships between these two spatio-temporal phenomena to provide novel insights into the dynamics of urban systems. Aggregated mobile phone data, which served as a proxy for collective human behavior, was linked with the weather data from climate stations in the case study area, the city of Udine, Northern Italy. To identify and characterize potential patterns within the weather-human relationships, we developed a hybrid approach which integrates several spatio-temporal statistical analysis methods. Thereby we show that explanatory factor analysis, when applied to a number of meteorological variables, can be used to differentiate between normal and adverse weather conditions. Further, we measured the strength of the relationship between the ‘global’ adverse weather conditions and the spatially explicit effective variations in user-generated mobile network traffic for three distinct periods using the Maximal Information Coefficient (MIC. The analyses result in three spatially referenced maps of MICs which reveal interesting insights into collective human dynamics in the context of weather, but also initiate several new scientific challenges.

  14. Final Scientific/Technical Report: Context-Aware Smart Home Energy Manager (CASHEM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foslien, Wendy K. [Honeywell International Inc., Golden Valley, MN (United States); Curtner, Keith L. [Honeywell International Inc., Golden Valley, MN (United States)

    2013-01-15

    Because of growing energy demands and shortages, residential home owners are turning to energy conservation measures and smart home energy management devices to help them reduce energy costs and live more sustainably. In this context, the Honeywell team researched, developed, and tested the Context Aware Smart Home Energy Manager (CASHEM) as a trusted advisor for home energy management. The project focused on connecting multiple devices in a home through a uniform user interface. The design of the user interface was an important feature of the project because it provided a single place for the homeowner to control all devices and was also where they received coaching. CASHEM then used data collected from homes to identify the contexts that affect operation of home appliances. CASHEM's goal was to reduce energy consumption while keeping the user's key needs satisfied. Thus, CASHEM was intended to find the opportunities to minimize energy consumption in a way that fit the user's lifestyle.

  15. A Context-Aware System Infrastructure for Monitoring Activities of Daily Living in Smart Home

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qin Ni

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a three-layered context-aware architecture for monitoring activities of daily life in smart home. This architecture provides for the inclusion of functionalities that range from low-level data collection to high-level context knowledge extraction. We have also devised an upper-level ontology to model the context in which the activities take place. This enables having a common activity-related context representation, on which to infer and share knowledge. Furthermore, we have begun to implement a platform that realizes our architecture and ontology, making use of Microsoft’s Lab of Things (LoT platform, being the preliminary results on this task also described in the paper.

  16. Clostridium difficile in retail baskets, trolleys, conveyor belts, and plastic bags in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alqumber, Mohammed A

    2014-10-01

    To determine Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) prevalence on retail surfaces and shoppers plastic bags. From 20 June to 10 August 2011, in a cross-sectional epidemiological study, 17 supermarkets from 2 cities, Albaha and Altaif, Saudi Arabia were sampled. A total of 800 samples, which comprised 200 samples per surveyed surface, were studied. These included baskets, trolleys, conveyer belts, and outgoing shoppers' plastic bags. Clostridium difficile strains were isolated. The isolates were characterized using ribotyping and  polymerase chain reaction for the detection of toxin A (tcdA), toxin B (tcdB), binary toxin (cdtB), and toxin C (tcdC) genes. Susceptibility to antibiotics was determined on a Muller-Hinton agar with 5% sheep blood agar using E-tests. Overall, the C. difficile prevalence on sampled surfaces was 0.75%. The highest prevalence was found on retail baskets and trolleys, followed by plastic bags. A total of 5 different ribotypes were identified. Alterations in tcdC were detected in ribotype 027 and BT1. All the identified isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, but resistant to levofloxacin. In this study, C. difficile was present at a rate of 0.75% on supermarket surfaces. Spore disinfection of implicated surfaces may be necessary to control any community-acquired infections caused by this pathogen. 

  17. Towards Proactive Context-Aware Service Selection in the Geographically Distributed Remote Patient Monitoring System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pawar, P.; van Beijnum, Bernhard J.F.; Mei, H.; Hermens, Hermanus J.

    In the mobile (M)-health domain, the remote patient monitoring system (RPMS) facilitates continuous collection, transmission and viewing of the patient vital signs data. Furthermore, in case of an emergency it provides context-aware emergency response services (ERSs) such as the doctor, paramedic,

  18. ATTITUDES TOWARD ONLINE SHOPPING FROM THE ASPECTS OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SHOPPING MOTIVE THROUGH A DEVELOPING CONCEPT: PRIVATE SHOPPING

    OpenAIRE

    BAYBARS, Miray; USTUNDAGLI, Elif

    2011-01-01

    Private shopping is one of the concepts that serve as a members-only online shopping platform with deep discounts and well-known brands. The aim of this paper is to determine whether consumers’ need for uniqueness and innovativeness as a personal trait and price discount orientation affect consumer attitudes toward private shopping and their purchase decision or not. Research results revealed that need for uniqueness and innovativeness affect positive attitudes towards private shopping positi...

  19. A Presence-Based Context-Aware Chronic Stress Recognition System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Kos

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Stressors encountered in daily life may play an important role in personal well-being. Chronic stress can have a serious long-term impact on our physical as well as our psychological health, due to ongoing increased levels of the chemicals released in the ‘fight or flight’ response. The currently available stress assessment methods are usually not suitable for daily chronic stress measurement. The paper presents a context-aware chronic stress recognition system that addresses this problem. The proposed system obtains contextual data from various mobile sensors and other external sources in order to calculate the impact of ongoing stress. By identifying and visualizing ongoing stress situations of an individual user, he/she is able to modify his/her behavior in order to successfully avoid them. Clinical evaluation of the proposed methodology has been made in parallel by using electrodermal activity sensor. To the best of our knowledge, the system presented herein is the first one that enables recognition of chronic stress situations on the basis of user context.

  20. Shopping online and/or in-store? A structural equation model of the relationships between e-shopping and in-store shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Farag, Sendy; Schwanen, Tim; Dijst, Martin

    2005-01-01

    Searching product information or buying goods online is becoming increasingly popular and could affect shopping trips. However, the relationship between e-shopping and in-store shopping is currently unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate empirically how the frequencies of online searching, online buying, and non-daily shopping trips relate to each other, after controlling for sociodemographic, land use, behavioral, and attitudinal characteristics. Data were collected from 826 respon...

  1. Brand Awareness in the Context of Mistrust: The Case Study of an Employment Agency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristina Ročkutė

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Brand awareness is important for a good market performance of a company. However, research on the contextual preconditions needed for the improvement of brand awareness is limited, particularly in specific service sectors such as employment agencies. We present the research results of the preconditions for the improvement of awareness (which is one of the dimensions of brand equity in an employment agency. We also analyze the effects of the perceived trust of customers on the improvement of brand awareness in the employment sector. As a case study, we present an example of an employment agency in Lithuania. This research is particularly timely in the Lithuanian context, where high levels of emigration are having a considerable negative impact on companies and their major internal operations—human resource management, marketing, and strategic planning—challenging the aims of long-term socially sustainable development. This research paper has a high relevance for other high-emigration economies.

  2. Development of a Context-Aware Smart Home Energy Manager (CASHEM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Srivastava, Viraj [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Makhmalbaf, Atefe [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Parker, Graham B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2013-03-01

    The research reported is part of a collaborative with Honeywell, Inc. to bring novel home energy management concepts and technologies to reduce energy consumption, reduce peak electricity demand, integrate renewable energy and storage technology, and change homeowner behavior to manage and consume less energy. The objective of the collaborative is to create a Context-Aware Smart Home Energy Manager (CASHEM) that dynamically schedules major home appliances according to conditions and homeowner convenience of service (CoS) preferences, monitors and analyzes energy consumption of appliances, recommends further energy saving actions, and engages/motivates the homeowner to adopt those recommendations.

  3. A modern automatic Carriage-Trolley Position Control System for Dhruva fuelling machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agrawal, Ankit; Hari Balakrishna; Narvekar, J.P.; Sanadhya, Vivek

    2014-01-01

    A fully automatic absolute encoder based position control system has been designed developed implemented and commissioned for the Dhruva Fuelling Machine A (FM/A). This supports both the coarse and fine positioning modes. Provision for fully manual positioning as a standby system has been retained. This system replaces the ageing peg counting based incremental positioner used briefly during the early period after the Dhruva FM/A was commissioned. The older system suffered from peg detection skipping problems; hence it was not being used. Only full manual positioning was being carried out. This paper describes the automatic Carriage Trolley Position Control System (CTPCS). (author)

  4. Internet Shopping

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    刘洪毓

    2004-01-01

    Nowadays you no longer need to walk round hundreds of shops looking for the items you need. You can shop for just about anything from your armchair. All you need is a computer and access(进入) to the Internet.

  5. Self-generated strategic behavior in an ecological shopping task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bottari, Carolina; Wai Shun, Priscilla Lam; Dorze, Guylaine Le; Gosselin, Nadia; Dawson, Deirdre

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVES. The use of cognitive strategies optimizes performance in complex everyday tasks such as shopping. This exploratory study examined the cognitive strategies people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) effectively use in an unstructured, real-world situation. METHOD. A behavioral analysis of the self-generated strategic behaviors of 5 people with severe TBI using videotaped sessions of an ecological shopping task (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Profile) was performed. RESULTS. All participants used some form of cognitive strategy in an unstructured real-world shopping task, although the number, type, and degree of effectiveness of the strategies in leading to goal attainment varied. The most independent person used the largest number and a broader repertoire of self-generated strategies. CONCLUSION. These results provide initial evidence that occupational therapists should examine the use of self-generated cognitive strategies in real-world contexts as a potential means of guiding therapy aimed at improving independence in everyday activities for people with TBI. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

  6. The Development of Body Self-Awareness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Chris; Mealiea, Jennifer; Garon, Nancy; Povinelli, Daniel J.

    2007-01-01

    Two experiments examined toddlers' performance on a new task designed to examine the development of body self-awareness. The new task was conceived from observations by Piaget (1953/1977) and theoretical work from Povinelli and Cant (1995) and involved a toy shopping cart to the back of which a small mat had been attached. Children were asked to…

  7. THE INFLUENCE OF HEDONIC SHOPPING MOTIVATION TO THE IMPULSE BUYING OF ONLINE-SHOPPING CONSUMER ON INSTAGRAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asnawati

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to know the influence of Adventure Shopping, Relaxation Shopping, Value Shopping, Social Shopping and Idea Shopping variables to the variable of Impulse Buying of Online-Shopping Consumer on Instagram. The type of the research is explanatory research. The result of F-test showed that Fcount (12.829 > Ftable (2.669 which meant that research variables had influences to the Impulse Buying. With partial correlation value of 0.548, Idea Shopping variable became the dominant factor influencing Impulse Buying on the online-shopping purchase on Instagram.

  8. Modeling Battery Behavior on Sensory Operations for Context-Aware Smartphone Sensing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozgur Yurur

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Energy consumption is a major concern in context-aware smartphone sensing. This paper first studies mobile device-based battery modeling, which adopts the kinetic battery model (KiBaM, under the scope of battery non-linearities with respect to variant loads. Second, this paper models the energy consumption behavior of accelerometers analytically and then provides extensive simulation results and a smartphone application to examine the proposed sensor model. Third, a Markov reward process is integrated to create energy consumption profiles, linking with sensory operations and their effects on battery non-linearity. Energy consumption profiles consist of different pairs of duty cycles and sampling frequencies during sensory operations. Furthermore, the total energy cost by each profile is represented by an accumulated reward in this process. Finally, three different methods are proposed on the evolution of the reward process, to present the linkage between different usage patterns on the accelerometer sensor through a smartphone application and the battery behavior. By doing this, this paper aims at achieving a fine efficiency in power consumption caused by sensory operations, while maintaining the accuracy of smartphone applications based on sensor usages. More importantly, this study intends that modeling the battery non-linearities together with investigating the effects of different usage patterns in sensory operations in terms of the power consumption and the battery discharge may lead to discovering optimal energy reduction strategies to extend the battery lifetime and help a continual improvement in context-aware mobile services.

  9. Modeling battery behavior on sensory operations for context-aware smartphone sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yurur, Ozgur; Liu, Chi Harold; Moreno, Wilfrido

    2015-05-26

    Energy consumption is a major concern in context-aware smartphone sensing. This paper first studies mobile device-based battery modeling, which adopts the kinetic battery model (KiBaM), under the scope of battery non-linearities with respect to variant loads. Second, this paper models the energy consumption behavior of accelerometers analytically and then provides extensive simulation results and a smartphone application to examine the proposed sensor model. Third, a Markov reward process is integrated to create energy consumption profiles, linking with sensory operations and their effects on battery non-linearity. Energy consumption profiles consist of different pairs of duty cycles and sampling frequencies during sensory operations. Furthermore, the total energy cost by each profile is represented by an accumulated reward in this process. Finally, three different methods are proposed on the evolution of the reward process, to present the linkage between different usage patterns on the accelerometer sensor through a smartphone application and the battery behavior. By doing this, this paper aims at achieving a fine efficiency in power consumption caused by sensory operations, while maintaining the accuracy of smartphone applications based on sensor usages. More importantly, this study intends that modeling the battery non-linearities together with investigating the effects of different usage patterns in sensory operations in terms of the power consumption and the battery discharge may lead to discovering optimal energy reduction strategies to extend the battery lifetime and help a continual improvement in context-aware mobile services.

  10. Context-aware adaptive spelling in motor imagery BCI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdikis, S.; Leeb, R.; Millán, J. d. R.

    2016-06-01

    Objective. This work presents a first motor imagery-based, adaptive brain-computer interface (BCI) speller, which is able to exploit application-derived context for improved, simultaneous classifier adaptation and spelling. Online spelling experiments with ten able-bodied users evaluate the ability of our scheme, first, to alleviate non-stationarity of brain signals for restoring the subject’s performances, second, to guide naive users into BCI control avoiding initial offline BCI calibration and, third, to outperform regular unsupervised adaptation. Approach. Our co-adaptive framework combines the BrainTree speller with smooth-batch linear discriminant analysis adaptation. The latter enjoys contextual assistance through BrainTree’s language model to improve online expectation-maximization maximum-likelihood estimation. Main results. Our results verify the possibility to restore single-sample classification and BCI command accuracy, as well as spelling speed for expert users. Most importantly, context-aware adaptation performs significantly better than its unsupervised equivalent and similar to the supervised one. Although no significant differences are found with respect to the state-of-the-art PMean approach, the proposed algorithm is shown to be advantageous for 30% of the users. Significance. We demonstrate the possibility to circumvent supervised BCI recalibration, saving time without compromising the adaptation quality. On the other hand, we show that this type of classifier adaptation is not as efficient for BCI training purposes.

  11. Nurse-surgeon object transfer: video analysis of communication and situation awareness in the operating theatre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korkiakangas, Terhi; Weldon, Sharon-Marie; Bezemer, Jeff; Kneebone, Roger

    2014-09-01

    One of the most central collaborative tasks during surgical operations is the passing of objects, including instruments. Little is known about how nurses and surgeons achieve this. The aim of the present study was to explore what factors affect this routine-like task, resulting in fast or slow transfer of objects. A qualitative video study, informed by an observational ethnographic approach, was conducted in a major teaching hospital in the UK. A total of 20 general surgical operations were observed. In total, approximately 68 h of video data have been reviewed. A subsample of 225 min has been analysed in detail using interactional video-analysis developed within the social sciences. Two factors affecting object transfer were observed: (1) relative instrument trolley position and (2) alignment. The scrub nurse's instrument trolley position (close to vs. further back from the surgeon) and alignment (gaze direction) impacts on the communication with the surgeon, and consequently, on the speed of object transfer. When the scrub nurse was standing close to the surgeon, and "converged" to follow the surgeon's movements, the transfer occurred more seamlessly and faster (1.0 s). The smoothness of object transfer can be improved by adjusting the scrub nurse's instrument trolley position, enabling a better monitoring of surgeon's bodily conduct and affording early orientation (awareness) to an upcoming request (changing situation). Object transfer is facilitated by the surgeon's embodied practices, which can elicit the nurse's attention to the request and, as a response, maximise a faster object transfer. A simple intervention to highlight the significance of these factors could improve communication in the operating theatre. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. THE INFLUENCE OF HEDONIC SHOPPING MOTIVATION TO THE IMPULSE BUYING OF ONLINE-SHOPPING CONSUMER ON INSTAGRAM

    OpenAIRE

    Asnawati; Wahyuni S.

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to know the influence of Adventure Shopping, Relaxation Shopping, Value Shopping, Social Shopping and Idea Shopping variables to the variable of Impulse Buying of Online-Shopping Consumer on Instagram. The type of the research is explanatory research. The result of F-test showed that Fcount (12.829) > Ftable (2.669) which meant that research variables had influences to the Impulse Buying. With partial correlation value of 0.548, Idea Shopping variable became the dominant fa...

  13. A Context-Aware Indoor Air Quality System for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel H. De La Iglesia

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware monitoring systems designed for e-Health solutions and ambient assisted living (AAL play an important role in today’s personalized health-care services. The majority of these systems are intended for the monitoring of patients’ vital signs by means of bio-sensors. At present, there are very few systems that monitor environmental conditions and air quality in the homes of users. A home’s environmental conditions can have a significant influence on the state of the health of its residents. Monitoring the environment is the key to preventing possible diseases caused by conditions that do not favor health. This paper presents a context-aware system that monitors air quality to prevent a specific health problem at home. The aim of this system is to reduce the incidence of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which is triggered mainly by environmental factors. In the conducted case study, the system monitored the state of the neonate and the quality of air while it was asleep. The designed proposal is characterized by its low cost and non-intrusive nature. The results are promising.

  14. Shopping Malls - ShoppingCenters

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — Collected from a variety of sources both commercial and internal, this layer represents shopping center locations within Volusia County and is maintained by the...

  15. Female Consumers Recreational Shopping Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarbjot Singh

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The study examines the core meaning of intrinsic shopping to understand their experimental aspects of recreational and leisure shopping. The study focus only on female shoppers of age group ranging from 25-30, and understand their mall experiences because this segment is newly transform into self dependent segment which have less social and familial liabilities and have enough enthusiasm to explore the world or their boundaries. The Grounded theory use for identification of recreational shopping themes which are (a seeking experiences and (b experimental shopping and each have respective sub themes. The themes are connected to the key idea that shoppers are motivated by their expectations and desires. The study uses social constructivism to find and understand the shopper meanings in real terms rather than imposing and judgment on them. The findings described the way people do recreational shopping and how shopping malls use as leisure space and become facilitators of recreational shopping activities. Females use malls to fulfill their recreational and leisure shopping experiences as this is the great way of enjoying shopping for females of small towns. In malls females not only enjoy product experiences but services experiences also which makes their shopping interesting. The way the female of this age category use malls help the marketers and retailers to understand this segment shopping patterns.

  16. The Virtual Shopping Experience: using virtual presence to motivate online shopping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolyn Chin

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Online shopping has thus far tended to be a niche business – highly successful in selling digital products such as shares, software and, increasingly, music and films, it has been less successful in persuading the purchasers of ‘traditional’ goods such as cars, clothes, toiletries, or household appliances to forsake their physical retailers and move into cyberspace. In this wide-ranging review paper we investigate the issue of the virtual experience – endeavouring to understand what is needed for a successful ‘shopping experience’ online and what the possible obstacles or pitfalls along the way might be. We initially introduce the concepts of virtual presence (the sense of ‘being there’ and virtual reality, discussing the possible roles both can play in providing a solution to the problem of effective online shopping. We then consider the Experience Economy, a concept which encapsulates many of the issues related to the problem of online shopping and which suggests ways in which online retailers can enhance the effectiveness of their sites by means of a virtual ‘experience’. Having set the scene for online shopping, we discuss eTailing today in terms of direct product experience and the opportunities which cyber-shopping offers to replicate this process. Finally, we identify some of the possibilities and problems of online shopping today, illustrating the current status of virtual presence in retailing with two micro-cases of success and failure.

  17. Public awareness of autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsehemi, Matar A; Abousaadah, Mahmoud M; Sairafi, Razan A; Jan, Mohammed M

    2017-07-01

    Examine the awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in our community which would help in early recognition and improved support of affected families. A focused 20-item questionnaire was designed to survey the public awareness and knowledge of ASD. Personal interviews were conducted during an ASD awareness day, which was organized in a major shopping mall on February 20, 2015 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 259 individuals participated in the study with 47% being 30 years of age). Females were more likely to think that autistic children can be employed in the future (p=0.008), whereas males were more likely to think that autism is similar to mental retardation (p=0.005). The public awareness of ASD needs improvement. Areas for targeted education were identified to help improve the quality of life of autistic children and their families.

  18. A novel framework to alleviate the sparsity problem in context-aware recommender systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Penghua; Lin, Lanfen; Wang, Jing

    2017-04-01

    Recommender systems have become indispensable for services in the era of big data. To improve accuracy and satisfaction, context-aware recommender systems (CARSs) attempt to incorporate contextual information into recommendations. Typically, valid and influential contexts are determined in advance by domain experts or feature selection approaches. Most studies have focused on utilizing the unitary context due to the differences between various contexts. Meanwhile, multi-dimensional contexts will aggravate the sparsity problem, which means that the user preference matrix would become extremely sparse. Consequently, there are not enough or even no preferences in most multi-dimensional conditions. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to alleviate the sparsity issue for CARSs, especially when multi-dimensional contextual variables are adopted. Motivated by the intuition that the overall preferences tend to show similarities among specific groups of users and conditions, we first explore to construct one contextual profile for each contextual condition. In order to further identify those user and context subgroups automatically and simultaneously, we apply a co-clustering algorithm. Furthermore, we expand user preferences in a given contextual condition with the identified user and context clusters. Finally, we perform recommendations based on expanded preferences. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

  19. Recommendation-Aware Smartphone Sensing System

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Mu-Yen; Wu, Ming-Ni; Chen, Chia-Chen; Chen, Young-Long; Lin, Hsien-En

    2014-01-01

    The context-aware concept is to reduce the gap between users and information systems so that the information systems actively get to understand users’ context and demand and in return provide users with better experience. This study integrates the concept of context-aware with association algorithms to establish the context-aware recommendation systems (CARS). The CARS contains three modules and provides the product recommendations for users with their smartphone. First, the simple RSSI Indoo...

  20. Public awareness of human papillomavirus as a causative factor for oropharyngeal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Michael U; Carr, Michele M; Goldenberg, David

    2015-06-01

    To assess the public's awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) as a causative factor for oropharyngeal cancer. Twenty-three-item survey. Local shopping malls and Maxwell Air Force Base in 2012. Respondents were randomly chosen to participate in 23-item survey at various local shopping malls and at Maxwell Air Force Base in 2012. The χ(2) test was used in statistical analysis. The majority of respondents (n = 319) were civilians; 158 were military officer trainees (MOTs). All MOTs had a bachelor's degree or higher, while 37% of civilian respondents had a bachelor's degree or higher. Most MOTs (82%) were aware of oropharyngeal cancer, and 53% of civilians had not heard of oropharyngeal cancer (P aware of the association between HPV and cervical cancer. Conversely, 75% of civilian population and 49% of MOTs were not aware of the association between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer (P aware that HPV is a causative agent of cervical cancer. However, the majority were not aware of the association between oropharyngeal cancer and HPV. Furthermore, many respondents were not aware that HPV equally affects males and females and that the vaccine is available for both sexes. This underscores the need to educate the public on the availability of HPV vaccine and the association between HPV and oropharyngeal cancer. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

  1. Representing and Reasoning with the Internet of Things: a Modular Rule-Based Model for Ensembles of Context-Aware Smart Things

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. W. Loke

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware smart things are capable of computational behaviour based on sensing the physical world, inferring context from the sensed data, and acting on the sensed context. A collection of such things can form what we call a thing-ensemble, when they have the ability to communicate with one another (over a short range network such as Bluetooth, or the Internet, i.e. the Internet of Things (IoT concept, sense each other, and when each of them might play certain roles with respect to each other. Each smart thing in a thing-ensemble might have its own context-aware behaviours which when integrated with other smart things yield behaviours that are not straightforward to reason with. We present Sigma, a language of operators, inspired from modular logic programming, for specifying and reasoning with combined behaviours among smart things in a thing-ensemble. We show numerous examples of the use of Sigma for describing a range of behaviours over a diverse range of thing-ensembles, from sensor networks to smart digital frames, demonstrating the versatility of our approach. We contend that our operator approach abstracts away low-level communication and protocol details, and allows systems of context-aware things to be designed and built in a compositional and incremental manner.

  2. Regional Exchange and the Role of the Shop in Byzantine and Early Islamic Syria-Palestine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walmsley, Alan George

    2012-01-01

    a significant factor in the prosperity of Syria-Palestine at that time, facilitating not only local exchange but also, on a wider scale, the transportation of goods from outside the immediate region. Crucial to this trade system at the local level was the shop. Archaeological evidence for a shop-based market...... system has expanded greatly in recent years, giving a detailed insight into the system of exchange within an urban context. However, its social function as an urban institution has been, by comparison, little considered. This paper will reflect on the shops, their keepers, the suppliers and the patrons...

  3. Practical job shop scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schutten, Johannes M.J.

    1998-01-01

    The Shifting Bottleneck procedure is an intuitive and reasonably good approximation algorithm for the notoriously difficult classical job shop scheduling problem. The principle of decomposing a classical job shop problem into a series of single-machine problems can also easily be applied to job shop

  4. Intelligent Flood Adaptive Context-aware System: How Wireless Sensors Adapt their Configuration based on Environmental Phenomenon Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie SUN

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Henceforth, new generations of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN have to be able to adapt their behavior to collect, from the study phenomenon, quality data for long periods of time. We have thus proposed a new formalization for the design and the implementation of context-aware systems relying on a WSN for the data collection. To illustrate this proposal, we also present an environmental use case: the study of flood events in a watershed. In this paper, we detail the simulation tool that we have developed in order to implement our model. We simulate several scenarios of context-aware systems to monitor a watershed. The data used for the simulation are the observation data of the French Orgeval watershed.

  5. Effects of Consumer-Perceived Convenience on Shopping Intention in Mobile Commerce: An Empirical study

    OpenAIRE

    Wen-Jang ("Kenny") Jih

    2007-01-01

    Wireless communication and Internet services are converging to provide an unprecedented level of convenience for online shopping. Although the concept of consumer-perceived convenience has been extensively discussed in marketing and consumer behavior literature, there still is a lack of empirical validation in the context of mobile commerce. This study was conducted to examine the effect of convenience on customers’ intention of shopping via their mobile communication devices. The primary d...

  6. Context-Aware Local Optimization of Sensor Network Deployment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meysam Argany

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Wireless sensor networks are increasingly used for tracking and monitoring dynamic phenomena in urban and natural areas. Spatial coverage is an important issue in sensor networks in order to fulfill the needs of sensing applications. Optimization methods are widely used to efficiently distribute sensor nodes in the network to achieve a desired level of coverage. Most of the existing algorithms do not consider the characteristics of the real environment in the optimization process. In this paper, we propose the integration of contextual information in optimization algorithms to improve sensor network coverage. First, we investigate the implication of contextual information in sensor networks. Then, a conceptual framework for local context-aware sensor network deployment optimization method is introduced and related algorithms are presented in detail. Finally, several experiments are carried out to evaluate the validity of the proposed method. The results obtained from these experiments show the effectiveness of our approach in different contextual situations.

  7. A Conceptual Architecture for Adaptive Human-Computer Interface of a PT Operation Platform Based on Context-Awareness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing Xue

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a conceptual architecture for adaptive human-computer interface of a PT operation platform based on context-awareness. This architecture will form the basis of design for such an interface. This paper describes components, key technologies, and working principles of the architecture. The critical contents covered context information modeling, processing, relationship establishing between contexts and interface design knowledge by use of adaptive knowledge reasoning, and visualization implementing of adaptive interface with the aid of interface tools technology.

  8. A Mobile Ecotourism Recommendations System Using Cars-Context Aware Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yani Nurhadryani

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The requirements to fullfill mobility of ecotourism activities have been urgent to support each traveler with the mobile gadget application. The objective of this research is to develop an application of recommendation system based on online user personalization. This application provided features to recommendation of ecotourism based on profile user and current location, then supplied information about distance and facilities in each ecotourism place. The main of computation worked online which was based on approach called as CARS (Context Aware Recommender Systems algorithm. The result showed that the application framework succeeded to give appropriate recommendations and explaination on a mobile platform both in the form of profile based spatial data and user preferences.

  9. Customer experience with online shopping : what are the unique experiences customers seek from online shopping?

    OpenAIRE

    Jin, Daoyan

    2013-01-01

    Over the last decade, there has been a great change in consumers' shopping behavior along with technological change. Online shopping is the use of computer technology for better shopping performance. Retailers are busy in studying consumers' behavior to see their attitudes toward online shopping and to meet the demand of online shoppers. Due to my interest in online business, I have also decided to study about customers' attitudes toward online shopping and specifically regarding factors that...

  10. Framing Effect in the Trolley Problem and Footbridge Dilemma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Fei; Zhang, Jiaxi; Song, Lei; Wang, Shoupeng; Miao, Danmin; Peng, Jiaxi

    2017-02-01

    The present study investigated the effect of dilemma type, framing, and number of saved lives on moral decision making. A total of 591 undergraduates, with a mean age of 20.56 (SD = 1.37) were randomly assigned to 12 groups on the basis of a grid of two dilemma types (the trolley problem or the footbridge dilemma) by three frames (positive, neutral, or negative frame) by two different numbers of workers (5 or 15 people). The main effects of dilemma type, frame, and number of saved workers were all significant. The interaction of dilemma type and number of saved workers and the interaction of the three independent factors were significant. Results indicated that moral judgment is affected by framing. Specifically, people were more inclined to utilitarianism in the positive or neutral frame and more inclined to intuitionism in the negative frame. Furthermore, this effect can be moderated by dilemma type and number of saved lives. Implications of our results are discussed.

  11. Measurement of self-evaluative motives: a shopping scenario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wajda, Theresa A; Kolbe, Richard; Hu, Michael Y; Cui, Annie Peng

    2008-08-01

    To develop measures of consumers' self-evaluative motives of Self-verification, Self-enhancement, and Self-improvement within the context of a mall shopping environment, an initial set of 49 items was generated by conducting three focus-group sessions. These items were subsequently converted into shopping-dependent motive statements. 250 undergraduate college students responded on a 7-point scale to each statement as these related to the acquisition of recent personal shopping goods. An exploratory factor analysis yielded five factors, accounting for 57.7% of the variance, three of which corresponded to the Self-verification motive (five items), Self-enhancement motive (three items), and Self-improvement motive (six items). These 14 items, along with 9 reconstructed items, yielded 23 items retained and subjected to additional testing. In a final round of data collection, 169 college students provided data for exploratory factor analysis. 11 items were used in confirmatory factor analysis. Analysis indicated that the 11-item scale adequately captured measures of the three self-evaluative motives. However, further data reduction produced a 9-item scale with marked improvement in statistical fit over the 11-item scale.

  12. Study on the Context-Aware Middleware for Ubiquitous Greenhouses Using Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeonghwang Hwang

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Wireless Sensor Network (WSN technology is one of the important technologies to implement the ubiquitous society, and it could increase productivity of agricultural and livestock products, and secure transparency of distribution channels if such a WSN technology were successfully applied to the agricultural sector. Middleware, which can connect WSN hardware, applications, and enterprise systems, is required to construct ubiquitous agriculture environment combining WSN technology with agricultural sector applications, but there have been insufficient studies in the field of WSN middleware in the agricultural environment, compared to other industries. This paper proposes a context-aware middleware to efficiently process data collected from ubiquitous greenhouses by applying WSN technology and used to implement combined services through organic connectivity of data. The proposed middleware abstracts heterogeneous sensor nodes to integrate different forms of data, and provides intelligent context-aware, event service, and filtering functions to maximize operability and scalability of the middleware. To evaluate the performance of the middleware, an integrated management system for ubiquitous greenhouses was implemented by applying the proposed middleware to an existing greenhouse, and it was tested by measuring the level of load through CPU usage and the response time for users’ requests when the system is working.

  13. Literature Review on the Hybrid Flow Shop Scheduling Problem with Unrelated Parallel Machines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliana Marcela Peña Tibaduiza

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: The flow shop hybrid problem with unrelated parallel machines has been less studied in the academia compared to the flow shop hybrid with identical processors. For this reason, there are few reports about the kind of application of this problem in industries. Method: A literature review of the state of the art on flow-shop scheduling problem was conducted by collecting and analyzing academic papers on several scientific databases. For this aim, a search query was constructed using keywords defining the problem and checking the inclusion of unrelated parallel machines in such definition; as a result, 50 papers were finally selected for this study. Results: A classification of the problem according to the characteristics of the production system was performed, also solution methods, constraints and objective functions commonly used are presented. Conclusions: An increasing trend is observed in studies of flow shop with multiple stages, but few are based on industry case-studies.

  14. Effects of context-aware patient guidance on blood pressure selfmeasurement adherence levels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindahl, Camilla; Wagner, Stefan Rahr; Bertelsen, Olav W.

    2017-01-01

    Hypertensive disease and preeclampsia are serious medical disorders affecting pregnancy. Screening in early pregnancy may identify women at risk of developing hypertensive disease and enable prophylactic treatment. Accurate blood pressure measurement is an important part of this screening. The aim...... of performing self-measurements using context-aware adherence aids for guidance. A total of 100 pregnant women attending a routine ultrasound, at gestational week 12, at the outpatient clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, were recruited in the waiting room before...

  15. Grocery store podcast about omega-3 fatty acids influences shopping behaviors: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bangia, Deepika; Palmer-Keenan, Debra M

    2014-01-01

    To determine whether listening to a podcast about omega-3 fatty acids (n-3s) while grocery shopping increased shoppers' awareness about and purchases of seafood and other foods rich in n-3s. Repeated-measures design with a convenience sample (n = 56) of grocery shoppers who listened to the podcast while shopping. Pre- and postintervention semistructured interviews were conducted. The Theory of Reasoned Action was the study's framework. Shoppers were primarily females (mean age, 41 ± 15.3 years). Their perceived ability to buy [t(55) = 6.27, P buying [t(55) = 3.38, P future purchases. Podcasts may effectively communicate nutrition information. More research with a larger sample size is needed to evaluate the effects of the podcast on long-term changes in shopping behavior. Copyright © 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Alarm Fatigue vs User Expectations Regarding Context-Aware Alarm Handling in Hospital Environments Using CallMeSmart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solvoll, Terje; Arntsen, Harald; Hartvigsen, Gunnar

    2017-01-01

    Surveys and research show that mobile communication systems in hospital settings are old and cause frequent interruptions. In the quest to remedy this, an Android based communication system called CallMeSmart tries to encapsulate most of the frequent communication into one hand held device focusing on reducing interruptions and at the same time make the workday easier for healthcare workers. The objective of CallMeSmart is to use context-awareness techniques to automatically monitor the availability of physicians' and nurses', and use this information to prevent or route phone calls, text messages, pages and alarms that would otherwise compromise patient care. In this paper, we present the results from interviewing nurses on alarm fatigue and their expectations regarding context-aware alarm handling using CallMeSmart.

  17. Online shopping hesitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Chang-Hoan; Kang, Jaewon; Cheon, Hongsik John

    2006-06-01

    This study was designed to understand which factors influence consumer hesitation or delay in online product purchases. The study examined four groups of variables (i.e., consumer characteristics, contextual factors perceived uncertainty factors, and medium/channel innovation factors) that predict three types of online shopping hesitation (i.e., overall hesitation, shopping cart abandonment, and hesitation at the final payment stage). We found that different sets of delay factors are related to different aspects of online shopping hesitation. The study concludes with suggestion for various delay-reduction devices to help consumers close their online decision hesitation.

  18. The influences of social e-shopping in enhancing young women’s online shopping behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Dennis, C; Morgan, A; Wright, LT; Jayawardhena, C

    2010-01-01

    Copyright @ 2010 Westburn Publishers Ltd The background to this paper is that shoppers, particularly women, are motivated by a variety of different reasons, including socialising and enjoyment. Despite the growth of Internet retailing (e-retailing), these social needs are largely unmet in e-shopping. In the high street, women do most of the shopping but online shopping (e-shopping) tends to be dominated by male shoppers. At the same time, social networking is growing fast and is especially...

  19. Supporting shop floor intelligence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carstensen, Peter; Schmidt, Kjeld; Wiil, Uffe Kock

    1999-01-01

    Many manufacturing enterprises are now trying to introduce various forms of flexible work organizations on the shop floor. However, existing computer-based production planning and control systems pose severe obstacles for autonomous working groups and other kinds of shop floor control to become r......-to-day production planning by supporting intelligent and responsible workers in their situated coordination activities on the shop floor....

  20. Flexible Macroblock Ordering for Context-Aware Ultrasound Video Transmission over Mobile WiMAX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martini, Maria G.; Hewage, Chaminda T. E. R.

    2010-01-01

    The most recent network technologies are enabling a variety of new applications, thanks to the provision of increased bandwidth and better management of Quality of Service. Nevertheless, telemedical services involving multimedia data are still lagging behind, due to the concern of the end users, that is, clinicians and also patients, about the low quality provided. Indeed, emerging network technologies should be appropriately exploited by designing the transmission strategy focusing on quality provision for end users. Stemming from this principle, we propose here a context-aware transmission strategy for medical video transmission over WiMAX systems. Context, in terms of regions of interest (ROI) in a specific session, is taken into account for the identification of multiple regions of interest, and compression/transmission strategies are tailored to such context information. We present a methodology based on H.264 medical video compression and Flexible Macroblock Ordering (FMO) for ROI identification. Two different unequal error protection methodologies, providing higher protection to the most diagnostically relevant data, are presented. PMID:20827292

  1. From user context states to context-aware applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shishkov, Boris; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Filipe, J.; Cordeiro, J.; Cardoso, J.

    2008-01-01

    In many cases, in order to be effective, software applications need to allow sensitivity to user context state changes. This implies however additional complexity associated with the need for applications’ adaptability (being capable of capturing context, interpreting it and reacting on it). Hence,

  2. Shopping Problems among High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Jon E.; Potenza, Marc N.; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra; Cavallo, Dana A.; Desai, Rani A.

    2010-01-01

    Background Although shopping behavior among adolescents is normal, for some the shopping becomes problematic. An assessment of adolescent shopping behavior along a continuum of severity and its relationship to other behaviors and health issues is incompletely understood. Methods A large sample of high school students (n=3999) was examined using a self-report survey with 153 questions concerning demographic characteristics, shopping behaviors, other health behaviors including substance use, and functioning variables such as grades and violent behavior. Results The overall prevalence of problem shopping was 3.5% (95%CI: 2.93–4.07). Regular smoking, marijuana and other drug use, sadness and hopelessness, and antisocial behaviors (e.g., fighting, carrying weapons) were associated with problem shopping behavior in both boys and girls. Heavy alcohol use was significantly associated with problem shopping only in girls. Conclusion Problem shopping appears fairly common among high school students and is associated with symptoms of depression and a range of potentially addictive and antisocial behaviors. Significant distress and diminished behavioral control suggest that excessive shopping may often have significant associated morbidity. Additional research is needed to develop specific prevention and treatment strategies for adolescents who report problems with shopping. PMID:21497217

  3. Shopping problems among high school students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Jon E; Potenza, Marc N; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra; Cavallo, Dana A; Desai, Rani A

    2011-01-01

    Although shopping behavior among adolescents is normal, for some, the shopping becomes problematic. An assessment of adolescent shopping behavior along a continuum of severity and its relationship to other behaviors and health issues is incompletely understood. A large sample of high school students (n = 3999) was examined using a self-report survey with 153 questions concerning demographic characteristics, shopping behaviors, other health behaviors including substance use, and functioning variables such as grades and violent behavior. The overall prevalence of problem shopping was 3.5% (95% CI, 2.93-4.07). Regular smoking, marijuana and other drug use, sadness and hopelessness, and antisocial behaviors (e.g., fighting, carrying weapons) were associated with problem shopping behavior in both boys and girls. Heavy alcohol use was significantly associated with problem shopping only in girls. Problem shopping appears fairly common among high school students and is associated with symptoms of depression and a range of potentially addictive and antisocial behaviors. Significant distress and diminished behavioral control suggest that excessive shopping may often have significant associated morbidity. Additional research is needed to develop specific prevention and treatment strategies for adolescents who report problems with shopping. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Location-Aware POI Recommendation for Indoor Space by Exploiting WiFi Logs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zengwei Zheng

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Indoor shopping trajectories provide us with a new approach to understanding user’s behaviour pattern in urban shopping mall, which can be derived from user-generated WiFi logs using indoor localization technology. In this paper, we propose a location-aware Point-of-Interest (POI recommendation service in urban shopping mall that offers a user a set of indoor POIs by considering both personal interest and location preference. The POI recommendation service cannot only improve user’s shopping experience but also help the store owner better understand user’s shopping preference and intent. Specifically, the proposed method consists of two phases: offline modelling and online recommendation. The offline modelling phase is designed to learn user preference by mining his/her historical shopping trajectories. The online recommendation phase automatically produces top-k recommended POIs based on the learnt preference. To demonstrate the utility of our proposed approach, we have performed a comprehensive experiment evaluation on a real-world dataset collected by 468 users over 33 days. The experimental results show that the proposed recommendation service achieves much better recommendation performance than several existing benchmark methods.

  5. Binjai Shopping Mall : Arsitektur Metafora

    OpenAIRE

    Abadsyah, Haris

    2014-01-01

    City of Binjai have a potential to increase economic growth, especially in the field of trade and services.It can be seen from appearance of the commercial building like the shopping center ( Binjai Super Mall, Ramayana and Suzuya ) Construction of Binjai Shopping Mall intended for planning new shopping centers that provide public kebuthan in Binjai and well planned shopping center with optimal processing space and create a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere. In addition, the ...

  6. Consumers’ Attitude towards Online Shopping : Factors influencing Gotland consumers to shop online

    OpenAIRE

    Sultan, Muhammad Umar; Uddin, Md. Nasir

    2011-01-01

    In the era of globalization electronic marketing is a great revolution.  Over the last decade maximum business organizations are running with technological change.  Online shopping or marketing is the use of technology (i.e., computer) for better marketing performance. And retailers are devising strategies to meet the demand of online shoppers; they are busy in studying consumer behavior in the field of online shopping, to see the consumer attitudes towards online shopping. Therefore we have ...

  7. Emotion Ontology for Context Awareness

    OpenAIRE

    Berthelon , Franck; Sander , Peter

    2013-01-01

    International audience; We present an emotion ontology for describing and reasoning on emotion context in order to improve emotion detection based on bodily expression. We incorporate context into the two-factor theory of emotion (bodily reaction plus cognitive input) and demonstrate the importance of context in the emotion experience. In attempting to determine emotion felt by another person, the bodily expresson of their emotion is the only evidence directly available, eg, ''John looks angr...

  8. THE IMPACT OF ONLINE SHOPPING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN INDIAN MARKETING

    OpenAIRE

    Mr. Chander Deep Purthi; Dr. Pramod Gupta

    2017-01-01

    Shopping on the Internet is convenient as there is no time restriction, it is comfortable since it is in a user friendly environment and there is also an instant satisfaction of ordering, paying and delivering. A one-to-one basis, as well as, a two way communication with customers through the Internet is possible. Enhancing brand image, creating awareness and providing customer service are more important than just selling the products or entertaining customers. With better technologies, compa...

  9. An Ontology-based Context-aware System for Smart Homes: E-care@home

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marjan Alirezaie

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Smart home environments have a significant potential to provide for long-term monitoring of users with special needs in order to promote the possibility to age at home. Such environments are typically equipped with a number of heterogeneous sensors that monitor both health and environmental parameters. This paper presents a framework called E-care@home, consisting of an IoT infrastructure, which provides information with an unambiguous, shared meaning across IoT devices, end-users, relatives, health and care professionals and organizations. We focus on integrating measurements gathered from heterogeneous sources by using ontologies in order to enable semantic interpretation of events and context awareness. Activities are deduced using an incremental answer set solver for stream reasoning. The paper demonstrates the proposed framework using an instantiation of a smart environment that is able to perform context recognition based on the activities and the events occurring in the home.

  10. An Ontology-based Context-aware System for Smart Homes: E-care@home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alirezaie, Marjan; Renoux, Jennifer; Köckemann, Uwe; Kristoffersson, Annica; Karlsson, Lars; Blomqvist, Eva; Tsiftes, Nicolas; Voigt, Thiemo; Loutfi, Amy

    2017-07-06

    Smart home environments have a significant potential to provide for long-term monitoring of users with special needs in order to promote the possibility to age at home. Such environments are typically equipped with a number of heterogeneous sensors that monitor both health and environmental parameters. This paper presents a framework called E-care@home, consisting of an IoT infrastructure, which provides information with an unambiguous, shared meaning across IoT devices, end-users, relatives, health and care professionals and organizations. We focus on integrating measurements gathered from heterogeneous sources by using ontologies in order to enable semantic interpretation of events and context awareness. Activities are deduced using an incremental answer set solver for stream reasoning. The paper demonstrates the proposed framework using an instantiation of a smart environment that is able to perform context recognition based on the activities and the events occurring in the home.

  11. A Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning Approach for Providing Instant Learning Support in Personal Computer Assembly Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Ching-Kun; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

    2014-01-01

    Personal computer assembly courses have been recognized as being essential in helping students understand computer structure as well as the functionality of each computer component. In this study, a context-aware ubiquitous learning approach is proposed for providing instant assistance to individual students in the learning activity of a…

  12. Regulations concerning the cooking installations using the natural gas in the bakeries and the cake shops of the shopping Centers; Reglementation des installations de cuisson au gaz naturel en boulangerie-patisserie dans les centres commerciaux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-05-01

    This brochure presents the regulation relative to the cooking installations using the natural gas in bakeries and cake shops of the shopping Centers. Following the general regulation context, the guide presents the ovens which can be installed and the associated technical restraints. The necessary conditions for the buildings, the gas alimentation, the natural gas pipelines in the buildings and the installations conditions are also presented. Finally the guide presents the maintenance facilities obligations. (A.L.B.)

  13. Shopping in discount stores

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zielke, Stephan

    2014-01-01

    quarters of intentions to shop in discount stores. Value perception has the strongest total effect, which is partly mediated by enjoyment, shame and guilt. Attributions influence the shopping intention indirectly via value perception and emotions. The inferior quality attribution has the strongest total......This paper analyzes the impact of price-related attributions, emotions and value perception on the intention to shop at grocery discounters in an integrated framework. Moderating effects of price consciousness are also analyzed. The results show that the proposed model explains almost three...... effect, followed by the efficiency of the business model attribution. The unfairness to stakeholders and the tricks in price communication attribution mostly influence the shopping intention for less price-conscious customers....

  14. Instant collaboration: Using context-aware instant messaging for session management in distributed collaboration tools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Klaus Marius; Damm, Christian Heide

    2002-01-01

    Distributed collaboration has become increasingly important, and instant messaging has become widely used for distributed communication. We present findings from an investigation of instant messaging use for work-related activities in a commercial setting. Based on these findings, we propose...... a lightweight session management design for distributed collaboration tools based on context-aware instant messaging. An implementation of this design is presented and an ongoing evaluation is discussed....

  15. Vape Shop Employees: Public Health Advocates?

    OpenAIRE

    Hart, Joy L; Walker, Kandi L; Sears, Clara G; Lee, Alexander S; Smith, Courteney; Siu, Allison; Keith, Rachel; Ridner, S. Lee

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION E-cigarettes have increased in popularity and given rise to a new type of sales outlet?the vape shop. Expanding on work examining vape shop employee e-cigarette and tobacco attitudes and behaviors 1 , this study examined key messages that vape shop employees communicate to customers. METHODS Using informal interviews, observations, and a cross-sectional survey, we examined vape shop employees? (n=16) perceptions and e-cigarette use. Data were collected in nine vape shops in Louis...

  16. The Effects of Shopping Orientations, Consumer Innovativeness, Purchase Experience, and Gender on Intention to Shop for Fashion Products Online

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ratih Puspa Nirmala

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, many fashion retailers or marketers use the power of internet to promote and sell their products. This research examines the effects of consumers’ shopping orientations (brand/fashion consciousness, shopping enjoyment, price consciousness, convenience/time consciousness, shopping confidence, in-home shopping tendency, consumer innovativeness, online purchase experience for fashion products, and gender on consumers’ intention to shop for fashion products online. Data were collected through online surveys from the population of internet users in Indonesia, aged between 15 and 30 years old (generation Y, who had bought or browsed fashion products through the internet (N=210. This research is a quantitative research which uses purposive sampling and multiple regression analysis. Results show that the effects of several shopping orientations (shopping enjoyment, price consciousness, in-home shopping tendency, consumer innovativeness, online purchase experience for fashion products, and gender, are significant on consumers’ intention to shop for fashion products online. Furthermore, gender is marginally significant related to consumers’ intention to shop for fashion products online. Surprisingly, women tend to have lower intentions to shop for fashion products online compared to men.

  17. Adaptive and Context-Aware Reconciliation of Reactive and Pro-active Behavior in Evolving Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trajcevski, Goce; Scheuermann, Peter

    One distinct characteristics of the context-aware systems is their ability to react and adapt to the evolution of the environment, which is often a result of changes in the values of various (possibly correlated) attributes. Based on these changes, reactive systems typically take corrective actions, e.g., adjusting parameters in order to maintain the desired specifications of the system's state. Pro-active systems, on the other hand, may change the mode of interaction with the environment as well as the desired goals of the system. In this paper we describe our (ECA)2 paradigm for reactive behavior with proactive impact and we present our ongoing work and vision for a system that is capable of context-aware adaptation, while ensuring the maintenance of a set of desired behavioral policies. Our main focus is on developing a formalism that provides tools for expressing normal, as well as defeasible and/or exceptional specification. However, at the same time, we insist on a sound semantics and the capability of answering hypothetical "what-if" queries. Towards this end, we introduce the high-level language L_{ EAR} that can be used to describe the dynamics of the problem domain, specify triggers under the (ECA)2 paradigm, and reason about the consequences of the possible evolutions.

  18. Context-Aware Recommender System: A Review of Recent Developmental Process and Future Research Direction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khalid Haruna

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Intelligent data handling techniques are beneficial for users; to store, process, analyze and access the vast amount of information produced by electronic and automated devices. The leading approach is to use recommender systems (RS to extract relevant information from the vast amount of knowledge. However, early recommender systems emerged without the cognizance to contextualize information regarding users’ recommendations. Considering the historical methodological limitations, Context-Aware Recommender Systems (CARS are now deployed, which leverage contextual information in addition to the classical two-dimensional search processes, providing better-personalized user recommendations. This paper presents a review of recent developmental processes as a fountainhead for the research of a context-aware recommender system. This work contributes by taking an integrated approach to the complete CARS developmental process, unlike other review papers, which only address a specific aspect of the CARS process. First, an in-depth review is presented pertaining to the state-of-the-art and classified literature, considering the domain of the application models, filters, extraction and evaluation approaches. Second, viewpoints are presented relating to the extraction of literature with analysis on the merit and demerit of each, and the evolving processes between them. Finally, the outstanding challenges and opportunities for future research directions are highlighted.

  19. Online Shopping: Advantages over the Offline Alternative

    OpenAIRE

    Dr Joshua Chang

    2003-01-01

    The advent of the Internet as a shopping medium has enabled shoppers to gain shopping benefits such as convenience and time-saving, better information, and price savings. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the benefits of Internet shopping by identifying and discussing the advantages of Internet shopping over traditional storefront shopping.

  20. Model-based formalization of medical knowledge for context-aware assistance in laparoscopic surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katić, Darko; Wekerle, Anna-Laura; Gärtner, Fabian; Kenngott, Hannes G.; Müller-Stich, Beat P.; Dillmann, Rüdiger; Speidel, Stefanie

    2014-03-01

    The increase of technological complexity in surgery has created a need for novel man-machine interaction techniques. Specifically, context-aware systems which automatically adapt themselves to the current circumstances in the OR have great potential in this regard. To create such systems, models of surgical procedures are vital, as they allow analyzing the current situation and assessing the context. For this purpose, we have developed a Surgical Process Model based on Description Logics. It incorporates general medical background knowledge as well as intraoperatively observed situational knowledge. The representation consists of three parts: the Background Knowledge Model, the Preoperative Process Model and the Integrated Intraoperative Process Model. All models depend on each other and create a concise view on the surgery. As a proof of concept, we applied the system to a specific intervention, the laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy.

  1. An AmI-Based Software Architecture Enabling Evolutionary Computation in Blended Commerce: The Shopping Plan Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe D’Aniello

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This work describes an approach to synergistically exploit ambient intelligence technologies, mobile devices, and evolutionary computation in order to support blended commerce or ubiquitous commerce scenarios. The work proposes a software architecture consisting of three main components: linked data for e-commerce, cloud-based services, and mobile apps. The three components implement a scenario where a shopping mall is presented as an intelligent environment in which customers use NFC capabilities of their smartphones in order to handle e-coupons produced, suggested, and consumed by the abovesaid environment. The main function of the intelligent environment is to help customers define shopping plans, which minimize the overall shopping cost by looking for best prices, discounts, and coupons. The paper proposes a genetic algorithm to find suboptimal solutions for the shopping plan problem in a highly dynamic context, where the final cost of a product for an individual customer is dependent on his previous purchases. In particular, the work provides details on the Shopping Plan software prototype and some experimentation results showing the overall performance of the genetic algorithm.

  2. Context Aware Handover Algorithms For Mobile Positioning Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sazid Z. Khan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This work proposes context aware handover algorithms for mobile positioning systems. The algorithms perform handover among positioning systems based on important contextual factors related to position determination with efficient use of battery. The proposed solution which consists of the algorithms is implemented in the form of an Android application named Locate@nav6. The performance of the proposed solution was tested in selected experimental areas. The handover performance was compared with other existing location applications. The proposed solution performed correct handover among positioning systems in 95% of cases studied while two other applications performed correct handover in only 50% of cases studied. Battery usage of the proposed solution is less than one third of the battery usage of two other applications. The analysis of the positioning error of the applications demonstrated that, the proposed solution is able to reduce positioning error indirectly by handing over the task of positioning to an appropriate positioning system. This kept the average error of positioning below 42.1 meters for Locate@nav6 while the average error for two other applications namely Google Latitude and Malaysia maps was between 92.7 and 171.13 meters.

  3. Youth and Shopping Malls: A Case Study about Youth Preference in Mall Use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Güliz MUĞAN AKINCI

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Shopping malls demonstrate the growth of consumption culture in contemporary urban life. After the 1980s, a liberalized economy and changing global factors made shopping malls important components of Turkish urban identity. As shopping malls have become such a significant part of the social world of youth in the last twenty years, it seems crucial to concentrate on ‘malls and youth’ as a subject of study. In this context, this study aims to analyze the leisure time activities and preferred leisure spaces of teenagers in Turkey as well as where shopping malls fit in among other leisure spaces. In addition to this, the study will focus on the question of how youth perceive and experience the social and physical environment of shopping malls and their relationship with the concept of design. To this end, a field survey was conducted in the Ankara Migros Shopping Mall. The research was carried out through observations and in-depth interviews with 104 teenagers ranged in age from 13 to 19. The results of the study indicate that shopping malls were the preferred leisure space for teenagers. Physical characteristics such as the location of the mall and ease of accessibility were determined as the primary reasons for the teenagers’ preference. According to analyses, it was found that the youth did not pay much attention to the physical environment and its characteristics and had lack of information about it. In this scope, it seems that further analysis is needed to understand the teenagers’ lack of interest about the physical environment and design issue, and overemphasis and predominance given to the societal issues and social environment.

  4. PENGARUH ATMOSFER PUSAT BELANJA PADA SHOPPING VALUE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astrid Kusumowidagdo

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available AbstractAt the moment, the creation of shopping environment design that provides certain sensation and experience become strategy of the shopping center. This research aims to find out about the influence of shopping center’s atmosphere towards shopping value. The formative factors of shopping centre’s atmosphere are architectural features, interior features and support facilities. The research begins with a focus group to adjust the indicators of the previous research to the present research’s object. The next stage of research is done with a multiple regression analysis. The research object is the atmosphere condition of Senayan City shopping center in Jakarta and the subjects are samples totaling to sixty people. The samples are visitors from the middle-class segment between the age of 18-35.The research finds that architectural features, interior features and support facilities collectively bring an influence towards shopping value in Senayan City Pusat belanja, wether partially, only interior features show the significant influence towards shopping value.Keywords: design, atmosphere, shopping centre, shopping value.AbstrakSaat ini penciptaan lingkungan belanja dengan yang memberikan sensasi dan pengalaman telah menjadi bagian dari strategi bisnis pusat belanja. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menelusuri pengaruh atmosfer pusat belanja terhadap shopping value. Atmosfer pusat belanja dibentuk oleh faktor-faktor yaitu fitur arsitektur, fitur interior dan fasilitas penunjang. Penelitian ini diawali dengan focus group untuk penentuan indikator yang tepat dan dilanjutkan dengan survey pada 60 orang dengan usia 18-35 tahun yang bersegmen menengah. Obyek penelitian adalahatmosfer dari pusat belanja Senayan City. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan dari faktor-faktor atmosfer pusat belanja secara serempak pada shopping value, sedangkan secara parsial hanya fitur interior yang memberikan pengaruh signifikan pada shopping value

  5. Toward Sensor-Based Context Aware Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouhei Takada

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a methodology for sensor data interpretation that can combine sensor outputs with contexts represented as sets of annotated business rules. Sensor readings are interpreted to generate events labeled with the appropriate type and level of uncertainty. Then, the appropriate context is selected. Reconciliation of different uncertainty types is achieved by a simple technique that moves uncertainty from events to business rules by generating combs of standard Boolean predicates. Finally, context rules are evaluated together with the events to take a decision. The feasibility of our idea is demonstrated via a case study where a context-reasoning engine has been connected to simulated heartbeat sensors using prerecorded experimental data. We use sensor outputs to identify the proper context of operation of a system and trigger decision-making based on context information.

  6. RFID sensor-tags feeding a context-aware rule-based healthcare monitoring system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catarinucci, Luca; Colella, Riccardo; Esposito, Alessandra; Tarricone, Luciano; Zappatore, Marco

    2012-12-01

    Along with the growing of the aging population and the necessity of efficient wellness systems, there is a mounting demand for new technological solutions able to support remote and proactive healthcare. An answer to this need could be provided by the joint use of the emerging Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies and advanced software choices. This paper presents a proposal for a context-aware infrastructure for ubiquitous and pervasive monitoring of heterogeneous healthcare-related scenarios, fed by RFID-based wireless sensors nodes. The software framework is based on a general purpose architecture exploiting three key implementation choices: ontology representation, multi-agent paradigm and rule-based logic. From the hardware point of view, the sensing and gathering of context-data is demanded to a new Enhanced RFID Sensor-Tag. This new device, de facto, makes possible the easy integration between RFID and generic sensors, guaranteeing flexibility and preserving the benefits in terms of simplicity of use and low cost of UHF RFID technology. The system is very efficient and versatile and its customization to new scenarios requires a very reduced effort, substantially limited to the update/extension of the ontology codification. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by reporting both customization effort and performance results obtained from validation in two different healthcare monitoring contexts.

  7. Machine Shop Lathes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, James

    This guide, the second in a series of five machine shop curriculum manuals, was designed for use in machine shop courses in Oklahoma. The purpose of the manual is to equip students with basic knowledge and skills that will enable them to enter the machine trade at the machine-operator level. The curriculum is designed so that it can be used in…

  8. CONWIP card setting in a flow-shop system with a batch production machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcello Braglia

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an analytical technique to determine the optimum number of cards to control material release in a CONWIP system. The work focuses on the card setting problem for a flow-shop system characterised by the presence of a batch processing machine (e.g. a kiln for long heat treatment. To control production, two different static approaches are developed: the first one is used when the bottleneck coincides with the batch processing machine and the second one is proposed when the bottleneck is another machine of the flow shop. In both contexts, by means of the appropriate model, one can optimize the performance of the flow-shop by maximizing the throughput and keeping the work in process at a minimum level. Numerical examples are also included in the paper to confirm the validity of the models and to demonstrate their practical utility.

  9. Exploring Online Shopping Behaviour within the Context of Online Advertisement, Customer Service Experience Consciousness and Price Comparison Websites: Perspectives from Young Female Shoppers in the Zlínský Region

    OpenAIRE

    Christian Nedu Osakwe; Miloslava Chovancová

    2015-01-01

    Online shopping behaviour within the context of price comparison websites presents an interesting area of consumer behaviour, yet very little research has been done in this area. Hence, the focus of this paper was to critically explore the impact of online advertisement and customer service experience consciousness on young female shoppers' intention to use price comparison websites as a purchase decision-making tool within the online retail environment. Our sample consisted of 123 female res...

  10. Awareness and Self-Awareness for Multi-Robot Organisms

    OpenAIRE

    Kernbach, Serge

    2011-01-01

    Awareness and self-awareness are two different notions related to knowing the environment and itself. In a general context, the mechanism of self-awareness belongs to a class of co-called "self-issues" (self-* or self-star): self-adaptation, self-repairing, self-replication, self-development or self-recovery. The self-* issues are connected in many ways to adaptability and evolvability, to the emergence of behavior and to the controllability of long-term developmental processes. Self-* are ei...

  11. Exploring schema-driven differences in situation awareness between road users: an on-road study of driver, cyclist and motorcyclist situation awareness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Paul M; Lenne, Michael G; Walker, Guy H; Stanton, Neville A; Filtness, Ashleigh

    2014-01-01

    Collisions between different road users make a substantial contribution to road trauma. Although evidence suggests that different road users interpret the same road situations differently, it is not clear how road users' situation awareness differs, nor is it clear which differences might lead to conflicts. This article presents the findings from an on-road study conducted to examine driver, motorcyclist and cyclist situation awareness in different road environments. The findings suggest that, in addition to minor differences in the structure of different road users' situation awareness (i.e. amount of information and how it is integrated), the actual content of situation awareness in terms of road user schemata, the resulting interaction with the world and the information underpinning situation awareness is markedly different. Further examination indicates that the differences are likely to be compatible along arterial roads, shopping strips and at roundabouts, but that they may create conflicts between different road users at intersections. Interventions designed to support compatible situation awareness and behaviour between different road users are discussed.

  12. Narcotic Use and Postoperative Doctor Shopping by Patients with Nephrolithiasis Requiring Operative Intervention: Implications for Patient Safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kappa, Stephen F; Green, Elizabeth A; Miller, Nicole L; Herrell, Stanley D; Mitchell, Christopher R; Mir, Hassan R; Resnick, Matthew J

    2016-09-01

    We sought to determine perioperative patterns of narcotic use and the prevalence of postoperative doctor shopping among patients with nephrolithiasis requiring operative management. We retrospectively reviewed the records of consecutive patients residing in Tennessee who required ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for nephrolithiasis at a single institution from January to December 2013. Using the Tennessee CSMD (Controlled Substances Medication Database) patients were categorized by the number of postoperative narcotic providers. Doctor shopping behavior was identified as any patient seeking more than 1 narcotic provider within 3 months of surgery. Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with doctor shopping behavior were identified. During the study period 200 eligible patients underwent ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy for nephrolithiasis, of whom 48 (24%) were prescribed narcotics by more than 1 provider after surgery. Compared to those receiving narcotics from a single provider, patients with multiple narcotic providers were younger (48.1 vs 54.2 years, p shopping is common among patients with nephrolithiasis who require operative management. Urologists should be aware of available registry data to decrease the likelihood of redundant narcotic prescribing. Copyright © 2016 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Goal-Driven Context-aware Service Composition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yu, Lian; Glenstrup, Arne John; Zhang, Yang

    2011-01-01

    context, user profile and computed results, are gathered by various services, and imported into an ontology based a context repository. A Goal Description Language, Context Condition/Effect are designed to describe the dynamic semantics of goal requirements and service capability. A planner is designed...... and implemented to dynamically compose services based on the current contexts, and a service runner is designed and implemented to invoke proper services based on the contexts and interactions with users.......Two important aspects are associated with service composition. One is to understand the needs and constraints for a new added-value composite service, and otherwise it would lead to an ad-hoc effort for service composition. The second is to reflect the changes of computing environment...

  14. The social dynamics of healthy food shopping and store choice in an urban environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannuscio, Carolyn C; Hillier, Amy; Karpyn, Allison; Glanz, Karen

    2014-12-01

    To respond to the high prevalence of obesity and its associated health consequences, recent food research and policy have focused on neighborhood food environments, especially the links between health and retail mix, proximity of food outlets, and types of foods available. In addition, the social environment exerts important influences on food-related behaviors, through mechanisms like role-modeling, social support, and social norms. This study examined the social dynamics of residents' health-related food-shopping behaviors in 2010-11 in urban Philadelphia, where we conducted 25 semi-structured resident interviews-the foundation for this paper-in addition to 514 structured interviews and a food environment audit. In interviews, participants demonstrated adaptability and resourcefulness in their food shopping; they chose to shop at stores that met a range of social needs. Those needs ranged from practical financial considerations, to fundamental issues of safety, to mundane concerns about convenience, and juggling multiple work and family responsibilities. The majority of participants were highly motivated to adapt their shopping patterns to accommodate personal financial constraints. In addition, they selectively shopped at stores frequented by people who shared their race/ethnicity, income and education, and they sought stores where they had positive interactions with personnel and proprietors. In deciding where to shop in this urban context, participants adapted their routines to avoid unsafe places and the threat of violence. Participants also discussed the importance of convenient stores that allowed for easy parking, accommodation of physical disabilities or special needs, and integration of food shopping into other daily activities like meeting children at school. Food research and policies should explicitly attend to the social dynamics that influence food-shopping behavior. In our social relationships, interactions, and responsibilities, there are

  15. Buying cannabis in 'coffee shops'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monshouwer, Karin; Van Laar, Margriet; Vollebergh, Wilma A

    2011-03-01

    The key objective of Dutch cannabis policy is to prevent and limit the risks of cannabis consumption for users, their direct environment and society ('harm reduction'). This paper will focus on the tolerated sale of cannabis in 'coffee shops'. We give a brief overview of Dutch policy on coffee shops, its history and recent developments. Furthermore, we present epidemiological data that may be indicative of the effects of the coffee shop policy on cannabis and other drug use. Dutch coffee shop policy has become more restrictive in recent years and the number of coffee shops has decreased. Cannabis prevalence rates in the adult population are somewhat below the European average; the rate is relatively high among adolescents; and age of first use appears to be low. On a European level, the use of hard drugs in both the Dutch adult and adolescent population is average to low (except for ecstasy among adults). International comparisons do not suggest a strong, upward effect of the coffee shop system on levels of cannabis use, although prevalence rates among Dutch adolescents give rise to concern. Furthermore, the coffee shop system appears to be successful in separating the hard and soft drugs markets. Nevertheless, in recent years, issues concerning the involvement of organised crime and the public nuisance related to drug tourism have given rise to several restrictive measures on the local level and have sparked a political debate on the reform of Dutch drug policy. © 2011 Trimbos Institute.

  16. Kinect sensing of shopping related actions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Popa, M.; Koc, A.K.; Rothkrantz, L.J.M.; Shan, C.; Wiggers, P.

    2011-01-01

    Surveillance systems in shopping malls or supermarkets are usually used for detecting abnormal behavior. We used the distributed video cameras system to design digital shopping assistants which assess the behavior of customers while shopping, detect when they need assistance, and offer their support

  17. Context Representation and Fusion: Advancements and Opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asad Masood Khattak

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The acceptance and usability of context-aware systems have given them the edge of wide use in various domains and has also attracted the attention of researchers in the area of context-aware computing. Making user context information available to such systems is the center of attention. However, there is very little emphasis given to the process of context representation and context fusion which are integral parts of context-aware systems. Context representation and fusion facilitate in recognizing the dependency/relationship of one data source on another to extract a better understanding of user context. The problem is more critical when data is emerging from heterogeneous sources of diverse nature like sensors, user profiles, and social interactions and also at different timestamps. Both the processes of context representation and fusion are followed in one way or another; however, they are not discussed explicitly for the realization of context-aware systems. In other words most of the context-aware systems underestimate the importance context representation and fusion. This research has explicitly focused on the importance of both the processes of context representation and fusion and has streamlined their existence in the overall architecture of context-aware systems’ design and development. Various applications of context representation and fusion in context-aware systems are also highlighted in this research. A detailed review on both the processes is provided in this research with their applications. Future research directions (challenges are also highlighted which needs proper attention for the purpose of achieving the goal of realizing context-aware systems.

  18. Social Sustainability of Shopping Streets in Ankara

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Özge YALÇINER ERCOŞKUN

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Shopping streets are integral parts of public spaces in traditional shopping areas of Central Business Districts (CBD. Furthermore, as modern shopping venues, shopping centers offer advantages for modern lifestyles with spacious shopping areas, variety of commercial and social activities, and economic value of their investments. These advantages act in favor of shopping centers and improve the level of shopping street social sustainability and its relevant concepts. The aim of this study is to analyze the main shopping streets of Ankara, using the concepts of social sustainability. In this study, these concepts, such as locality, identity, vitality, viability, sense of place, conviviality, meaning and local characteristics of the shopping streets are investigated. For the first time, the retail unit locations in Ankara, their brands and their business types, are illustrated on thematic land use maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS software. Next, population activities and consumer spatial behavior are observed and marked on maps that are also referred to as social sustainability maps. The results of the study can be useful in formulating strategies within the framework of social sustainability, which is a relatively new concept.

  19. A Context-Aware Adaptive Streaming Media Distribution System in a Heterogeneous Network with Multiple Terminals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yepeng Ni

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider the problem of streaming media transmission in a heterogeneous network from a multisource server to home multiple terminals. In wired network, the transmission performance is limited by network state (e.g., the bandwidth variation, jitter, and packet loss. In wireless network, the multiple user terminals can cause bandwidth competition. Thus, the streaming media distribution in a heterogeneous network becomes a severe challenge which is critical for QoS guarantee. In this paper, we propose a context-aware adaptive streaming media distribution system (CAASS, which implements the context-aware module to perceive the environment parameters and use the strategy analysis (SA module to deduce the most suitable service level. This approach is able to improve the video quality for guarantying streaming QoS. We formulate the optimization problem of QoS relationship with the environment parameters based on the QoS testing algorithm for IPTV in ITU-T G.1070. We evaluate the performance of the proposed CAASS through 12 types of experimental environments using a prototype system. Experimental results show that CAASS can dynamically adjust the service level according to the environment variation (e.g., network state and terminal performances and outperforms the existing streaming approaches in adaptive streaming media distribution according to peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR.

  20. Autonomic Semantic-Based Context-Aware Platform for Mobile Applications in Pervasive Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adel Alti

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Currently, the field of smart-* (home, city, health, tourism, etc. is naturally heterogeneous and multimedia oriented. In such a domain, there is an increasing usage of heterogeneous mobile devices, as well as captors transmitting data (IoT. They are highly connected and can be used for many different services, such as to monitor, to analyze and to display information to users. In this context, data management and adaptation in real time are becoming a challenging task. More precisely, at one time, it is necessary to handle in a dynamic, intelligent and transparent framework various data provided by multiple devices with several modalities. This paper presents a Kali-Smart platform, which is an autonomic semantic-based context-aware platform. It is based on semantic web technologies and a middleware providing autonomy and reasoning facilities. Moreover, Kali-Smart is generic and, as a consequence, offers to users a flexible infrastructure where they can easily control various interaction modalities of their own situations. An experimental study has been made to evaluate the performance and feasibility of the proposed platform.

  1. Fast-food, everyday life and health: A qualitative study of 'chicken shops' in East London.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Claire; Ponsford, Ruth; Lewis, Daniel; Cummins, Steven

    2018-05-26

    The higher prevalence of fast food outlets in deprived areas has been associated with the production and maintenance of geographical inequalities in diet. In the UK one type of fast food outlet - the 'chicken shop' - has been the focus of intense public health and media interest. Despite ongoing concerns and initiatives around regulating these establishments, the 'chicken shop' is both a commercially successful and ubiquitous feature of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. However, little is known about how they are perceived by local residents. We report data from a qualitative study of neighbourhood perceptions in a low SES urban setting. Narrative family interviews, go-along interviews and school video focus group workshops with 66 residents of East London were conducted over two waves. The topic of chicken shops was a prolific theme and a narrative analysis of these accounts revealed that local perceptions of chicken shops are complex and contradictory. Chicken shops were depicted as both potentially damaging for the health of local residents and, at the same time, as valued community spaces. This contradiction was discursively addressed in narrative via a series of rhetorical rebuttals that negated their potential to damage health on the grounds of concepts such as trust, choice, balance, food hygiene and compensatory physical activity. In some instances, chicken shops were described as 'healthy' and patronising them constructed as part of a healthy lifestyle. Chicken shops are embedded in the social fabric of neighbourhoods. Successful strategies to improve diet therefore requires context-sensitive environmental interventions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Science Shops - a concept for community based learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Hende, Merete

    2001-01-01

    Experience from science shops show that besides assisting citizen groups, science shops can also contribute to the development of university curricula and research. The paper is based on an investigation of the impact of science shops on university curricula and research through a questionnaire...... sent out to science shops and through follow-up interviews with employees from nine different university based science shops. These science shops had in the questionnaire indicated that the science shop in one way or the other has had impact on university curricula and/or research. This paper focuses...... on the impact on university curricula. The case studies have been supplemented with articles and reports. The analysis has focused on the kind of impact, which the science shops have reported, and has tried to relate the impact to the local history of the science shop. One direct impact on the curricula...

  3. A Decision-Tree-Oriented Guidance Mechanism for Conducting Nature Science Observation Activities in a Context-Aware Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Chu, Hui-Chun; Shih, Ju-Ling; Huang, Shu-Hsien; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2010-01-01

    A context-aware ubiquitous learning environment is an authentic learning environment with personalized digital supports. While showing the potential of applying such a learning environment, researchers have also indicated the challenges of providing adaptive and dynamic support to individual students. In this paper, a decision-tree-oriented…

  4. Online Shopping Intention and Behaviour of Young and Older Adults in Malaysia. A Theory of UTAUT2

    OpenAIRE

    Ng, Weng Bu

    2016-01-01

    Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (Venkatesh et al, 2012) is a relatively new theory and research conducteded was mostly in the context of developed economies. The purpose of this study is to complement existing literacture by the influencing factors of online shopping intention using UTAUT2 among shoppers in Malaysia. The effect of age on online shopping behaviour is also tested using two age groups: younger adults (below 40 years old) and older adults (above or equal to 4...

  5. Why Shops Close Again : An Evolutionary Perspective on the Deregulation of Shopping Hours

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kosfeld, M.

    1999-01-01

    This paper introduces a new perspective on the deregulation of shopping hours based on ideas from evolutionary game theory. We study a retail economy where shopping hours have been deregulated recently. It is argued that first, the deregulation leads to a coordination problem between store owners

  6. Hybrid job shop scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schutten, Johannes M.J.

    1995-01-01

    We consider the problem of scheduling jobs in a hybrid job shop. We use the term 'hybrid' to indicate that we consider a lot of extensions of the classic job shop, such as transportation times, multiple resources, and setup times. The Shifting Bottleneck procedure can be generalized to deal with

  7. Online Shopping In The UK

    OpenAIRE

    K. K. Ramachandran; K. K. Karthick; M. Saravana Kumar

    2011-01-01

    This paper will contribute to current academic literature in the area of online retailing and consumer behaviour. Our research outlines a survey conducted with respondents from the UK to ascertain their attitudes to grocery shopping both off and online. The findings indicate that, whilst the vast majority of our sample has experience of online shopping, few actively engage in online grocery shopping. Some of the reasons for this are highlighted and the key issues relate to consumer trust and ...

  8. Shopping Online Sebagai Gaya Hidup

    OpenAIRE

    Lestari, Sri Budi

    2015-01-01

    The use of internet communication technology can make the world as if in one hand makes electronicbusiness with the concept of Online Shopping at its peak in recent years along with the development ofcommunication technologies over theInternet.How to shop online by using the internet through computers andmobile devices is increasingly popular smartphone can even be said to have become a trend today.Variousconvenience of shopping be the main thing to offer, with enough gadgets available in the...

  9. Critical Language Awareness in Pedagogic Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Shamim

    2011-01-01

    This study was designed to investigate the significance of developing students' critical language awareness through explicit teaching methodology of some procedures of critical discourse analysis. The researcher integrated critical activities into her teaching and students' learning process. The study was planned prudently to discover the…

  10. The Shopping Mall: A Teenager Hangout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Kathryn H.

    1985-01-01

    Investigated teenagers' use of the shopping mall as a "hangout" through interviews with 51 adolescents using the mall, and 10 hours of behavioral observations. Results indicated that many teenagers visit the shopping center regularly to watch members of the opposite sex, play video games, see friends, shop, and people-watch. (Author/NRB)

  11. Cross-border shopping and tourism destination marketing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Makkonen, Teemu

    2016-01-01

    This article addresses the economic impact that cross-border shopping has on the local tourism industry and the ways that cross-border shopping is taken advantage of in tourism destination marketing. Southern Jutland–situated in Denmark just north of the German border, where border shops situated......-border shopping into tourism destination marketing strategies. The results have wider relevance for other border regions.......This article addresses the economic impact that cross-border shopping has on the local tourism industry and the ways that cross-border shopping is taken advantage of in tourism destination marketing. Southern Jutland–situated in Denmark just north of the German border, where border shops situated...... just south of the same border enable Danes to capitalize on the lower value added tax levels in Germany–is utilized as an illustrative case example. The data was collected by analysing the relevant tourism destination marketing material and via interviews with local destination marketing organizations...

  12. Representing and Reasoning with the Internet of Things: a Modular Rule-Based Model for Ensembles of Context-Aware Smart Things

    OpenAIRE

    S. W. Loke

    2016-01-01

    Context-aware smart things are capable of computational behaviour based on sensing the physical world, inferring context from the sensed data, and acting on the sensed context. A collection of such things can form what we call a thing-ensemble, when they have the ability to communicate with one another (over a short range network such as Bluetooth, or the Internet, i.e. the Internet of Things (IoT) concept), sense each other, and when each of them might play certain roles with respect to each...

  13. Dynamic Support of Government in Online Shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Hai, Le Chi; Alam Kazmi, Syed Hasnain

    2015-01-01

    Advancements in online shopping for consumers requires consistent government support policies and the introduction of substantial government laws and regulations. In order to establish innovative developments in online shopping market environment that makes online shopping faster and stable, the government perspective is vital with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for research and development in online shopping behavior for consumer’s confidence and their purchase intention. The proposed...

  14. SHOPPING ONLINE SEBAGAI GAYA HIDUP

    OpenAIRE

    Sri Budi Lestari

    2016-01-01

    The use of internet communication technology can make the world as if in one hand makes electronic business with the concept of Online Shopping at its peak in recent years along with the development of communication technologies over theInternet.How to shop online by using the internet through computers and mobile devices is increasingly popular smartphone can even be said to have become a trend today.Various convenience of shopping be the main thing to offer, with enough gadgets ...

  15. An Analysis of Context-Aware Data Models for Smart Cities: Towards Fiware and Etsi Cim Emerging Data Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jara, A. J.; Bocchi, Y.; Fernandez, D.; Molina, G.; Gomez, A.

    2017-09-01

    Smart Cities requires the support of context-aware and enriched semantic descriptions to support a scalable and cross-domain development of smart applications. For example, nowadays general purpose sensors such as crowd monitoring (counting people in an area), environmental information (pollution, air quality, temperature, humidity, noise) etc. can be used in multiple solutions with different objectives. For that reason, a data model that offers advanced capabilities for the description of context is required. This paper presents an overview of the available technologies for this purpose and how it is being addressed by the Open and Agile Smart Cities principles and FIWARE platform through the data models defined by the ETSI ISG Context Information Management (ETSI CIM).

  16. AN ANALYSIS OF CONTEXT-AWARE DATA MODELS FOR SMART CITIES: TOWARDS FIWARE AND ETSI CIM EMERGING DATA MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. J. Jara

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Smart Cities requires the support of context-aware and enriched semantic descriptions to support a scalable and cross-domain development of smart applications. For example, nowadays general purpose sensors such as crowd monitoring (counting people in an area, environmental information (pollution, air quality, temperature, humidity, noise etc. can be used in multiple solutions with different objectives. For that reason, a data model that offers advanced capabilities for the description of context is required. This paper presents an overview of the available technologies for this purpose and how it is being addressed by the Open and Agile Smart Cities principles and FIWARE platform through the data models defined by the ETSI ISG Context Information Management (ETSI CIM.

  17. Virtual morality: emotion and action in a simulated three-dimensional "trolley problem".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarrete, C David; McDonald, Melissa M; Mott, Michael L; Asher, Benjamin

    2012-04-01

    Experimentally investigating the relationship between moral judgment and action is difficult when the action of interest entails harming others. We adopt a new approach to this problem by placing subjects in an immersive, virtual reality environment that simulates the classic "trolley problem." In this moral dilemma, the majority of research participants behaved as "moral utilitarians," either (a) acting to cause the death of one individual in order to save the lives of five others, or (b) abstaining from action, when that action would have caused five deaths versus one. Confirming the emotional distinction between moral actions and omissions, autonomic arousal was greater when the utilitarian outcome required action, and increased arousal was associated with a decreased likelihood of utilitarian-biased behavior. This pattern of results held across individuals of different gender, age, and race. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Youth Clothes-Shopping Behavior: An Analysis by Gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, John F.

    1989-01-01

    Explored possible gender differences in clothes-shopping behavior among adolescents. Findings from 387 college students revealed that: parents financially assisted sons and daughters equally; there was no gender difference in shopping frequency; mothers more frequently shopped with sons than with daughters; fathers rarely shopped with any…

  19. Skeleton-Based Human Action Recognition With Global Context-Aware Attention LSTM Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jun; Wang, Gang; Duan, Ling-Yu; Abdiyeva, Kamila; Kot, Alex C.

    2018-04-01

    Human action recognition in 3D skeleton sequences has attracted a lot of research attention. Recently, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks have shown promising performance in this task due to their strengths in modeling the dependencies and dynamics in sequential data. As not all skeletal joints are informative for action recognition, and the irrelevant joints often bring noise which can degrade the performance, we need to pay more attention to the informative ones. However, the original LSTM network does not have explicit attention ability. In this paper, we propose a new class of LSTM network, Global Context-Aware Attention LSTM (GCA-LSTM), for skeleton based action recognition. This network is capable of selectively focusing on the informative joints in each frame of each skeleton sequence by using a global context memory cell. To further improve the attention capability of our network, we also introduce a recurrent attention mechanism, with which the attention performance of the network can be enhanced progressively. Moreover, we propose a stepwise training scheme in order to train our network effectively. Our approach achieves state-of-the-art performance on five challenging benchmark datasets for skeleton based action recognition.

  20. Disease awareness advertising - women's intentions following exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Danika; Jones, Sandra; Iverson, Don

    2011-03-01

    In Australia, where direct to consumer advertising of prescription medicines is prohibited, pharmaceutical companies can sponsor disease awareness advertising targeting consumers. This study examined the impact of disease awareness advertising exposure on older women's reported behavioural intentions. Women were approached in a shopping centre and randomly assigned mock advertisements for two health conditions. Disease information and sponsors were manipulated. Two hundred and forty-one women responded to 466 advertisements. Almost half reported an intention to ask their doctor for a prescription or referral as a result of seeing the advertisement, but more reported they would talk to their doctor and ask about treatments and tests. Participants were more likely to report an intention to ask for prescriptions if they perceived the health condition to be severe and themselves susceptible or if they had viewed advertisements containing limited information on the disease. Disease awareness advertising may stimulate demand for prescription medicine products. This has serious implications for general practitioners and regulators.

  1. Consumers preferences of shopping centers in Bratislava (Slovakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristína Bilková

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available There have been changes in the shopping behavior and preferences of consumers in the post-communist countries caused by political changes after 1989. Slovakia is not an exception, and it has been observed a change not only at the consumers’ level but also in retail stores. A notable bearer of such changes was the construction of big shopping centers that were a new phenomenon in shopping. They quickly became popular and changed spatial and shopping patterns of consumers. The main aim of this study is to analyze and evaluate the shopping preferences of consumers based on the example of the capital city – Bratislava (at the level of urban districts. The database consists of results of a questionnaire survey carried out in 2011. Respondents were interviewed inside the shopping center. The partial aims focus on the analysis of consumers’ perceptions, the frequency of their shopping and the mode of transport used for shopping. One of the goals of this study is also to evaluate the perception of consumers in terms of the catchment areas of the chosen shopping center, as well as the perceptional classification of retail in the given area and the accessibility of stores.

  2. Sanitary condition of electrical hand dryers in toilets of shopping centres in Kraków

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Lenart-Boroń

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Shopping habits have changed over the past several years and consumers choose shopping centres, where they can spend time and visit restaurants. People usually wash hands before meals, but toilets in shopping centres are visited by hundreds of users every day which makes their cleanliness questionable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the sanitary condition of electrical hand dryers in toilets of the selected shopping centres in Kraków. Material and methods. Air was sampled at the outlet of electrical hand dryers and surface swabs of hand dryers were taken in toilets of five shopping centres. Air sampling was conducted using the MAS-100 impactor. The number of mesophilic bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, staphylococci and Escherichia coli was determined. The results of air analyses were compared with the limits provided by the Polish Standards on air quality. Results. The number of microorganisms varied between the studied centres. In terms of mesophilic bacteria and fungi the air was unpolluted. The concentration of actinomycetes however significantly exceeded the limits set by the Polish Standards. Numerous Escherichia coli were found both in the air and in swabs in one of the centres. However the number of E. coli and staphylococci did not exceed the minimum infective dose. Conclusions. The studies showed high concentrations of airborne actinomycetes and staphylococci. Also the presence of E. coli in the air and swabs allows the conclusion that legal regulations for concentrations of airborne microorganisms are necessary to make people aware of this problem. However, it was found that using electrical hand dryers does not have impact on human health.

  3. Strategy of image management in retail shops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Soče Kraljević

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available A sound positioning in consumers’ mind, along with strong promotion support, brought many retail shops to the top. This is mostly thanks to the image created in the consumers’ mind. A retail shop’s image may but need not conform to reality. Image often looks like a cliché. It overstates certain elements of the shop while simply omitting others. That is exactly why image is of great importance and often crucial to consumer behavior. This paper aims at determining the impact of image on customer behavior in the course of decision making about shopping and choosing a particular retail shop. Image is a significant factor of success of every company, hence also of a retail shops. It is a relatively strong value and a component of creating competitive advantage. But if we do not pay sufficient attention to image, it can become counterproductive. Instead to, like an additional value helps creating and maintaining the advantage in competition and realization of business aims, transforms into a limiting factor. Therefore, it is imperative to identify the elements of image that are of greatest importance to customers. Research has shown that customers choose the retail shop first and after that products and brands within this shop. When it comes to the supermarket, as a kind of retail shop, research has shown that two out of three shopping decisions are made by the customer on the spot, that is, without previous planning. That practically means that we can influence customers with different sales techniques. The paper suggests different strategies of image management for supermarkets and conventional shops. For supermarkets it is the “widest assortment” strategy, while for conventional shops the strategy is that of a “selected group of products“. Improvements to research methods will enable getting more information about customer behavior, while pressures of increased competition in the business environment will force retailers to get

  4. Class-Based Context Quality Optimization For Context Management Frameworks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shawky, Ahmed; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Pedersen, Jens Myrup

    2012-01-01

    Context-awareness is a key requirement in many of today's networks, services and applications. Context Management systems are in this respect used to provide access to distributed, dynamic context information. The reliability of remotely accessed dynamic context information is challenged by network...

  5. A generic taxonomy of shopping motives among hypermarkets (hyper-stores customers and the relationship with demographic variables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Dhurup

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the study: Noting that the motive for shopping is located within the paradigm of buying behaviour of consumers; the study seeks to complement existing literature by examining whether a configuration of shopper motives could be developed, thereby revealing taxonomy of hypermarket (hyper-store shoppers. In addition the study seeks to establish whether shopping motives is shaped by demographic variables. Problem statement: Although the motive for shopping and its antecedents has been approached from various perspectives, it has been accentuated in literature that traditional utilitarian aspects of product acquisition explanations may not fully reflect the totality of a shopping experience. With such affirmations, shopping may be harmonised with hedonic activities when considered within a hypermarket/hyper-store South African context. Methodology: The study adopted a conceptual framework for identifying relatable factors (using exploratory factor analysis that influence consumer motivation for shopping within hypermarket (hyper-store environments. Reliability and validity of the scale was established. Findings: A 13 item scale was developed. Shopping seems to be both a utilitarian and a hedonic consumption experience with three auxiliary categories of hedonic motivations, namely diversion, recreational and sensory stimulated shoppers. In examining the motives for shopping and demographic variables, diversion appears to vary with levels of education. Value of the research: Enhancing one's understanding of the "softer" issues of shopping, namely diversion, recreational and sensory stimulated shoppers is essential, as they represent possible differentiating factors in a highly competitive and often commoditised retail market. Acquaintance of distinct shopper segments is useful for retailers in assembling marketing communication strategies and designing appealing store environments. Conclusion: Whilst shopper typologies may hold several

  6. CERN Shop - Christmas Sale in Bldg. 33

    CERN Multimedia

    PH Department

    2010-01-01

    Looking for Christmas present ideas? The CERN Shop will give CERN card holders a special reduction of 10 % on all CERN Shop articles from Monday 13.12.2010 to Saturday 18.12.2010. Come and visit the CERN Shop in the Reception Building 33.

  7. TB-CA: A hybrid method based on trust and context-aware for recommender system in social networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fateme Keikha

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Recommender systems help users faced with the problem of information overflow and provide personalized recommendations. Social networks are used for providing variety of business or social activities, or sometimes a combination of both. In this paper, by considering social network of users and according to users’ context and items, a new method is introduced that is based on trust and context aware for recommender systems in social networks. The purpose of this paper is to create a recommender system which increases precision of predicted ratings for all users especially for cold start users. In the proposed method, walking on web of trust is done by neighbor users for finding rating of similar items and users’ preference is gotten of items’ context. The results show that suitable recommendation with user’s context is provided by using this method. Also, this system can increase precision of predicted rating for all users and cold starts too and however, do not decrease the rating’s coverage.

  8. Experience in-between architecture and context: the New Acropolis Museum, Athens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annette Svaneklink Jakobsen

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This article is an introduction to how architecture's context and conditions can be understood as signaletic with reference to Gilles Deleuze's concept of the signaletic material. The understanding of architecture's signaletic material addresses the process of becoming through the potentials of context and the requests towards function and programme, as well as through the methods for creating architecture—all seen as conditional components of a specific work of architecture and, consequently, as part of the signaletic material. A visit to the New Acropolis Museum is analysed to discuss how the potential of the in-between encounters of architecture, context and the experiencing subject can be part of the signaletic material and the process of becoming. This potential is actualised, for instance, in relation to the movement through the museum. The museum architecture affords experiences on potentially several levels spanning from the most pragmatic and functional use of the building as exhibition space, restaurant, book shop, etc. to the awareness of being part of an architectural intentionality as a moving body, a contemplating viewer and as a perceiver of relations between the museum building and its historical and geographical context. In the article the term “visitor” is used to emphasise this complexity of experiential potential that is made accessible by the museum's architectural design.

  9. Marketing plan for a web shop business

    OpenAIRE

    Koskivaara, Leonilla

    2014-01-01

    Internet has changed the buying behavior of consumers during the past years and companies need to adapt to the changes. Web shop business is an important sales channel of today’s companies. Advantages of a web shop business include cost effectiveness and potential to do business globally. Challenges of a web shop business include search engine optimization and running both, a retail store and a web shop at the same time. Social media has become an important marketing channel and has bec...

  10. Are AR shopping services valued the same way throughout Europe? : A four-country Q-investigation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gauttier, Stéphanie; Gauzente, Claire; Aikala, Maiju

    2016-01-01

    Augmented reality creates new affordances for shopping-related interactions because it allows consumers to experience a product within the context of their choice and in a customized way before making a purchasing decision. There is a need to evaluate the potential of this technology and its

  11. Comparison of the risks of shopping behavior and opioid abuse between tapentadol and oxycodone and association of shopping behavior and opioid abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cepeda, M Soledad; Fife, Daniel; Kihm, Mary A; Mastrogiovanni, Greg; Yuan, Yingli

    2014-12-01

    This study compared the risks of opioid shopping behavior and opioid abuse between tapentadol immediate release and oxycodone immediate release and, to validate the definition of shopping, examined the association between opioid shopping and opioid abuse further. This retrospective cohort study using linked dispensing and diagnosis databases followed opioid-naive patients for development of shopping behavior and/or opioid abuse during 1 year after initial exposure to tapentadol or oxycodone. Shopping was defined by having overlapping opioid prescriptions from >1 prescriber filled at ≥3 pharmacies; abuse by having International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision diagnoses reflecting opioid abuse, addiction, or dependence. To determine their association, we cross-tabulated shopping and opioid abuse and calculated odds ratios. Risks of developing each outcome were estimated using logistic regression. Among 277,401 participants initiating opioid use with tapentadol (39,524) or oxycodone (237,877), 0.6% developed shopping behavior, 0.75% developed abuse. Higher proportions of patients in the oxycodone group developed shopping behavior and abuse than in the tapentadol group (shopping: adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 0.45 [0.36-0.55]; abuse: 0.44 [0.37-0.54]). Shopping behavior and abuse were associated; of those with shopping behavior, 6.5% had abuse. Age (18 to 64 y), sex (male), prior benzodiazepine use, paying cash, and history (mood disorders, abuse of nonopioid medications, and back pain) were risk factors for developing either outcome. Shopping behavior and abuse measure complementary, but associated, constructs, which further validates the current definition of shopping. The risk of developing either is lower among patients who initiate opioid use with tapentadol than those who initiate opioid use with oxycodone.

  12. Shop stewards' learning and union strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warring, Niels

    2007-01-01

    In Denmark the trade unions have well established educational systems providing the shop stewards with a variety of competencies. Union courses have been analysed focusing on shop stewards' satisfaction with the content and the practical impact of the courses. However, little attention has been...... different theoretical traditions: Shop steward's learning is situational, relational and cross-contextual. Shop stewards' learning is lifelong and life wide. And shop stewards' learning is closely connected to the development of the labour market and not least the unions' priorities, interpretation...

  13. Why do you shop there? A mixed methods study mapping household food shopping patterns onto weekly routines of black women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiSantis, Katherine Isselmann; Hillier, Amy; Holaday, Rio; Kumanyika, Shiriki

    2016-01-28

    The effectiveness of initiatives to increase healthy food access may be affected by where people decide to shop. People with poor neighborhood access to large grocery stores develop shopping patterns that require traveling to other areas, and some people who do have neighborhood access also travel elsewhere for food shopping. We sought to gain an understanding of household food shopping patterns in a sample of Black women in terms of where they shopped and why. All food shopping trips of 35 low- or middle/high-income black mothers or caregivers living with at least one child were identified from grocery shopping receipts collected over four consecutive weeks. Food shopping locations were mapped along with locations of participants' homes and other places they visited during weekly routine travels (e.g. work, child's school). Semi-structured individual interviews elicited narrative information about whether and how grocery shopping trips were linked to routine travels. Inductive content analysis was utilized to identify emergent themes from interviews. Themes were considered in relation to geospatial distances and travel patterns identified through mapping of participants' shopping. Participants shopped at an average of six different stores, traveling on average a total of 35 miles (sd = 41) (Euclidian distance) over the four weeks. The most frequented store was within a mile of home (57%) or home or another place visited in the weekly routine for about 77% of participants. Interview results emphasized the concept of convenience which referred to geographical proximity to the home or routine destinations and also to potential to save time because several stores were co-located or because the store layout was easy to navigate and familiar. Store selection also related to mode of transportation, pricing, and family preference for certain foods. People have specific reasons for consistently shopping in areas outside of their neighborhood of residence. Incorporating

  14. Marketing activities of vape shops across racial/ethnic communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcίa, Robert; Sidhu, Anupreet; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Unger, Jennifer B; Sussman, Steve

    2016-01-01

    There has been a surge in the number of vape shops in the USA. Research on the marketing practices of e-cigarette manufacturers is scarce and even less known are the practices of vape shop retailers. Past research on tobacco marketing has shown differences in the amount and content of marketing material, based on a community's demographic profile. This study examined marketing strategies in vape shops and explored differences among vape shops located in communities that differ by ethnic composition. Data was gathered in 2014 from a pilot-study on vape shops (n=77) in Los Angeles, which documented the characteristics of shops through employee interviews and in-store observations. Data were collected from shops located in communities that were predominantly, African-American (n=20), Hispanic (n=17), Korean (n=18), or non-Hispanic White (n=22). Sixty-one percent of vape shops had advertisements (print ads and posters) for e-cigarettes and 84% offered discounts. Vape shops in Hispanic communities were more likely to have ethnic specific marketing material compared to shops in other communities. All the shops provided customers with free samples, however those in Korean and non-Hispanic White communities had a significantly higher prevalence of customer accessible free samples. Vape shop marketing practices differed by ethnic community. A large majority of shops provided free samples to their customers, a practice which is now banned by the FDA. It will be important to monitor how vape shops will adjust their marketing strategy because of this ban. Future research should expand on the findings presented here to provide regulators with further crucial information.

  15. CERN Shop - Christmas Sale in Bldg. 33

    CERN Multimedia

    PH Department

    Looking for Christmas present ideas? The CERN Shop will give the CERN card holders a special reduction of 10 % on all CERN Shop articles from Friday 11.12.2009 to Thursday 17.12.2009. Come to visit the CERN Shop at the Reception, Building 33. PH-EDU-PO

  16. Reflexivity in performative science shop projects

    OpenAIRE

    Beunen, R.; Duineveld, M.; During, R.; Straver, G.H.M.B.; Aalvanger, A.

    2012-01-01

    Science shop research projects offer possibilities for universities to engage with communities. Many science shop projects directly or indirectly intend to empower certain marginalised groups or interests within a decision-making process. In this article we argue that it is important to reflect on the role and position the researchers have in these projects. We present three science shop projects to illustrate some of the dilemmas that may arise in relation to citizen empowerment, democracy, ...

  17. Handbook for Trade and Industrial Shop Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Texas A and M Univ., College Station. Vocational Instructional Services.

    This handbook is intended to help teachers of pre-employment shop courses in organizing and delivering instruction in both the shop and classroom. Addressed in the guide are the following topics: the instructor's place in the local school organization; the instructor's job (objectives, advisory committees, occupational analysis, shop/classroom and…

  18. Dimensions of Consumer's Perceived Risk in Online Shopping

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YE Naiyi

    2004-01-01

    Perceived risk is an important concept in consumer behavior in online shopping. It impedes the adopting online shopping. A structure model with seven factors of consumer's perceived risk in online shopping is developed in this paper. The results have the descriptive power about Chinese consumers' perceived risk in Internet shopping and provide framework for managerial use in China's e-commerce market environment.

  19. Forecasting of indirect consumables for a Job Shop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakeel, M.; Khan, S.; Khan, W. A.

    2016-08-01

    A job shop has an arrangement where similar machines (Direct consumables) are grouped together and use indirect consumables to produce a product. The indirect consumables include hack saw blades, emery paper, painting brush etc. The job shop is serving various orders at a particular time for the optimal operation of job shop. Forecasting is required to predict the demand of direct and indirect consumables in a job shop. Forecasting is also needed to manage lead time, optimize inventory cost and stock outs. The objective of this research is to obtain the forecast for indirect consumables. The paper shows how job shop can manage their indirect consumables more accurately by establishing a new technique of forecasting. This results in profitable use of job shop by multiple users.

  20. Investigation and Ponder on the Resolution of Online Shopping Disputes%关于网络购物纠纷解决的调查与思考

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    杨彦增

    2012-01-01

    With the rise of online shopping,online shopping disputes are increasing.However,many online shopping disputes have not been timely and effectively settled.In order to prevent and resolve the online shopping disputes and advance the development of China's economy,we should improve both moral and legal awareness of the buyer and seller and build a comprehensive online shopping dispute resolution mechanism.%随着网络购物的兴起,网络购物纠纷也日益增多,而且网络购物纠纷解决起来往往困难重重。因此,只有加强道德建设和法制教育,营造一个有利于纠纷解决的道德和法制环境,构建完善的多元化网络购物纠纷解决机制,才能更好地解决网络购物纠纷,促进我国经济的进一步发展。

  1. Social image of students who shop and don't shop online.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammers, H Bruce; Curren, Mary T; Cours, Deborah; Lammers, Marilyn L

    2003-06-01

    A descriptive survey of a stratified random sample of 326 undergraduates from a large, diverse university in Los Angeles was conducted to assess whether resistance to online shopping might be, in part, related to negative social perceptions of those who shop online. Indirect questioning showed that students perceived online student shoppers as more lazy and less likely to fear for the safety and security of others but also as more trustworthy, attractive, successful, and smart. Differences in social perceptions were not related to these students' own online spending.

  2. INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ONLINE SHOPPING TRADING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermawan F.

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to find out if the ease of shopping, site design, informative, comprehensive, and communication have a significant influence on the level of Indonesian customer satisfaction in online shopping transactions and how the impact to the word of mouth communication. Respondents of this study are the 250 students of Jakarta colleges. This study found that the variables of design, simplicity, and security have an influence on customer satisfaction in shopping online, while the informative variable and communication have no influence on the customer's satisfaction online shopping.

  3. Space Odyssey Gift Shop

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-01-01

    The Space Odyssey Gift Shop located in StenniSphere at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss., offers every visitor the opportunity to go home with 'the right stuff' from his or her StenniSphere visit. The gift shop is located just inside the front doors to StenniSphere and offers a wide range of space-related apparel, memorabilia, toys, books, mission patches and more.

  4. International note: awareness and context of cyber-harassment among secondary school students in Oyo state, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olumide, Adesola O; Adams, Patricia; Amodu, Olukemi K

    2015-02-01

    We determined the awareness and context of cyber-harassment among secondary school students (653 survey respondents and 18 in-depth interviewees) in Oyo state, Nigeria. Respondents' mean age was 14.2 ± 2.2 years and 53.9% were aware of cyber-harassment occurring in their school or among their friends. Cyber-harassment was often perpetrated via phone calls (62.5%), text messaging (36.9%), chat rooms (28.7%), through pictures or video clips sent via mobile phones (11.9%), emails (6.8%) or websites (5.9%). Cyber-harassment behaviours mentioned were the use of abusive words (25.4%), saying mean things or making fun of the victim (13.9%), solicitations for relationships (7.9%) or sex (6.8%) and spreading rumours about the victim (6.8%). In-depth interviewees recounted experiences of cyber-harassment suffered by their friends. Many were relationship-related, sexual solicitations and threats and corroborated quantitative findings. Respondents are aware of cyber-harassment occurring among students in the study area. Comprehensive interventions to address the problem need to be instituted. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Determinants Of Online Shopping In Manado

    OpenAIRE

    Halim, Ellen

    2013-01-01

    Retailers utilize online media to reach more potential customers. Internet connects the retailer and customers without any geographic location boundaries. Internet growth has a positive impact for business world. There is a new shopping method in non-store shopping as people can buy products or services without having to travel to the outlets like traditional retail does. With the increase of online retailers on internet world, online shopping became popular. The objective of this research is...

  6. Potential of Natural Ventilation in Shopping Centres

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diederichsen, Alice; Friis, Kristina; Brohus, Henrik

    2008-01-01

    The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a fundamental requirement for a well performing shopping centre. This paper contains a pilot study of the potential of using hybrid ventilation (a combination of automatically controlled natural and mechanical ventilation - respectively NV and MV) in shop......The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a fundamental requirement for a well performing shopping centre. This paper contains a pilot study of the potential of using hybrid ventilation (a combination of automatically controlled natural and mechanical ventilation - respectively NV and MV......) in shopping centres with focus on both the achieved IEQ and energy consumptions for air movement. By thermal building simulations it is found that there exists an interesting potential for hybrid ventilation of shopping centres, which can lead to great savings in the electrical energy consumptions...

  7. Teacher Diversity Awareness in the Context of Changing Demographics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acquah, Emmanuel O.; Tandon, Madhavi; Lempinen, Sonia

    2016-01-01

    This study examined awareness of and knowledge of how to address increasing linguistic and cultural diversity among 89 teachers in an ethnically and racially diverse school located in Southwest Finland. The empirical evidence suggests that in a school with many years of experience with a diverse student population the levels of awareness and…

  8. HESITANCY TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING, A STUDY OF PAKISTANI CONSUMERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Usman YOUSAF

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available To study the influence of Perceived cost, risk, convenience and enjoyment on online consumer purchases. Being more convenient online shopping seems painless compared to in store shopping, why consumers are still reluctant to shop online?.A sample of 220 questionnaires was filled from different departments at University of Sargodha. Respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire based on four factors (Perceived cost, Perceived risk, Perceived convenience, Perceived enjoyment, there were 2 general questions. Out of 220, 207 questionnaires were returned. One sample test is applied in this study to check the reliability of independent variables. Analysis was also done on basis of gender and their ages. The most important factor out of four, which can persuade the customer's online buying decision, is delivery cost for purchased items and it has negative relationship with dependent variable, moreover perceived risk has also negative relationship with dependent one. Perceived convenience and Perceived enjoyment has positive relationship with online shopping preference. As online shopping is easier to do but due to extra delivery cost and risk factors consumers do not adopt online shopping and these factors should be minimized to promote online shopping. Online shopping should be promoted and to gain the consumer confidence, delivery cost and risk factor should be minimized. As online shopping is easier to do as compared to offline shopping but people still reluctant to use internet for online shopping, so to promote online shopping delivery cost and risk factor should be minimized to gain consumers attraction and confidence. People want to experience online shopping but it won’t be promoted until delivery cost and perceived risk factors be reduced. A little work has been done on exploring the factors that influence the online buying decision. These factors are called situational factors and include delivery charges, risk factors, convenience

  9. New Digital Marketing Actors: Private Shopping Clubs and Their Advertising Practices

    OpenAIRE

    Nazlım Tüzel Uraltaş

    2014-01-01

    Our country is going through rapid changes in all fields such as society, politics, economy, industry and technology. This change is reflected on retailers and their marketing strategies as well. In today’s business world, which is characterized by intense competition, advertisers and marketers take advantage of Internet, social media and digital marketing in order to influence consumers. In this context, consumer-shopping behavior also changes parallel to technological developments and econo...

  10. Retail Shopping Lists

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Marcus

    2012-01-01

    categories. An association between the frequency of a brand's appearance on lists and the amount of money spent on advertising the brand could not be found. A strong link between brands, prices and store names is revealed. Price in the majority of cases refers to brands rather than to product categories......The paper addresses consumers' shopping lists. The current study is based on a survey of 871 lists collected at retail grocery stores. Most items on shopping lists appear on the product category level rather than the brand level. The importance of the brand level varies considerably across product...

  11. Growing Shopping Malls and Behavior of Urban Shoppers

    OpenAIRE

    Rajagopal

    2009-01-01

    Shopping malls contribute to business more significantly than traditional markets which were viewed as simple convergence of supply and demand. Shopping malls attract buyers and sellers, and induce customers providing enough time to make choices as well as a recreational means of shopping. However, competition between malls, congestion of markets and traditional shopping centers has led mall developers and management to consider alternative methods to build excitement with customers. This stu...

  12. Designing electronic shops, persuading consumers to buy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dormann, Claire

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to show how to design persuasive and successful Web shops. An approach to commercial site design that draws on theories of visual persuasion is proposed. We focus on the role of emotion. Images in an ad are typically meant to create some emotional disposition toward....... To strengthen the discussion, an evaluation of shop home pages, situated within the perspective of visual persuasion is presented. This study has given some indications that viewers form distinctive emotional impressions from shop designs. Thus, by building on visual persuasion theories, we can learn how...... to design seductive Web shops....

  13. Real-time context aware reasoning in on-board intelligent traffic systems: An Architecture for Ontology-based Reasoning using Finite State Machines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stoter, Arjan; Dalmolen, Simon; Drenth, Eduard; Cornelisse, Erik; Mulder, Wico

    2011-01-01

    In-vehicle information management is vital in intelligent traffic systems. In this paper we motivate an architecture for ontology-based context-aware reasoning for in-vehicle information management. An ontology is essential for system standardization and communication, and ontology-based reasoning

  14. The 3D virtual environment online for real shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Khalil, Nahla

    2015-01-01

    The development of information technology and Internet has led to rapidly progressed in e-commerce and online shopping, due to the convenience that they provide consumers. E-commerce and online shopping are still not able to fully replace onsite shopping. In contrast, conventional online shopping websites often cannot provide enough information about a product for the customer to make an informed decision before checkout. 3D virtual shopping environment show great potential for enhancing e-co...

  15. RURAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING IN POLLACHI TALUK

    OpenAIRE

    K. Jayaprakash; A. Pavithra

    2017-01-01

    Online shopping is a recent phenomenon in electronic commerce and its definitely going to be the future of shopping in the world. It is user friendly compare to in store shopping because consumers can just complete his requirements just with a click of mouse without leaving their home. In the present work, the researcher intended to analyze the most preferred online shopping website, factors influencing the rural customers towards online shopping and to analyze the level satisfaction of the ...

  16. Key Role of Drug Shops and Pharmacies for Family Planning in Urban Nigeria and Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corroon, Meghan; Kebede, Essete; Spektor, Gean; Speizer, Ilene

    2016-12-23

    The Family Planning 2020 initiative aims to reach 120 million new family planning users by 2020. Drug shops and pharmacies are important private-sector sources of contraception in many contexts but are less well understood than public-sector sources, especially in urban environments. This article explores the role that drug shops and pharmacies play in the provision of contraceptive methods in selected urban areas of Nigeria and Kenya as well as factors associated with women's choice of where to obtain these methods. Using data collected in 2010/2011 from representative samples of women in selected urban areas of Nigeria and Kenya as well as a census of pharmacies and drug shops audited in 2011, we examine the role of drug shops and pharmacies in the provision of short-acting contraceptive methods and factors associated with a women's choice of family planning source. In urban Nigeria and Kenya, drug shops and pharmacies were the major source for the family planning methods of oral contraceptive pills, emergency contraceptives, and condoms. The majority of injectable users obtained their method from public facilities in both countries, but 14% of women in Nigeria and 6% in Kenya obtained injectables from drug shops or pharmacies. Harder-to-reach populations were the most likely to choose these outlets to obtain their short-acting methods. For example, among users of these methods in Nigeria, younger women (family planning users who had never been married were significantly more likely than married users to obtain these methods from a drug shop or a pharmacy than from a public-sector health facility. Low levels of family planning-related training (57% of providers in Kenya and 41% in Nigeria had received training) and lack of family planning promotional activities in pharmacies and drug shops in both countries indicate the need for additional support from family planning programs to leverage this important access point. Drug shops and pharmacies offer an important

  17. 48 CFR 252.227-7033 - Rights in shop drawings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Rights in shop drawings... of Provisions And Clauses 252.227-7033 Rights in shop drawings. As prescribed in 227.7107-(1)(c), use the following clause: Rights in Shop Drawings (APR 1966) (a) Shop drawings for construction means...

  18. 48 CFR 1952.227-77 - Rights in shop drawings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Rights in shop drawings... Rights in shop drawings. As prescribed in 1927.405(h), insert the following clause: Rights in Shop Drawings (FEB 1985) (a) Shop drawings for construction means drawings, submitted to the Government by the...

  19. Context awareness and sensitivity in SEA implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hilding-Rydevik, Tuija; Bjarnadottir, Holmfridur

    2007-01-01

    The Impact Assessment research community repeatedly asserts that the implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) should take the issue of context into consideration. The primary aim of this paper then is to attempt to give substance to the concept of 'context' in relation to the implementation of SEA. The second aim is to discuss the relevance of context consciousness and sensitivity in relation to one of the main aims given to SEA implementation i.e. to contribute to the 'integration' of environmental perspectives in planning processes. Context must be defined in relation to a certain question. In this paper the question in focus is the assumption that SEA implementation will contribute to integration of environmental issues in planning processes. Research results relating to the use of environmental tools, like for example SEA, and experiences of integration efforts, strongly indicate that the use of a single tool like SEA is not enough to achieve this integration. The current 'context free' normative and procedural assumptions concerning the aim of SEA implementation and 'best practice' in term of SEA can be criticised on the same grounds as normative and procedural planning theories, as being context free. The assumptions behind the current formulations of the aim and best practice of SEA need to be revisited. A firm empirical and theoretical knowledge and discussion is needed, especially in relation to the issue of context and integration. This paper provides a starting point in this direction

  20. An Exploratory Analysis of Online Shopping Behavior in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adnan Veysel Ertemel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Alongside the technologic developments, transformation in user behavior and business models has been observed. New areas and models are emerged in a lot of grounds like the communication of people or daily activities. So a new face put for shopping behavior by the e-commerce, which is one of the novelties. This study tries to research online shopping behavior in Turkey. With a quantitative research, device usage, the reasons behind to shop or not to shop online, online shopping category and e-commerce site preferences, payment methods, international e-commerce and online marketplace usage is investigated. As implications of the research, “saving time“ is found to be the foremost reason for shopping online in Turkey and “travel and bookings” category is found as the most shopped category among the results of the survey.

  1. Specific energy use in Swedish and Norwegian shopping malls

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stensson, Sofia; Axell, Monica (SP Energy Technology, Boraas (Sweden)); Smaage, Kjell Petter (Evotek AS (Norway)); Fahlen, Per (Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Building Services Engineering, Goeteborg (Sweden))

    2009-07-01

    The prevalence of shopping malls is growing worldwide. Internationally, there are differences in energy use and system solutions due to local outdoor climate, available energy resources, prices, national building regulations, traditions etc. On the other hand, tenants are usually international chains and they often have the same demands regarding indoor climate, system solutions etc. irrespective of the national differences. Shopping malls overall tends to have large lighting loads, high population density and, hence, a large air conditioning demand. There is also an apparent trend towards increasing glass surfaces and such design feature affects the energy balance of the building. For those interested in the energy efficiency of the building and its installations, it is interesting to know how different system solutions affect the energy use. Benchmarking between buildings gives valuable insight to energy efficient design and operation. However, available information on energy use for such benchmarking in shopping malls is still rather limited. This study investigates shopping malls in Sweden and Norway. Available national statistical data on retail and shopping malls are reviewed. Further building statistical data were collected from building owners and managers, covering energy use in 41 shopping malls. Additional energy use data for 115 shops, within three of these shopping malls were also collected. The building statistical data shows that the average energy use in Norwegian and Swedish shopping malls are approximately 291 and 279 kWh/m2/year respectively. The highest energy use exceeds the lowest figure by approximately 50 percent, indicating a significant potential for improvement. Results also show a wide deviation in energy use of the different shops in a shopping mall. The paper further provides a discussion concerning alternative benchmarking methods and necessary improvements to make valid conclusions regarding energy use in shopping malls.

  2. Typically Female Features in Hungarian Shopping Tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gábor Michalkó

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Although shopping has been long acknowledged as a major tourist activity, the extent and characteristics of shopping tourism have only recently become the subject of academic research and discussion. As a contribution to this field of knowledge, the paper presents the characteristics of shopping tourism in Hungary, and discusses the typically female features of outbound Hungarian shopping tourism. The research is based on a survey of 2473 Hungarian tourists carried out in 2005. As the findings of the study indicate, while female respondents were altogether more likely to be involved in tourist shopping than male travellers, no significant difference was experienced between the genders concerning the share of shopping expenses compared to their total travel budget. In their shopping behaviour, women were typically affected by price levels, and they proved to be both more selfish and more altruistic than men by purchasing more products for themselves and for their family members. The most significant differences between men and women were found in their product preferences as female tourists were more likely to purchase typically feminine goods such as clothes, shoes, bags and accessories, in the timing of shopping activities while abroad, and in the information sources used by tourists, since interpersonal influences such as friends’, guides’ and fellow travellers’ recommendations played a higher role in female travellers’ decisions.

  3. Why Shops Close Again : An Evolutionary Perspective on the Deregulation of Shopping Hours

    OpenAIRE

    Kosfeld, M.

    1999-01-01

    This paper introduces a new perspective on the deregulation of shopping hours based on ideas from evolutionary game theory. We study a retail economy where shopping hours have been deregulated recently. It is argued that first, the deregulation leads to a coordination problem between store owners and customers, and second, the ‘solution’ to this problem depends on the specific cost structure of stores and the preferences of customers. In particular, it may happen that, even if extended shoppi...

  4. Retailing and Shopping on the Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowley, Jennifer

    1996-01-01

    Internet advertising and commercial activity are increasing. This article examines challenges facing the retail industry on the Internet: location; comparison shopping; security, especially financial transactions; customer base and profile; nature of the shopping experience; and legal and marketplace controls. (PEN)

  5. Impact of e-shopping on shopping-related travel behaviour: Analyses of the Netherlands Mobility Panel data.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogendoorn-Lanser, S.; Olde Kalter, Marie-José José Theresia; Schaap, Nina

    2015-01-01

    From the moment e-shopping emerged, there are speculations about the impact that would have on personal mobility. Questions about the impact of e-shopping on mobility increase due to media coverage on the sharp increase in turnover of Internet purchases and the increasing number of consumers that

  6. Measuring consumer perceptions of online shopping convenience

    OpenAIRE

    Ferreira, Margarida Bernardo

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this master thesis is to identify which dimensions of convenience affect consumers’ intention of using online shopping. Also it explores a conceptual model to measuring consumer perceptions of online shopping convenience. This paper contains prospects about online consumer behavior, and the results have important implications for retailers, managers and marketers, related to online shopping strategies. An empirical investigation was carried out to test the hypotheses. In order t...

  7. CERN SHOP CHRISTMAS SALE

    CERN Multimedia

    Visits & Exhibition Service

    2000-01-01

    Looking for Christmas present ideas? Come to the Reception Shop Special Stand in Meyrin, Main Building, ground floor, from Tuesday 12 to Thursday 14 December from 10.00 to 16.00.   Sweat-shirt col zippé, grey, blue, black (M, L, XL) 30.- Sweat-shirt col polo, grey, collar blue (M, L, XL) 30.- T-shirt, black, (M, L, XL) 15.- WWW T-shirt, white, bordeau (M, L, XL) 15.- CERN silk tie (3 colours) 33.- Fancy silk tie (blue, bordeau 25.- Silk scarf (blue, red, yellow) 35.- Swiss army knife with CERN logo 25.- New model of CERN watch 25.- New CERN baseball cap 10.- Antimatter (English/anglais) 30.- The Search for Infinity (French, Italian, English,) 35.- Auf der Suche nach dem Unendlichen 45.- If you miss this special occasion, the articles are also available at the Reception Shop in Building 33 from Monday to Saturday between 08.30 and 17.30 hrs (Shop will be closed at 12.00 on 22.12.).

  8. Personalisation of promotional offers in a mobile coupon service context: the role of regulatory fit

    OpenAIRE

    Khajehzadeh, Saman

    2017-01-01

    This thesis theoretically develops and empirically tests a model of personalisation in the context of mobile couponing. The focus is in particular on personalised mobile coupon services provided to shoppers in shopping centres while they shop. To use such a service, customers sign up once and then send requests to receive new offers whenever they wish during their shopping trip. Three factors are identified as the key cues conveyed by a mobile coupon. The three factors consist of: the type of...

  9. An architecture for agile shop floor control systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langer, Gilad; Alting, Leo

    2000-01-01

    as shop floor control. This paper presents the Holonic Multi-cell Control System (HoMuCS) architecture that allows for design and development of holonic shop floor control systems. The HoMuCS is a shop floor control system which is sometimes referred to as a manufacturing execution system...

  10. Tourist shopping behavior in a historic downtown area

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Borgers, A.W.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2009-01-01

    Shopping is one of the most important activities for tourists. The purpose of this study is to describe and predict tourist shopping route choice behavior in a downtown historic center. Reported routes of tourists in the downtown shopping area of Maastricht, located in the Southern part of the

  11. The impact of science shops on university research and education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hende, Merete; Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    This report discusses the impact from university-based science shops on curricula and research. Experience from science shops show that besides assisting citizen groups, science shops can also contribute to the development of university curricula and research. This impact has been investigated...... through the SCIPAS questionnaire sent out to science shops and through follow-up interviews with employees from nine different university-based science shops and one university researcher. Not all the cases call themselves science shops, but in the report the term 'science shop' will be used most...... way or the other has had impact on university curricula and/or research. The analysis and the case studies have theoretically been based on literature on universities and education and research as institutions and a few articles about the impact of science shops on education and research. The analysis...

  12. E-COMMERCE FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMERS‘ ONLINE SHOPPING DECISION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Živilė Baubonienė

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the factors driving online shopping and to develop an understanding of the factors influencing the online shopping by the consumers. This is done by exploring the factors that encourage consumers to shop online through analysis of such advantages as security, fast delivery, comparable price, convenience, cheaper prices and a wider choice. At the same time, the research project reveals the factors that are discouraging for consumers and the benefits received by buyers making purchases online. Specifically, the research explores how online shopping can be affected by such factors as age, gender or occupation. Design/methodology/approach – The factors that affect the consumer online shopping have been disclosed through quantitative research by analysing data collected via a web‐based questionnaire survey. The sample consisted of 183 Lithuanian consumers who were purchasing online. Findings –The empirical findings of this study indicate that the main factors influencing consumers to shop online are convenience, simplicity and better price. Analysis of socio-demographical characteristics such as gender has shown that men shop more often online because of the lower price. Respondents of the 25–35 year age group more often choose shopping online for such reasons as lack of time and a wide range of products. The most beneficial factor of shopping online was identified as a possibility to compare prices and buy at a lower price. Research limitations/implications – This study was done regarding only general conditions and the findings may not necessarily be applicable to a particular e-business. Therefore, in the future it would be highly encouraged to examine consumers’ attitudes towards specialized online shopping websites to look for differences by kind of products or services.Practical implications – Attributes identified by this study could help e-business developers to forme their

  13. Approximation algorithms for the parallel flow shop problem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    X. Zhang (Xiandong); S.L. van de Velde (Steef)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractWe consider the NP-hard problem of scheduling n jobs in m two-stage parallel flow shops so as to minimize the makespan. This problem decomposes into two subproblems: assigning the jobs to parallel flow shops; and scheduling the jobs assigned to the same flow shop by use of Johnson's

  14. PS-CARA: Context-Aware Resource Allocation Scheme for Mobile Public Safety Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeeshan Kaleem

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The fifth-generation (5G communications systems are expecting to support users with diverse quality-of-service (QoS requirements. Beside these requirements, the task with utmost importance is to support the emergency communication services during natural or man-made disasters. Most of the conventional base stations are not properly functional during a disaster situation, so deployment of emergency base stations such as mobile personal cell (mPC is crucial. An mPC having moving capability can move in the disaster area to provide emergency communication services. However, mPC deployment causes severe co-channel interference to the users in its vicinity. The problem in the existing resource allocation schemes is its support for static environment, that does not fit well for mPC. So, a resource allocation scheme for mPC users is desired that can dynamically allocate resources based on users’ location and its connection establishment priority. In this paper, we propose a public safety users priority-based context-aware resource allocation (PS-CARA scheme for users sum-rate maximization in disaster environment. Simulations results demonstrate that the proposed PS-CARA scheme can increase the user average and edge rate around 10.3% and 32.8% , respectively because of context information availability and by prioritizing the public safety users. The simulation results ensure that call blocking probability is also reduced considerably under the PS-CARA scheme.

  15. Product Characteristics and Internet Shopping Intentions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vijayasarathy, Leo R.

    2002-01-01

    Discussion of electronic commerce and online marketing focuses on an empirical study that investigated differences between Internet shopping intentions for products categorized by cost and tangibility. Highlights include hypotheses; respondent characteristics; results that showed that intentions to shop using the Internet differ by tangibility of…

  16. Rental Values in UK Shopping Malls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yuo, Tony Shun-Te; Lizieri, Colin; McCann, Phillip; Crosby, Neil

    This paper employs a unique dataset to analyse the retail rental levels of 1108 retail tenants in 148 UK regional shopping malls. The dataset integrates information regarding the characteristics of the shopping centre, the individual retailer, the brand, the individual unit occupied, the tenancy

  17. Cellular Phone Users- Willingness to Shop Online

    OpenAIRE

    Norazah Mohd Suki; Norbayah Mohd Suki

    2009-01-01

    This study aims to identify cellular phone users- shopping motivating factors towards online shopping. 100 university students located in Klang Valley, Malaysia were involved as the respondents. They were required to complete a set of questionnaire and had to own a cellular phone in order to be selected as sample in this study. Three from five proposed hypotheses were supported: purchasing information, shopping utilities and service quality. As a result, marketers and retailers should concent...

  18. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING

    OpenAIRE

    S. Nethra; Dr. V. T. Dhanaraj

    2016-01-01

    The popularity of online shopping has caught the attention of many peoples. Many studies have been done in developed nations to know about the attitude and behaviour of consumers towards online shopping. The research is focused on consumer behaviour and attitude towards online shopping in Coimbatore district. The study is based on primary data which has been collected by issuing questionnaire to 200 respondents residing in Coimbatore district by adopting convenient sampling method. The stat...

  19. Passion and dependency in online shopping activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chih-Chien; Yang, Hui-Wen

    2007-04-01

    This study examines the influence of harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) to online shopping dependency. The results show that both HP and OP might lead to online shopping dependency and online shoppers with OP are more dependent on online shopping activities. In addition, this study also found out that HP and OP could be denoted as a sequence of different intensities of passion, where HP might be a necessity of OP.

  20. Breaking Out of the Local: International dimensions of science shops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caspar DeBok

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article we want to give an overview of the international dimension and the interest of the European Union (EU in the concept of Science Shops. The European Commission (EC manages the day-to-day business by initiating and implementing EU policies and spending EU funds. The EC support for Science Shops has been an important factor for the international interest and progress of the Science Shop movement. This article will not give detailed information about daily routines of a Science Shop. Detailed information about the Science Shop concept can be found at the Living Knowledge website (www.livingknowledge.org. Living Knowledge represents the international Science Shop Network. In this article international developments of the Science Shop Network, like the project TRAMS, and Science Shop backgrounds will be linked with past and new EU policies like the EU 7th Framework Programme for Research. It shows how community-based research does not only have a local dimension. The international Science Shop activities show the strengths of international cooperation to break out of the local and to bring local issues on the international agenda. Detailed information about the Science Shop concept and daily routines of a Science Shop can be found at the Living Knowledge website (www.livingknowledge.org, e.g. at the FAQ section and in the toolbox.

  1. Power Service Shops

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — TVA's Power Service Shops provides expert repair and maintenance of power system components and large industrial equipment. With world-class maintenance facilities...

  2. Service Degradation in Context Management Frameworks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shawky, Ahmed; Olsen, Rasmus Løvenstein; Pedersen, Jens Myrup

    2011-01-01

    information. The paper considers a developed framework from the ICT project, OPEN, and investigates the impact of applying Differentiated Services (DiffServ) Quality of Services (QoS). The paper finally provides insight in how the insight gained can be utilized to ensure reliable remote accessed context......Context aware network services are a new and inter-esting way to enhance network users experience. A context aware application/service enhances network performance in relation to dynamic context information, e.g. mobility, location and device information as it senses and reacts to environment...... changes. The reliability of the information accessed is a key factor in achieving reliable context aware application. This paper will review the service degradation in Context Management Frameworks (CMF) and the effect of high network utilization, with particular focus on the reliability of the accessed...

  3. What do we know about consumer m-shopping behaviour?

    OpenAIRE

    Marriott, Hannah; Williams, Michael; Dwivedi, Yogesh

    2017-01-01

    Purpose – This paper provides a review of mobile shopping (m-shopping) acceptance literature to bring international marketing and consumer research attention to m-shopping acceptance factors and limitations in current understandings to propose recommendations for further academic and retailing attention.\\ud Design/methodology – Keyword searches identified consumer-focused literature across mobile commerce, mobile shopping, mobile browsing, and mobile purchasing, published in English language ...

  4. Context in a wider context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Traxler

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to review and reconsider the role of context in mobile learning and starts by outlining definitions of context-aware mobile learning as the technologies have become more mature, more robust and more widely available and as the notion of context has become progressively richer. The future role of context-aware mobile learning is considered within the context of the future of mobile learning as it moves from the challenges and opportunities of pedagogy and technology to the challenges and opportunities of policy, scale, sustainability, equity and engagement with augmented reality, «blended learning», «learner devices», «user-generated contexts» and the «internet of things». This is essentially a perspective on mobile learning, and other forms of technology-enhanced learning (TEL, where educators and their institutions set the agenda and manage change. There are, however, other perspectives on context. The increasing availability and use of smart-phones and other personal mobile devices with similar powerful functionality means that the experience of context for many people, in the form of personalized or location-based services, is an increasingly social and informal experience, rather than a specialist or educational experience. This is part of the transformative impact of mobility and connectedness on our societies brought about by these universal, ubiquitous and pervasive technologies. This paper contributes a revised understanding of context in the wider context (sic of the transformations taking place in our societies. These are subtle but pervasive transformations of jobs, work and the economy, of our sense of time, space and place, of knowing and learning, and of community and identity. This leads to a radical reconsideration of context as the notions of ‹self› and ‹other› are transformed.

  5. Hedonic Motivations for Online Shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Pui-Lai To; E-Ping Sung

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate hedonic online shopping motivations. A qualitative analysis was conducted to explore the factors influencing online hedonic shopping motivations. The results of the study indicate that traditional hedonic values, consisting of social, role, self-gratification, learning trends, pleasure of bargaining, stimulation, diversion, status, and adventure, and dimensions of flow theory, consisting of control, curiosity, enjoyment, and telepresence, exist in t...

  6. Fixing missing links in shopping routes: Reflections on intra-urban borders and city center redevelopment in Nijmegen, the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spierings, B.

    2013-01-01

    This paper analyses the fixing of missing links in shopping routes and puts redevelopment strategies for Dutch city centres in the theoretical context of entrepreneurial urbanism. The aim is to scrutinize and critically reflect upon how collaborating local authorities, property developers,

  7. Internet Shopping Behavior of College of Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyici, Mubin

    2012-01-01

    Internet is an important facilitator for human and humans use this medium almost every phase. As a shopping medium, internet attract human so attract researcher. Younger people can adapt newer technologies so they can adapt internet as shopping tool. In this research it is tried to define college of education students' online shopping behavior and…

  8. INDONESIAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ONLINE SHOPPING TRADING

    OpenAIRE

    Hermawan F.; Wijayanti S.H.

    2018-01-01

    This research aims to find out if the ease of shopping, site design, informative, comprehensive, and communication have a significant influence on the level of Indonesian customer satisfaction in online shopping transactions and how the impact to the word of mouth communication. Respondents of this study are the 250 students of Jakarta colleges. This study found that the variables of design, simplicity, and security have an influence on customer satisfaction in shopping online, while the info...

  9. Modeling the Joint Choice Decisions on Urban Shopping Destination and Travel-to-Shop Mode: A Comparative Study of Different Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chuan Ding

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The joint choice of shopping destination and travel-to-shop mode in downtown area is described by making use of the cross-nested logit (CNL model structure that allows for potential interalternative correlation along the both choice dimensions. Meanwhile, the traditional multinomial logit (MNL model and nested logit (NL model are also formulated, respectively. This study uses the data collected in the downtown areas of Maryland-Washington, D.C. region, for shopping trips, considering household, individual, land use, and travel related characteristics. The results of the model reveal the significant influencing factors on joint choice travel behavior between shopping destination and travel mode. A comparison of the different models shows that the proposed CNL model structure offers significant improvements in capturing unobserved correlations between alternatives over MNL model and NL model. Moreover, a Monte Carlo simulation for a group of scenarios assuming that there is an increase in parking fees in downtown area is undertaken to examine the impact of a change in car travel cost on the joint choice of shopping destination and travel mode switching. The results are expected to give a better understanding on the shopping travel behavior.

  10. Model-driven design of context-aware applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shishkov, Boris; van Sinderen, Marten J.; Cardoso, J.; Cordeiro, J.; Filipe, J.

    2007-01-01

    In many cases, in order to be effective, software applications need to allow sensitivity to context changes. This implies however additional complexity associated with the need for applications’ adaptability (being capable of capturing context, interpreting it and reacting on it). Hence, we envision

  11. Urban artisanal gold shops and mercury emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordy, P.; Veiga, M.; Carrasco, V.H.G.

    2008-01-01

    Artisanal miners in developing countries use mercury amalgamation processes to extract gold. The amalgams are then refined before being sold on to urban gold shops. The amalgams can often contain between 2 to 40 per cent mercury. Unburned amalgams are also often sold directly to gold shops. There are serious health risks for shop employees and nearby populations when the gold is melted and further purified. Studies have shown that mercury concentrations in the ambient air of gold shops often exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) limits by an order of magnitude or more. This study examined the practices and technologies used to refine gold in Latin America and Indonesia. The study compared and contrasted various refining methods and their resulting mercury emissions. Methods of reducing mercury emissions were also investigated, including a filtration system designed to capture 80 per cent of mercury emissions. Barriers to implementing mercury emissions reduction plans were also investigated. It was concluded that the design of urban gold shops must include condensers, fume hoods, and efficient mercury capture systems. 15 refs

  12. Nurses' shop stewards and their collaboration with management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bild, Tage; Hjalager, Anne-Mette; Lassen, Morten Staun

    2009-01-01

    Purpose - This study investigates the collaboration between Danish nurses' shop stewards and workplace management. The aim of the study is to track changes in workplace climate after a major structural reform of the health sector. Design/methodology/approach - The data source for the study...... is a comprehensive survey among union representatives in the health and care sectors. Findings - Generally, and not surprisingly, shops stewards maintain closer relations and a higher degree of loyalty to the nearest managers rather than management at higher levels in the hierarchy. It can also be demonstrated...... that more experienced shop stewards, those who have been employed in this position and in the workplace for the longest terms have more affirmative relations to management than less experienced shop stewards with shorter tenure. Those shop stewards who spend much time on the entitled duties are rewarded...

  13. FCT: a fully-distributed context-aware trust model for location based service recommendation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhiquan LIU; Jianfeng MA; Zhongyuan JIANG; Yinbin MIAO

    2017-01-01

    With the popularity of location based service (LBS),a vast number of trust medels for LBS recommendation (LBSR) have been proposed.These trust models are centralized in essence,and the trusted third party may collude with malicious service providers or cause the single-point failure problem.This work improves the classic certified reputation (CR) model and proposes a novel fully-distributed context-aware trust (FCT) model for LBSR.Recommendation operations are conducted by service providers directly and the trusted third party is no longer required in our FCT model.Besides,our FCT model also supports the movements of service providers due to its self-certified characteristic.Moreover,for easing the collusion attack and value imbalance attack,we comprehensively consider four kinds of factor weights,namely number,time decay,preference and context weights.Finally,a fully-distributed service recommendation scenario is deployed,and comprehensive experiments and analysis are conducted.The results indicate that our FCT model significantly outperforms the CR model in terms of the robustness against the collusion attack and value imbalance attack,as well as the service recommendation performance in improving the successful trading rates of honest service providers and reducing the risks of trading with malicious service providers.

  14. Relationships among Shopping Quality and Corporate Social Responsibility of Shopping Centers and Consumer Satisfaction: Case from Novi Sad (Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivana Blešić

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Taking into consideration satisfied customer as necessary for business maintenance, companies are trying to discover determinants which have the biggest influence on their consumer satisfaction. Here are presented two factors that have influence on consumer satisfaction in shopping centers: quality of shopping and corporate social responsibility. In this research, each of these factors had six elements. The results of the regression analysis are that “Value for money in stores” (beta=0.387, p=0.000 has the greatest impact on satisfaction when shopping quality performance is concerned, and that “Retailer support for (national/local cultural and sport events“ (beta=0.333, p<0.001 has the greatest impact on satisfaction in the case of CSR performance. Further analysis showed the difference in consumer perception of corporate social responsibility, depending on their occupation and level of education. It is also important to mention that consumers with environment and empathic concern have higher scores perception of CSR. However, there is not statistically important difference in consumer perception of shopping quality in shopping centers

  15. Context-Aware Based Efficient Training System Using Augmented Reality and Gravity Sensor for Healthcare Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seoksoo; Jung, Sungmo; Song, Jae-Gu; Kang, Byong-Ho

    As augmented reality and a gravity sensor is of growing interest, siginificant developement is being made on related technology, which allows application of the technology in a variety of areas with greater expectations. In applying Context-aware to augmented reality, it can make useful programs. A traning system suggested in this study helps a user to understand an effcienct training method using augmented reality and make sure if his exercise is being done propery based on the data collected by a gravity sensor. Therefore, this research aims to suggest an efficient training environment that can enhance previous training methods by applying augmented reality and a gravity sensor.

  16. Modeling Impulse and Non-Impulse Store Choice Processes in a Multi-Agent Simulation of Pedestrian Activity in Shopping Environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Vries, de B.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2009-01-01

    This chapter presents a multi-agent approach for modeling impulse and non-impulse store choice processes of pedestrian activity in shopping environments. The pedestrian simulation context will be discussed as well as the behavioral principles underlying the store choice processes. For these

  17. Effects of time of day on shopping behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chebat, J C

    1999-04-01

    Shoppers interviewed in a shopping mall at different times of the day show different activities within the mall and attitudes toward the products. Prices also vary with the time of the day. These results can be explained in terms of shopping values and the related demographic characteristics of the population visiting the shopping center at different times of the day.

  18. Consumer Buying Behavior Towards Online Shopping Stores in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Mehrdad Salehi

    2011-01-01

    The Internet as a global medium is quickly gaining interest and attractiveness as the most revolutionary marketing tool. The global nature of communication and shopping has as well redefined, seeing that it is the perfect vehicle for online shopping stores. Online convenient shop is mostly reflected in shorter time and less energy spent, including shipping cost reduction, less crowd and queues than real markets, unlimited time and space, which all increase convenience of shopping. Internet sh...

  19. End-user Acceptance of Online Shopping Sites in India

    OpenAIRE

    Bolar K; Shaw B

    2015-01-01

    Online shopping sites have recently gained momentum in India. Since the ecommerce industry is in infancy state, customer (end user) satisfaction with the online shopping is the prime concern because decreasing customer satisfaction leads to negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) which is very severe for the business. Through a dataset gathered from 127 online shopping customers in with respect to online shopping sites in India, this study investigates the role of website quality, informatio...

  20. Multiattribute shopping models and ridge regression analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmermans, H.J.P.

    1981-01-01

    Policy decisions regarding retailing facilities essentially involve multiple attributes of shopping centres. If mathematical shopping models are to contribute to these decision processes, their structure should reflect the multiattribute character of retailing planning. Examination of existing

  1. Development, Awareness and Inductive Selectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Brett K.; Lim, Melissa

    2013-01-01

    Two studies examined whether adults and children could learn to make context-dependent inferences about novel stimuli and the role of awareness of context cues in such learning. Participants were trained to match probes to targets on the basis of shape or color with the relevant dimension shifting according to item context. A selective induction…

  2. MATERIALISTIC VALUES, SHOPPING, AND LIFE SATISFACTION IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VALERIU FRUNZARU

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Numerous studies have shown that generally materialists are less happy than those lower in materialism. Several studies confirm that people who experience a lower level of life satisfaction are more interested in shopping; therefore materialism determines directly and indirectly (mediated by life satisfaction the desire of going shopping. There are only few studies that deal with this topic within Romanian consumers. The conceptual model proposed here was tested on a convenience sample of 390 Romanians. Using structural equation modelling, our findings confirm the hypothetical model only partially. Materialism leads to life dissatisfaction and shopping, but life dissatisfaction does not increase shopping. To the contrary, there is a positive relationship between life satisfaction and the desire for shopping. One possible explanation is that Romanians perceive materialism as a positive attitude. Anyway, nuances should be considered regarding the role of money and possession in bringing life satisfaction

  3. Self-Adaptive Context Aware Routing Protocol for Unicast Communication in Delay and Tolerant Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunbo Chen

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available At present, most of research works in mobile network focus on the network overhead of the known path which exists between the sender and the receiver. However, the trend of the current practical application demands is becoming increasingly distributed and decentralized. The Delay and Tolerant Network (DTN just comes out of such background of the conflicts between them. The DTN could effectively eliminate the gap between the mobile network and the practical application demands. In this paper, a Self-Adaptive Context Aware Routing Protocol (SACARP for the unicast communication in delay and tolerant networks is presented. Meanwhile, according to the real-time context information of DTN, the Kalman filter theory is introduced to predict the information state of mobility for the optional message ferrying node, and then gives the optimal selection strategy of the message ferrying nodes. The simulation experiments have shown that, compared to the familiar single- copy and multi-copy protocols, the SACARP proposed in this paper has better transmission performance and stability, especially when the network is free, the protocol would keep a good performance with fewer connections and less buffer space.

  4. TV Advertising Volumes Were Associated With Insurance Marketplace Shopping And Enrollment In 2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gollust, Sarah E; Wilcock, Andrew; Fowler, Erika Franklin; Barry, Colleen L; Niederdeppe, Jeff; Baum, Laura; Karaca-Mandic, Pinar

    2018-06-01

    The effectiveness of health insurance advertising has gained renewed attention following the Trump administration's decision to reduce the marketing budget for the federal Marketplace. Yet there is limited evidence on the relationship between advertising and enrollment behavior. This study combined survey data from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey on adults ages 18-64 with data on volumes of televised advertisements aired in respondents' counties of residence during the 2013-14 open enrollment period. We found that people living in counties with higher numbers of ads sponsored by the federal government were significantly more likely to shop for and enroll in a Marketplace plan. In contrast, people living in counties with higher numbers of ads from political sponsors opposing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were less likely to shop or enroll. These findings add to the evidence base around advertising in the ACA context.

  5. Effectiveness of Context-Aware Character Input Method for Mobile Phone Based on Artificial Neural Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masafumi Matsuhara

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Opportunities and needs are increasing to input Japanese sentences on mobile phones since performance of mobile phones is improving. Applications like E-mail, Web search, and so on are widely used on mobile phones now. We need to input Japanese sentences using only 12 keys on mobile phones. We have proposed a method to input Japanese sentences on mobile phones quickly and easily. We call this method number-Kanji translation method. The number string inputted by a user is translated into Kanji-Kana mixed sentence in our proposed method. Number string to Kana string is a one-to-many mapping. Therefore, it is difficult to translate a number string into the correct sentence intended by the user. The proposed context-aware mapping method is able to disambiguate a number string by artificial neural network (ANN. The system is able to translate number segments into the intended words because the system becomes aware of the correspondence of number segments with Japanese words through learning by ANN. The system does not need a dictionary. We also show the effectiveness of our proposed method for practical use by the result of the evaluation experiment in Twitter data.

  6. Marketing activities of vape shops across racial/ethnic communities

    OpenAIRE

    Garcίa, Robert; Sidhu, Anupreet; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Unger, Jennifer B.; Sussman, Steve

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION There has been a surge in the number of vape shops in the USA. Research on the marketing practices of e-cigarette manufacturers is scarce and even less known are the practices of vape shop retailers. Past research on tobacco marketing has shown differences in the amount and content of marketing material, based on a community’s demographic profile. This study examined marketing strategies in vape shops and explored differences among vape shops located in communities that differ by...

  7. NON-FUNCTIONAL SHOPPING MOTIVES AMONG IRANIAN CONSUMERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahriar AZIZI

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to explore the non functional shopping motives among Iranian consumers. In addition, the effects of marital status, gender, age and residential region as an indicator for social class on the non-functional shopping motives are investigated. This paper uses a self-reported and 15 items questionnaire. The analysis is done based on 363 returned and usable questionnaires. Multivariate analysis of variance is applied for this study. MANOVA results show that marital status, gender, age and region have different significant effects on the non-functional shopping motives among Iranian consumers.

  8. A Novel Approach for Creating Activity-Aware Applications in a Hospital Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardram, Jakob E.

    Context-aware and activity-aware computing has been proposed as a way to adapt the computer to the user’s ongoing activity. However, deductively moving from physical context - like location - to establishing human activity has proved difficult. This paper proposes a novel approach to activity-aware computing. Instead of inferring activities, this approach enables the user to explicitly model their activity, and then use sensor-based events to create, manage, and use these computational activities adjusted to a specific context. This approach was crafted through a user-centered design process in collaboration with a hospital department. We propose three strategies for activity-awareness: context-based activity matching, context-based activity creation, and context-based activity adaptation. We present the implementation of these strategies and present an experimental evaluation of them. The experiments demonstrate that rather than considering context as information, context can be a relational property that links ’real-world activities’ with their ’computational activities’.

  9. Science Shops: an initiative to combine technical and societal knowledge for risk governance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martell, Meritxell; Duro, L.; Bruno, J.

    2006-01-01

    Continuing societal concerns limit the application of deep geological disposal in many countries. Wider societal involvement at a variety of governance levels in an open, inclusive and transparent manner is a top-level concern in all European and national organisations involved in radioactive waste management. Nevertheless, current approaches to governance of spent fuel reveal two weaknesses. Firstly, local and regional communities lack access to an authoritative yet independent platform of experts to address their concerns and information needs in a systematic way and which could provide them with the sufficient knowledge base as to be able to take sound decisions concerning the long-term. Secondly, the difficulties to maintain sufficient level of knowledge and capabilities at educational institutions become a challenge to ensure long-term solutions for the management of radioactive waste. The EC 6th FP Integrated Project 'Fundamental Processes of Radionuclide Migration' (FUNMIG) places a special emphasis on knowledge transfer, dissemination of knowledge and training. Within the framework of FUNMIG, one of the instruments for knowledge production and use is the establishment of a Science Shop at the European level. This Science Shop provides independent, participatory research support in response to concerns expressed by civil society on nuclear issues. The FUNMIG Consortium involves 51 organisations from 15 European countries which are eager to develop formalised channels of communication with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and citizens' groups in need of expertise on the nuclear field. The Science Shop will further ease the transparency of knowledge production and raise public awareness of the problems associated with radioactive waste management

  10. Science Shops: an initiative to combine technical and societal knowledge for risk governance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martell, Meritxell; Duro, L.; Bruno, J. [Enviros Spain S.L., Barcelona (Spain)

    2006-09-15

    Continuing societal concerns limit the application of deep geological disposal in many countries. Wider societal involvement at a variety of governance levels in an open, inclusive and transparent manner is a top-level concern in all European and national organisations involved in radioactive waste management. Nevertheless, current approaches to governance of spent fuel reveal two weaknesses. Firstly, local and regional communities lack access to an authoritative yet independent platform of experts to address their concerns and information needs in a systematic way and which could provide them with the sufficient knowledge base as to be able to take sound decisions concerning the long-term. Secondly, the difficulties to maintain sufficient level of knowledge and capabilities at educational institutions become a challenge to ensure long-term solutions for the management of radioactive waste. The EC 6th FP Integrated Project 'Fundamental Processes of Radionuclide Migration' (FUNMIG) places a special emphasis on knowledge transfer, dissemination of knowledge and training. Within the framework of FUNMIG, one of the instruments for knowledge production and use is the establishment of a Science Shop at the European level. This Science Shop provides independent, participatory research support in response to concerns expressed by civil society on nuclear issues. The FUNMIG Consortium involves 51 organisations from 15 European countries which are eager to develop formalised channels of communication with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and citizens' groups in need of expertise on the nuclear field. The Science Shop will further ease the transparency of knowledge production and raise public awareness of the problems associated with radioactive waste management.

  11. Feasibility study of context-awareness device Comfort calculation methods and their application to comfort-based access control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Jingjing; Jensen, Christian D.; Ma, Jianfeng

    2016-01-01

    Mobile devices have become more powerful and are increasingly integrated in the everyday life of people; from playing games, taking pictures and interacting with social media to replacing credit cards in payment solutions. Some actions may only be appropriate in some situations, so the security...... of a mobile device is therefore increasingly linked to its context, such as its location, surroundings (e.g. objects in the immediate environment) and so on. However, situational awareness and context are not captured by traditional security models. In this paper, we examine the notion of Device Comfort......, which captures a device's ability to secure and reason about its environment. Specifically, we study the feasibility of two device comfort calculation methods we proposed in previous work. We do trace driven simulations based on a large body of sensed data from mobile devices in the real world...

  12. What drives people? Analyzing leisure-shopping trip decision making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Ceunynck, T.; Kusumastuti, Diana; Hannes, E.; Janssens, D.; Wets, G.

    2011-01-01

    Because of the strong increase in the number of leisure-shopping trips, a shift towards more sustainable leisure-shopping behaviour is desirable. This can be attained by having a better insight into people’s reasoning in choosing a transport mode and shopping location for this type of activities.

  13. E-shopping and its interactions with in-store shopping

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Farag, Sendy

    2006-01-01

    Nowadays, the Internet permeates society: for many people, life without the Internet is hard to imagine. E-shopping (searching and/or buying products online) has rapidly gained popularity in the past few years, and could affect consumers’ visits to stores. The goal of this research is to show which

  14. Apparel shopping behavior of elderly men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhary, U

    1989-06-01

    70 interested elderly (65 yr. and over) men and women participated in an investigation of older consumers' apparel-shopping behavior and satisfactions and dissatisfactions with available clothing and facilities. Analysis showed that the participants considered shopping ease, wide variety, and label/brand as some of the important factors while shopping for clothes. The respondents were satisfied with good selection, closeness of the mall, and reasonable sales. However, their dissatisfactions ranged from service to fit and size, youthful styles, and abundance of imported clothing. In-store displays, mail order catalogs, and window shopping were the most commonly used sources of apparel information. Several implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions for further research were made.

  15. Mapping of contamination at Savannah River Site FBWU by INEEL trolley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpenter, M.V.; Gehrke, R.J.; Helmer, R.G.; Josten, N.

    1998-01-01

    The Ford Building Waste Unit (FBWU) 643-11G is a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act/Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (RCRA/CERCLA) designated site at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina. Pre-Work Plan Characterization at the FBWU in May 1996 indicated that radiological contamination was present in surface and near surface soils and identified cesium-137, 137 Cs, the unit specific contaminant, as being primarily in the top 15 cm of soil. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) sent the dig-face trolley system to SRS where it demonstrated its capability over a 6.1-m (20 ft.) x 9.6-m (30 ft.) area to rapidly map the contamination on-line with its large area plastic scintillation detector. Also, an extended-range (10 keV to 3 MeV) Ge detector was used at selected locations to identify and quantify the 137 Cs contamination. The coordinate locations of each measurement acquired in either the scanning or fixed position mode was obtained with a survey system based on radial encoders. Topography measurements were also made during measurements to permit correction of field of view and activity concentrations for changes in the ground to detector distance

  16. Cue reactivity towards shopping cues in female participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starcke, Katrin; Schlereth, Berenike; Domass, Debora; Schöler, Tobias; Brand, Matthias

    2013-03-01

    Background and aims It is currently under debate whether pathological buying can be considered as a behavioural addiction. Addictions have often been investigated with cue-reactivity paradigms to assess subjective, physiological and neural craving reactions. The current study aims at testing whether cue reactivity towards shopping cues is related to pathological buying tendencies. Methods A sample of 66 non-clinical female participants rated shopping related pictures concerning valence, arousal, and subjective craving. In a subgroup of 26 participants, electrodermal reactions towards those pictures were additionally assessed. Furthermore, all participants were screened concerning pathological buying tendencies and baseline craving for shopping. Results Results indicate a relationship between the subjective ratings of the shopping cues and pathological buying tendencies, even if baseline craving for shopping was controlled for. Electrodermal reactions were partly related to the subjective ratings of the cues. Conclusions Cue reactivity may be a potential correlate of pathological buying tendencies. Thus, pathological buying may be accompanied by craving reactions towards shopping cues. Results support the assumption that pathological buying can be considered as a behavioural addiction. From a methodological point of view, results support the view that the cue-reactivity paradigm is suited for the investigation of craving reactions in pathological buying and future studies should implement this paradigm in clinical samples.

  17. ShopGirls Shine in Eco-Marathon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stowell, Shante

    2011-01-01

    The ShopGirls of Granite Falls (WA) High School are the first-ever all-female team to successfully design, build, and race a prototype diesel car in the Shell Eco-marathon. The team took first place in the diesel fuel-efficiency category with a vehicle that achieved 470 miles per gallon! The idea for the ShopGirls came when Vervia Gabriel, career…

  18. The impact of science shops on university research and education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard

    2000-01-01

    Science shops are mediating agencies at universities that give citizens and citizen groups access to the resources of the university through co-operation with students and researchers. Science shops have three aims: to support citizens and citizen groups in their efforts getting influence...... to the impact of science shops on universities and on society are discussed. A typology for the different types of knowledge requested by citizens and citizen groups through science shops is presented (documentation, knowledge building, development of new perspectives). As important aspects of the potentials......, prerequisites and limits to the impact of science shops are discussed the networking between the science shop and the researchers and teachers and with the citizens and other external actors, and the content and the structure of the curricula at the university....

  19. Consumer protection and internet shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Blažková, Lenka

    2010-01-01

    The diploma thesis is devoted to the issue of online shopping. Its aim is to analyze internet shopping and see the rights and obligations of consumers and sellers, which are based on current legislation. The thesis is divided into two parts. The theoretical part deals with purchase over the internet and its regulations. There are explained the concepts internet, e-business and e-commerce and indicate the types of e-business and is mentioned certification of online stores. The practical part i...

  20. Doctor and pharmacy shopping for controlled substances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peirce, Gretchen L; Smith, Michael J; Abate, Marie A; Halverson, Joel

    2012-06-01

    Prescription drug abuse is a major health concern nationwide, with West Virginia having one of the highest prescription drug death rates in the United States. Studies are lacking that compare living subjects with persons who died from drug overdose for evidence of doctor and pharmacy shopping for controlled substances. The study objectives were to compare deceased and living subjects in West Virginia for evidence of prior doctor and pharmacy shopping for controlled substances and to identify factors associated with drug-related death. A secondary data study was conducted using controlled substance, Schedule II-IV, prescription data from the West Virginia Controlled Substance Monitoring Program and drug-related death data compiled by the Forensic Drug Database between July 2005 and December 2007. A case-control design compared deceased subjects 18 years and older whose death was drug related with living subjects for prior doctor and pharmacy shopping. Logistic regression identified factors related to the odds of drug-related death. A significantly greater proportion of deceased subjects were doctor shoppers (25.21% vs. 3.58%) and pharmacy shoppers (17.48% vs. 1.30%) than living subjects. Approximately 20.23% of doctor shoppers were also pharmacy shoppers, and 55.60% of pharmacy shoppers were doctor shoppers. Younger age, greater number of prescriptions dispensed, exposure to opioids and benzodiazepines, and doctor and pharmacy shopping were factors with greater odds of drug-related death. Doctor and pharmacy shopping involving controlled substances were identified, and shopping behavior was associated with drug-related death. Prescription monitoring programs may be useful in identifying potential shoppers at the point of care.

  1. Oral cancer awareness and its determinants among a selected Malaysian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghani, Wan Maria Nabillah; Doss, Jennifer Geraldine; Jamaluddin, Marhazlinda; Kamaruzaman, Dinan; Zain, Rosnah Binti

    2013-01-01

    To assess oral cancer awareness, its associated factors and related sources of information among a selected group of Malaysians. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on all Malaysian ethnic groups aged ≥15 years old at eight strategically chosen shopping malls within a two week time period. Data were analysed using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. Significance level was set at αcancer. Smoking was the most (92.4%) recognized high risk habit. Similar levels of awareness were seen for unhealed ulcers (57.3%) and red/white patches (58.0%) as signs of oral cancer. Age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education, occupation and income were significantly associated with oral cancer awareness (pawareness regarding the risk habits, early signs and symptoms, and the benefits of detecting this disease at an early stage. Mass media and health campaigns were the main sources of information about oral cancer. In our Malaysian population, gender and age were significantly associated with the awareness of early signs and symptoms and prevention of oral cancer, respectively.

  2. Machine for Shopping: American Postwar Malls, Culture, and the Consumption of Commercial Urbanism

    OpenAIRE

    Siegel, Robyn Schwartz

    2011-01-01

    This thesis presents three case studies: a modern mall, NorthPark Center, and two contemporary shopping malls, The Americana at Brand and Crystals at CityCenter. These examples problematize aspects of American culture and consumption. Each mall is analyzed in the context of its retail history, the intention of the architecture, the art, the references to other buildings, places, or times, and, lastly, how the commercial mall purports to embody positive forms of urbanity in an idealized city ...

  3. Flexible job shop scheduling problem in manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    Curralo, Ana; Pereira, Ana I.; Barbosa, José; Leitão, Paulo

    2013-01-01

    This paper addresses a real assembly cell: the AIP-PRIMECA cell at the Université de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambrésis, in France. This system can be viewed as a Flexible Job Shop, leading to the formulation of a Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSSP).

  4. Explore Awareness of Information Security: Insights from Cognitive Neuromechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Dongmei; Dai, Yonghui; Han, Tianlin; Dai, Xingyun

    2015-01-01

    With the rapid development of the internet and information technology, the increasingly diversified portable mobile terminals, online shopping, and social media have facilitated information exchange, social communication, and financial payment for people more and more than ever before. In the meantime, information security and privacy protection have been meeting with new severe challenges. Although we have taken a variety of information security measures in both management and technology, the actual effectiveness depends firstly on people's awareness of information security and the cognition of potential risks. In order to explore the new technology for the objective assessment of people's awareness and cognition on information security, this paper takes the online financial payment as example and conducts an experimental study based on the analysis of electrophysiological signals. Results indicate that left hemisphere and beta rhythms of electroencephalogram (EEG) signal are sensitive to the cognitive degree of risks in the awareness of information security, which may be probably considered as the sign to assess people's cognition of potential risks in online financial payment.

  5. Explore Awareness of Information Security: Insights from Cognitive Neuromechanism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongmei Han

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available With the rapid development of the internet and information technology, the increasingly diversified portable mobile terminals, online shopping, and social media have facilitated information exchange, social communication, and financial payment for people more and more than ever before. In the meantime, information security and privacy protection have been meeting with new severe challenges. Although we have taken a variety of information security measures in both management and technology, the actual effectiveness depends firstly on people’s awareness of information security and the cognition of potential risks. In order to explore the new technology for the objective assessment of people’s awareness and cognition on information security, this paper takes the online financial payment as example and conducts an experimental study based on the analysis of electrophysiological signals. Results indicate that left hemisphere and beta rhythms of electroencephalogram (EEG signal are sensitive to the cognitive degree of risks in the awareness of information security, which may be probably considered as the sign to assess people’s cognition of potential risks in online financial payment.

  6. Effects of Website Interactivity on Online Retail Shopping Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Hafizul

    Motivations to engage in retail online shopping can include both utilitarian and hedonic shopping dimensions. To cater to these consumers, online retailers can create a cognitively and esthetically rich shopping environment, through sophisticated levels of interactive web utilities and features, offering not only utilitarian benefits and attributes but also providing hedonic benefits of enjoyment. Since the effect of interactive websites has proven to stimulate online consumer’s perceptions, this study presumes that websites with multimedia rich interactive utilities and features can influence online consumers’ shopping motivations and entice them to modify or even transform their original shopping predispositions by providing them with attractive and enhanced interactive features and controls, thus generating a positive attitude towards products and services offered by the retailer. This study seeks to explore the effects of Web interactivity on online consumer behavior through an attitudinal model of technology acceptance.

  7. Online shopping behavior in offline retail stores : strategic value for companies?

    OpenAIRE

    Ferreira, José Pedro Santos

    2015-01-01

    In a world where e-tailing and traditional in-store shopping live together and complement each other in several shopping activities (Chu, et. al, 2010), little is known about the possibility of an emerging reality in which online and offline shopping merge into one single phenomenon. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore whether consumers are willing to engage in a shopping behavior inside retail stores in a way that is similar to the one they have when shopping online. Additionally,...

  8. English Shop Signs and Brand Names

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parvaneh Khosravizadeh

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The present study tries to investigate the people’s attitude to the use of English words in TV commercials, brand-naming and shop signs in Iran and specifically in Tehran where due to the fact that it is the capital, more English might be used for the sake of foreigners. The widespread use of English shop signs and English brand names for recently produced goodsdrove the researchers to investigate peoples’ attitude as consumers from two aspects of age and education. To reach the research goal, a questionnaire was devised and distributed to 100 people at random selection probing their attitudes while considering two factors of age and education. The result of the research will mostly benefit sociolinguists and business marketers.Keywords: age, education, advertising, brand-naming, shop signs, globalization

  9. Horror Image Recognition Based on Context-Aware Multi-Instance Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Bing; Xiong, Weihua; Wu, Ou; Hu, Weiming; Maybank, Stephen; Yan, Shuicheng

    2015-12-01

    Horror content sharing on the Web is a growing phenomenon that can interfere with our daily life and affect the mental health of those involved. As an important form of expression, horror images have their own characteristics that can evoke extreme emotions. In this paper, we present a novel context-aware multi-instance learning (CMIL) algorithm for horror image recognition. The CMIL algorithm identifies horror images and picks out the regions that cause the sensation of horror in these horror images. It obtains contextual cues among adjacent regions in an image using a random walk on a contextual graph. Borrowing the strength of the fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM), we define a heuristic optimization procedure based on the FSVM to search for the optimal classifier for the CMIL. To improve the initialization of the CMIL, we propose a novel visual saliency model based on the tensor analysis. The average saliency value of each segmented region is set as its initial fuzzy membership in the CMIL. The advantage of the tensor-based visual saliency model is that it not only adaptively selects features, but also dynamically determines fusion weights for saliency value combination from different feature subspaces. The effectiveness of the proposed CMIL model is demonstrated by its use in horror image recognition on two large-scale image sets collected from the Internet.

  10. Introducing rapid diagnostic tests for malaria into drug shops in Uganda: design and implementation of a cluster randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbonye, Anthony K; Magnussen, Pascal; Chandler, Clare I R; Hansen, Kristian S; Lal, Sham; Cundill, Bonnie; Lynch, Caroline A; Clarke, Siân E

    2014-07-29

    An intervention was designed to introduce rapid diagnostics tests for malaria (mRDTs) into registered drug shops in Uganda to encourage rational and appropriate treatment of malaria with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). We conducted participatory training of drug shop vendors and implemented supporting interventions to orientate local communities (patients) and the public sector (health facility staff and district officials) to the behavioral changes in diagnosis, treatment and referral being introduced in drug shops. The intervention was designed to be evaluated through a cluster randomized trial. In this paper, we present detailed design, implementation and evaluation experiences in order to help inform future studies of a complex nature. Three preparatory studies (formative, baseline and willingness-to-pay) were conducted to explore perceptions on diagnosis and treatment of malaria at drug shops, and affordable prices for mRDTs and ACTs in order to inform the design of the intervention and implementation modalities. The intervention required careful design with the intention to be acceptable, sustainable and effective. Critical components of intervention were: community sensitization and creating awareness, training of drug shop vendors to diagnose malaria with mRDTs, treat and refer customers to formal health facilities, giving pre-referral rectal artesunate and improved record-keeping. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients receiving appropriately-targeted treatment with ACT, evaluated against microscopy on a research blood slide. Introducing mRDTs in drug shops may seem simple, but our experience of intervention design, conduct and evaluation showed this to be a complex process requiring multiple interventions and evaluation components drawing from a combination of epidemiological, social science and health economics methodologies. The trial was conducted in phases sequenced such that each benefited from the other. The main challenges

  11. E-commerce factors influencing consumers‘ online shopping decision

    OpenAIRE

    Baubonienė, Živilė; Gulevičiūtė, Gintarė

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the factors driving online shopping and to develop an understanding of the factors influencing the online shopping by the consumers. This is done by exploring the factors that encourage consumers to shop online through analysis of such advantages as security, fast delivery, comparable price, convenience, cheaper prices and a wider choice. At the same time, the research project reveals the factors that are discouraging for consumers and the ben...

  12. Customer Buying Behavior : - Online shopping towards electronic product

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Dan; Yang, Liuzi

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT Online shopping in EU has been shown to a good potential market. The electronic equipment takes a high percent of the individuals shopping. Compared with other goods, online shopping of electronic goods adds great convenience to the life of the people. Buying electronic gadgets online gives customers an opportunity to find a great variety of product online, and customers can review a wide selection of products and find special offers and discount with the best deals online. In the co...

  13. Continuous Context-Aware Device Comfort Evaluation Method

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Jingjing; Jensen, Christian D.; Ma, Jianfeng

    2015-01-01

    Mobile devices have become more powerful and are increasingly integrated in the everyday life of people; from playing games, taking pictures and interacting with social media to replacing credit cards in payment solutions. The security of a mobile device is therefore increasingly linked to its...... context, such as its location, surroundings (e.g. objects and people in the immediate environment) and so on, because some actions may only be appropriate in some situations; this is not captured by traditional security models. In this paper, we examine the notion of Device Comfort and propose a way...... to calculate the sensitivity of a specific action to the context. We present two different methods for a mobile device to dynamically evaluate its security status when an action is requested, either by the user or by another device. The first method uses the predefined ideal context as a standard to assess...

  14. A Strategic Planning for a College Student-Segment Shopping Mall

    OpenAIRE

    Astri Anindya Sari; Hanson Endra Kusuma; Baskoro Tedjo

    2011-01-01

    In the midst of shopping mall development today, an understanding of consumer behaviors and preferences is absolutely a must if we want to plan successfuly a shopping mall. This knowledge will provide input for strategic planning so that the concept offered for shopping mall development will meet the consumers’ demand and may win the market competition. This study explores the preferences of students in Bandung as one of the potential market segments of the shopping mall. Qualitative study w...

  15. Implementation of Context Aware e-Health Environments Based on Social Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Aguirre

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work, context aware scenarios applied to e-Health and m-Health in the framework of typical households (urban and rural by means of deploying Social Sensors will be described. Interaction with end-users and social/medical staff is achieved using a multi-signal input/output device, capable of sensing and transmitting environmental, biomedical or activity signals and information with the aid of a combined Bluetooth and Mobile system platform. The devices, which play the role of Social Sensors, are implemented and tested in order to guarantee adequate service levels in terms of multiple signal processing tasks as well as robustness in relation with the use wireless transceivers and channel variability. Initial tests within a Living Lab environment have been performed in order to validate overall system operation. The results obtained show good acceptance of the proposed system both by end users as well as by medical and social staff, increasing interaction, reducing overall response time and social inclusion levels, with a compact and moderate cost solution that can readily be largely deployed.

  16. Vape shops: who uses them and what do they do?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattinson, Julie; Lewis, Sarah; Bains, Manpreet; Britton, John; Langley, Tessa

    2018-04-23

    'Vape shops' are a popular source for buying electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and related products. The products that vape shops sell, their marketing techniques and the extent to which they provide information or encouragement to smokers to quit tobacco use, as well as the patterns of tobacco and e-cigarette use of their customers are not well understood. We conducted cross-sectional surveys in vape shops in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom, one with shop staff (n = 41), and one with customers (n = 197). The majority of customers (84%) currently used e-cigarettes. Among current vapers, 19% were dual users and 78% had quit smoking. Over half of vapers reported using a lower level of nicotine in their current e-liquid than when they started using e-cigarettes. There was a wide variety in products and price ranges between the shops. Many staff reported that customers ask for information about quitting smoking (90%). Less than half reported providing smoking cessation advice, although 76% of staff reported feeling confident about delivering cessation advice to customers who ask for it. Just under half of customers and shop staff said they thought it was appropriate to deliver formal in-store smoking cessation support. The majority of vape shop customers are vapers who have quit smoking. Shop staff play a central role in providing customers with product information, and many provide smoking cessation advice. Further research is needed to investigate the potential for smoking cessation interventions in vape shops, including the extent to which these would appeal to non-vapers.

  17. A hybrid job-shop scheduling system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellingrath, Bernd; Robbach, Peter; Bayat-Sarmadi, Fahid; Marx, Andreas

    1992-01-01

    The intention of the scheduling system developed at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logistics is the support of a scheduler working in a job-shop. Due to the existing requirements for a job-shop scheduling system the usage of flexible knowledge representation and processing techniques is necessary. Within this system the attempt was made to combine the advantages of symbolic AI-techniques with those of neural networks.

  18. A multipurpose shopping trip model to assess retail agglomeration effects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arentze, T.A.; Oppewal, H.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2005-01-01

    Multipurpose shopping is a prominent and relevant feature of shopping behavior. However, no methodology is available to assess empirically how the demand for multipurpose shopping depends on retail agglomeration or, in general, the characteristics of retail supply, such as the numbers and types of

  19. Outpatient-shopping behavior and survival rates in newly diagnosed cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiou, Shang-Jyh; Wang, Shiow-Ing; Liu, Chien-Hsiang; Yaung, Chih-Liang

    2012-09-01

    To evaluate the appropriateness of the definition of outpatient-shopping behavior in Taiwanese patients. Linked study of 3 databases (Taiwan Cancer Registry, National Health Insurance [NHI] claim database, and death registry database). Outpatient shopping behavior was defined as making at least 4 or 5 physician visits to confirm a cancer diagnosis. We analyzed patient-related factors and the 5-year overall survival rate of the outpatient-shopping group compared with a nonshopping group. Using the household registration database and NHI database, we determined the proportion of outpatient shopping, characteristics of patients who did and did not shop for outpatient therapy, time between diagnosis and start of regular treatment, and medical service utilization in the shopping versus the nonshopping group. Patients with higher incomes were significantly more likely to shop for outpatient care. Patients with higher comorbidity scores were 1.4 times more likely to shop for outpatient care than patients with lower scores. Patients diagnosed with more advanced cancer were more likely to shop than those who were not. Patients might be more trusting of cancer diagnoses given at higher-level hospitals. The nonshopping groups had a longer duration of survival over 5 years. Health authorities should consider charging additional fees after a specific outpatient- shopping threshold is reached to reduce this behavior. The government may need to reassess the function of the medical sources network by shrinking it from the original 4 levels to 2 levels, or by enhancing the referral function among different hospital levels.

  20. Technicians and Shop Owners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overview page provides information for shops and technicians that repair or service motor vehicle air-conditioning systems, including information on proper training, approved equipment, and regulatory practices.

  1. Investigation of Fire Safety Awareness and Management in Mall

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Rahim N.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available In spite of having sufficient fire safety system installed in buildings, the incidence of fire hazard becomes the furthermost and supreme threat to health and safety, as well as property to any community. In order to make sure that the safety of the building and its users, the fundamental features depends on the fire precaution system and equipment which should be according to the standard requirements. Nevertheless, the awareness on fire safety could necessarily alleviate the damages or rate of fatality during the event of fire. This paper presents the results on the investigation of fire safety awareness and management, concentrating on shopping mall. The endeavour of this study is to explore the level of fire safety knowledge of the users in the mall, and to study the effectiveness level of fire safety management in a mall. From the study, public awareness is highly related to understanding human behaviour and their personal background. The respondents’ levels of awareness are rather low, which reflects on their poor action when facing emergency situation during fire. The most effective methods identified to improve the awareness and effectiveness of fire safety level is through involvement in related fire safety programmes, distribution of pamphlets or brochures on fire safety and appointing specific personnel for Emergency Response Team in the mall.

  2. Online Infrastructure in Supply Chain for Hardware Shops

    OpenAIRE

    Sørensen , Karl ,

    2014-01-01

    Part 4: Private Services; International audience; This article describes how the Scandinavian network communication system DATEX was used to build an online infrastructure in a retail chain of privately owned hardware shops and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) centers. The solution gave the staff in the shops the possibility to use EDP as early as in 1983. The Internet did not exist at the time. EDP was not part of the daily work in the shop and was for most employees something unknown that took place at...

  3. MobiDiC: Context Adaptive Digital Signage with Coupons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Jörg; Krüger, Antonio

    In this paper we present a field study of a digital signage system that measures audience response with coupons in order to enable context adaptivity. In the concept for context adaptivity, the signs sense their environment; decide which content to show, and then sense the audience reaction to the content shown. From this audience measurement, the strategies which content to show in which situation are refined. As one instantiation of audience measurement, we propose a novel simple couponing system, where customers can photograph the coupons at the signs. Thus, it can be measured whether customers really went to the shop. To investigate the feasibility of this approach, we implemented a prototype of 20 signs in the city center of Münster, Germany. During one year of deployment, we investigated usage of the system through interviews with shop owners and customers. Our experiences show that customer attention towards the signs is a major hurdle to overcome.

  4. Possible Opioid Shopping and its Correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Alexander M; Weatherby, Lisa B; Cepeda, M Soledad; Bradford, Daniel; Yuan, Yingli

    2017-11-01

    We created an operational definition of possible opioid shopping in US commercial health insurance data and examined its correlates. The population consisted of 264,204 treatment courses in persons with a fill for an opioid or diuretic prescription in 2012 and a second within 18 months. We examined counts of prescribers and pharmacies and the numbers of fills and overlaps for ability to discriminate courses of opioids from diuretics, which were a negative control. The most discriminatory measure, indicating possible shopping behavior, was cross-tabulated against other prescriptions filled and diagnoses as found in insurance claims. The associations between claims characteristics and shopping behavior were assessed in a logistic regression. A definition that classified possible "moderate" or "extensive" shopping when a person obtained drug through at least 3 practices and at least 3 pharmacies over 18 months was highly discriminatory between opioid and diuretic treatment. Overlaps between fills and number of fills did not improve the discrimination. Data from insurance claims strongly predicted moderate-to-extensive levels of possible shopping (c=0.82). Prominent among 20 significant predictors were: state of residence; amount of opioid dispensed; self-payment; use of nonspecialist prescribers; high use of anxiolytics, hypnotics, psychostimulants, and antipsychotics; and use of both immediate release and extended-release or long-acting opioids. The use of ≥3 prescribing practices and ≥3 dispensing pharmacies over 18 months sharply discriminated courses of opioid treatment from courses of diuretics. This pattern of fills was additionally associated with the numbers of nonspecialist and self-paid fills, the total morphine milligram equivalents dispensed, and heavier use of drugs for anxiety, sleep, attention, and psychosis.

  5. Census tract correlates of vape shop locations in New Jersey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giovenco, Daniel P; Duncan, Dustin T; Coups, Elliot J; Lewis, M Jane; Delnevo, Cristine D

    2016-07-01

    Vape shops are opening across the USA, but little is known about the types of neighborhoods where they are located. This study explores community-level predictors of vape shop locations in New Jersey, USA. Vape shops were identified in July 2015 using a validated systematic online search protocol and geocoded using Google Earth Pro. Multivariable logistic regression identified demographic and other predictors of vape shop presence at the census tract level. Tobacco outlet density was consistently associated with higher odds of vape shop presence after adjusting for covariates (pretail were negatively associated with vapor outlets. Census tracts with a higher proportion of non-Hispanic black residents had significantly lower odds of having a vape shop (β=-0.03, pretail is high, but where fewer racial minorities live. The retail environment may communicate social norms regarding vaping and ultimately influence use behaviors of community residents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Energy benchmarking for shopping centers in Gulf Coast region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juaidi, Adel; AlFaris, Fadi; Montoya, Francisco G.; Manzano-Agugliaro, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    Building sector consumes a significant amount of energy worldwide (up to 40% of the total global energy); moreover, by the year 2030 the consumption is expected to increase by 50%. One of the reasons is that the performance of buildings and its components degrade over the years. In recent years, energy benchmarking for government office buildings, large scale public buildings and large commercial buildings is one of the key energy saving projects for promoting the development of building energy efficiency and sustainable energy savings in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Benchmarking would increase the purchase of energy efficient equipment, reducing energy bills, CO_2 emissions and conventional air pollution. This paper focuses on energy benchmarking for shopping centers in Gulf Coast Region. In addition, this paper will analyze a sample of shopping centers data in Gulf Coast Region (Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah, Oman and Bahrain). It aims to develop a benchmark for these shopping centers by highlighting the status of energy consumption performance. This research will support the sustainability movement in Gulf area through classifying the shopping centers into: Poor, Usual and Best Practices in terms of energy efficiency. According to the benchmarking analysis in this paper, the shopping centers best energy management practices in the Gulf Coast Region are the buildings that consume less than 810 kW h/m"2/yr, whereas the poor building practices are the centers that consume greater than 1439 kW h/m"2/yr. The conclusions of this work can be used as a reference for shopping centres benchmarking with similar climate. - Highlights: •The energy consumption data of shopping centers in Gulf Coast Region were gathered. •A benchmarking of energy consumption for the public areas for the shopping centers in the Gulf Coast Region was developed. •The shopping centers have the usual practice in the region between 810 kW h/m"2/yr and 1439 kW h/m"2/yr.

  7. A causal model to evaluate the influence of consumer's perceptions of online shopping on their shopping behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Asakawa, Masami; Okano, Masao

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the factors influencing consumers' perception of online shopping and developed a causal model that explains how this perception affects their online-shopping behavior. We administered a questionnaire survey to 297 college students. By utilizing the answers to 13 questions pertaining to consumer perceptions, we conducted a factor analysis that identified the following three factors: "convenience", "anxiety regarding security" and "poor navigation". On the basis of this resu...

  8. Context-aware recommender system based on ontology for recommending tourist destinations at Bandung

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rizaldy Hafid Arigi, L.; Abdurahman Baizal, Z. K.; Herdiani, Anisa

    2018-03-01

    Recommender System is software that is able to provide personalized recommendation suits users’ needs. Recommender System has been widely implemented in various domains, including tourism. One approach that can be done for more personalized recommendations is the use of contextual information. This paper proposes a context aware recommender based ontology system in the tourism domain. The system is capable of recommending tourist destinations by using user preferences of the categories of tourism and contextual information such as user locations, weather around tourist destinations and close time of destination. Based on the evaluation, the system has accuracy of of 0.94 (item recommendation precision evaluated by expert) and 0.58 (implicitly from system-end user interaction). Based on the evaluation of user satisfaction, the system provides a satisfaction level of more than 0.7 (scale 0 to 1) for speed factors for providing liked recommendations (PE), informative description of recommendations (INF) and user trust (TR).

  9. Getting closer to people: family planning provision by drug shops in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akol, Angela; Chin-Quee, Dawn; Wamala-Mucheri, Patricia; Namwebya, Jane Harriet; Mercer, Sarah Jilani; Stanback, John

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: Private-sector drug shops are often the first point of health care in sub-Saharan Africa. Training and supporting drug shop and pharmacy staff to provide a wide range of contraceptive methods and information is a promising high-impact practice for which more information is needed to fully document implementation experience and impact. Methods: Between September 2010 and March 2011, we trained 139 drug shop operators (DSOs) in 4 districts of Uganda to safely administer intramuscular DMPA (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate) contraceptive injections. In 2012, we approached 54 of these DSOs and interviewed a convenience sample of 585 of their family planning clients to assess clients' contraceptive use and perspectives on the quality of care and satisfaction with services. Finally, we compared service statistics from April to June 2011 from drug shops, community health workers (CHWs), and government clinics in 3 districts to determine the drug shop market share of family planning services. Results: Most drug shop family planning clients interviewed were women with low socioeconomic status. The large majority (89%) were continuing family planning users. DMPA was the preferred contraceptive. Almost half of the drug shop clients had switched from other providers, primarily from government health clinics, mostly as a result of more convenient locations, shorter waiting times, and fewer stock-outs in drug shops. All clients reported that the DSOs treated them respectfully, and 93% trusted the drug shop operator to maintain privacy. Three-quarters felt that drug shops offered affordable family planning services. Most of the DMPA clients (74%) were very satisfied with receiving their method from the drug shop and 98% intended to get the next injection from the drug shop. Between April and June 2011, clinics, CHWs, and drug shops in 3 districts delivered equivalent proportions of couple-years of protection, with drug shops leading marginally at 36

  10. Self-control predicts attentional bias assessed by online shopping-related Stroop in high online shopping addiction tendency college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Zhaocai; Zhao, Xiuxin; Li, Cancan

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the relationships of personality types (i.e., self-control, BAS/BIS) and online shopping addiction (OSA) behavior and to investigate whether high-OSA tendency individuals display attentional biases toward online shopping-related (OS-related) stimuli as well as the links between attentional bias and personality types. The study included 98 college students divided into three groups (i.e., high-, medium- and low-OSA) according to their OSA behavior. The personality types (i.e., self-control, BAS/BIS) and OSA behavior were investigated by questionnaires. The attentional bias was evaluated by the OS-related Stroop and dot-probe task (DPT) paradigms. OSA was positively predicted by time spent on online shopping per day and average consumption for online shopping monthly, and negatively by self-control. High-OSA individuals displayed significant attentional biases toward OS-related stimuli in the Stroop, but not DPT paradigm. Moreover, the attentional bias toward OSA-related stimuli in high-OSA individuals was negatively correlated with self-control. These findings demonstrated the critical role of self-control in OSA behavior and attentional bias to OS-related stimuli in high-OSA individuals, indicating that more importance should be attached to self-control for the clinical intervention of online shopping addiction in future studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Methods in Mapping Usability of Malaysia’s Shopping Centre

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Ghani Aida Affina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available With more than 200 number of shopping centre in Klang Valley itself, we the consumer actually have vast of choices. Instead of the machineries varieties from the lower class product till the posh one, each of those shopping centres eventually offers the typical product same as others. Those shopping centers are competing with each other and in great endeavour to attract more consumers, to visit and spend. As for the visitor, the typical product and boring ambience seems similar in all malls, and is looking something beyond the standard. Something that promising quality embedded in shopping centre which evokes the various emotions of the user along their journey in malls. This quality is known as usability. Usability; as defined generally is a global user’s experience response with product, environment, service or facilities. It is an assessment in extracting the qualities of shopping centre design. In mapping it, there are a few synthesizing methods to implement it. Therefore, this paper purposely to review the method that been used in usability of Malaysia’s shopping centre research with a few references on previous research done in usability assessment by predecessor’s scholars. With the accentuation on three elements that anchoring what the usability is: effectiveness, efficient and satisfaction, it is hope that this overview can lead other researcher in portraying its relationship with the quality and ‘user friendly’ design of shopping centre.

  12. INVESTIGATING THE COLLECTIVE ONLINE purchase PHENOMENON: FACTORS AFFECTING THE SHOPPING INTENSITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Everton Roberto Comin

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The collective online shopping is a recent phenomenon in Brazil whose objective is to sell products and services for a minimum number of consumers. This study aims to investigate whether the intensity of collective online shopping is influenced by the aspects consumer interest in online collective shopping, impulse buying and insecurity. The data collection was based on a questionnaire with closed questions with multiple choices and a 5-point Likert scale.The final sample is composed of 143 respondents. Data was analyzed through the following statistic techniques: exploratory data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and logistic regression. The results suggest that people more interest in collective shopping are more likely to make collective shopping. People who feel greater insecurity in navigating the website is less likely to make collective shopping. It was observed that there is no a positive relationship between impulse shopping and collective purchasing. Some limitations include the number of constructs and sample characteristics.

  13. Baby boomers' food shopping habits. Relationships with demographics and personal values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worsley, Anthony; Wang, Wei C; Hunter, Wendy

    2010-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine baby boomers' food shopping behaviours and to investigate their relationships with demographics and personal values. A questionnaire concerning food shopping behaviours, personal values and demographics was mailed to a random sample of 2975 people aged 40-70 years in Victoria, Australia. Usable questionnaires of 1031 were obtained. Structural equation modelling was employed for data analyses. The analyses revealed that demographics and personal values influenced shopping behaviours via different pathways among male and female baby boomers. For example, self-direction positively impacted on shopping planning for men but negatively influenced price minimization for women. Among women only, age was positively related to shopping planning and negatively to price minimization. Thus, both personal values and demographics influenced baby boomers' shopping behaviours. Since values are more likely to be amenable to change than demographics, segmentation of the population via value orientations would facilitate targeted interventions to promote healthy food shopping. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Meat Safety: An Evaluation of Portuguese Butcher Shops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Ana; Cardoso, Margarida Fonseca; Costa, José M Correia da; Gomes-Neves, Eduarda

    2017-07-01

    Butcher shops are end points in the meat chain, and they can have a determinant role in cross-contamination control. This study aims to determine whether Portuguese butcher shops comply with European and Portuguese law regarding the sale of fresh meat and meat products. Butcher shops (n = 73) were assessed for meat handler and facility hygiene and for maintenance of the premises. Handlers (n = 88) were given a questionnaire composed of questions about knowledge and practice, including hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) and good practice in food industry, to assess their knowledge of and compliance with food safety practices. A checklist of 27 items was used to evaluate facility and meat handler hygiene and butcher shop maintenance. Our results revealed some lack of compliance in all the areas evaluated. The mean knowledge and practice score among the operators was 68.0%, and the mean "visual inspection" score for the butcher shops was 64.0%. Severe deficiencies were observed in the mandatory implementation of HACCP principles in this type of small food business. These findings indicate a need to modify training to enhance compliance with European food safety regulations at this step of the meat chain.

  15. Flow shop scheduling with heterogeneous workers

    OpenAIRE

    Benavides, Alexander J.; Ritt, Marcus; Miralles Insa, Cristóbal Javier

    2014-01-01

    We propose an extension to the flow shop scheduling problem named Heterogeneous Flow Shop Scheduling Problem (Het-FSSP), where two simultaneous issues have to be resolved: finding the best worker assignment to the workstations, and solving the corresponding scheduling problem. This problem is motivated by Sheltered Work centers for Disabled, whose main objective is the labor integration of persons with disabilities, an important aim not only for these centers but for any company d...

  16. SHOP: scaffold hopping by GRID-based similarity searches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergmann, Rikke; Linusson, Anna; Zamora, Ismael

    2007-01-01

    A new GRID-based method for scaffold hopping (SHOP) is presented. In a fully automatic manner, scaffolds were identified in a database based on three types of 3D-descriptors. SHOP's ability to recover scaffolds was assessed and validated by searching a database spiked with fragments of known...... scaffolds were in the 31 top-ranked scaffolds. SHOP also identified new scaffolds with substantially different chemotypes from the queries. Docking analysis indicated that the new scaffolds would have similar binding modes to those of the respective query scaffolds observed in X-ray structures...

  17. Optimal experience in online shopping: the influence of flow

    OpenAIRE

    Sharkey, Ultan; Acton, Thomas; Conboy, Kieran

    2012-01-01

    peer-reviewed This research investigates the influences of product presentation modes, decision behaviour and the consumer experience on Internet shopping. The growth of online shopping brings with it cognitive challenges for consumers attempting to assess large numbers of options in purchase decisions. Further, there is little guidance for vendors in terms of presenting large numbers of product. In this study, online shopping is viewed as an information processing, decision ta...

  18. On the Context-Aware, Dynamic Spectrum Access for Robust Intraplatoon Communications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michał Sybis

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Vehicle platooning is a promising technology that allows to improve the traffic efficiency and passengers safety. Platoons that use cooperative adaptive cruise control, however, require a reliable radio link between platoon members to ensure a required distance between the cars within the platoon, thus maintaining platoon safety. Nowadays, the communication can be realized with the use of 802.11p or cellular vehicle-to-vehicle (C-V2V, but none of this technology is able to provide a reliable link especially in the presence of high traffic or urban scenarios. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a dynamic spectrum management mechanism in V2V communications for platooning purposes. A management system architecture is proposed that comprises the use of context-aware databases, sensing nodes, and spectrum allocation entity. The proposed robust system design aims to keep only the minimum necessary information transmitted over the conventional intelligent transportation system (ITS channel, while moving the remaining data (nonsafety, service-aided, or infotainment to an alternative channel that is selected from the available pool of spectrum white spaces. The initial analysis indicates that the proposed system may significantly improve the performance of wireless communications for the purpose of vehicle platooning.

  19. iMuseumA: An Agent-Based Context-Aware Intelligent Museum System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inmaculada Ayala

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Currently, museums provide their visitors with interactive tour guide applications that can be installed in mobile devices and provide timely tailor-made multimedia information about exhibits on display. In this paper, we argue that mobile devices not only could provide help to visitors, but also to museum staff. Our goal is to integrate, within the same system, multimedia tour guides with the management facilities required by museums. In this paper, we present iMuseumA (intelligent museum with agents, a mobile-based solution to customize visits and perform context-aware management tasks. iMuseumA follows an agent-based approach, which makes it possible to interact easily with the museum environment and make decisions based on its current status. This system is currently deployed in the Museum of Informatics at the Informatics School of the University of Málaga, and its main contributions are: (i a mobile application that provides management facilities to museum staff by means of sensing and processing environmental data; (ii providing an integrated solution for visitors, tour guides and museum staff that allows coordination and communication enrichment among different groups of users; (iii using and benefiting from group communication for heterogeneous groups of users that can be created on demand.

  20. Mobile-Based Collaborative Learning in the Fitness Center: A Case Study on the Development of English Listening Comprehension with a Context-Aware Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Gi-Zen; Chen, Jing-Yao; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

    2018-01-01

    Mobile applications on the go have been adopted in many fields and areas. However, there has been little research regarding the development and use of a context-aware application for users to improve their English listening comprehension through collaboration. This research aimed at helping users improve their listening comprehension with a…

  1. Digitalization influence on shopping centers strategic management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioniţă Irene Mihaela

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Shopping centers are an important aspect of the extremely dynamic life of the 21st century consumer. Nowadays, worldwide, shopping centers represent significant multimillion euro investments, remarking themselves with bold architectures and structures and an individual brand image. Retail markets are currently under transformation by a confluence of new retailing technologies, dramatic shifts in the demographic profile and preferences of more affluent and educated shoppers. Part of the market share in modern retail moved to new forms of selling, which weakened the offer of some traditional retailers, while also creating opportunities for retailers to move and integrate their offerings with new digital tools (via electronic commerce, social commerce and mobile commerce. Meeting customer needs and increasing sales are the primary drivers behind retailers use of information systems and technology (IS/IT. New developments in IS/IT offer new opportunities and challenges for organizations and society. The current paper proposes to analyze the way digital media and information technology (computers and mobile devices influences the virtual and physical shopping experiences, and shopping centers management consequently. The need for communication & sales channels integration, the impact of new information technologies (IT’s, the growing role of social / digital media, the balance between personalization and privacy – all represent challenges retail industry needs to currently adapt to face digitalization. E-commerce is transforming both consumer behavior and retailing business models, by greatly expanding shopping convenience, selection and affordability.

  2. New Digital Marketing Actors: Private Shopping Clubs and Their Advertising Practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazlım Tüzel Uraltaş

    2014-12-01

    In the first part of the study the concept of digital marketing and its historical background will be explained. In the second part online shopping behavior, online shopping training activities in Turkey and private shopping clubs will be examined.  The last part of the study will deal with the advertising practices of private shopping clubs. The study is essentially a literature review; thus, the resources are mostly secondary in nature.

  3. Mobility, Context and Cloud – Exploring Integration Issues in a Meeting Room Scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tor-Morten Grønli

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we pursue the context-aware paradigm in a distributed mobile environment. Context-awareness plays a significant role in the domain of implicit human computer interaction and we present an intelligent context-aware meeting room application. The distributed mobile application consists of multiple mobile operating system clients, a Google Android based presenter that, through proximity technology, communicates with a server in the meeting room, and a Google Cloud backend server. Over 40 users have evaluated the application. Results show that the context aware meeting room was well received by users who displayed a strong positive bias towards cloud integration and, in particular, automatic meeting-note push. We conclude that our context-aware meeting assistant can provide valuable assistance to end users and that there is promise for such use of heterogeneous mobile context-aware platforms.

  4. LinkShop v.1.0.0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2017-05-15

    LinkShop is a software tool for applying the method of Linkography to the analysis time-sequence data. LinkShop provides command line, web, and application programming interfaces (API) for input and processing of time-sequence data, abstraction models, and ontologies. The software creates graph representations of the abstraction model, ontology, and derived linkograph. Finally, the tool allows the user to perform statistical measurements of the linkograph and refine the ontology through direct manipulation of the linkograph.

  5. Evaluation of Fresh Food Internet Shopping in Korean Beef

    OpenAIRE

    金, 鍾和; 森高, 正博; 福田, 晋; Kim, Jong-hwa; Moritaka, Masahiro; Fukuda, Susumu

    2013-01-01

    This paper focuses on consumer reactions to the fresh food internet shopping on Korea beef. In the paper, we have analyzed an effective relation in consumer's perceived qualities, the evaluation of commodities and the evaluation of fresh food internet shopping. As a result, two effective relations were found. Firstly, consumer's perceived qualities affect the evaluation of commodities. Secondly, the evaluation of commodities affects t-he evaluation of fresh food internet shopping. This result...

  6. Attitudinal Explanation on Virtual Shopping Intention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ritzky Karina M.R. Brahmana

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Virtual stores provide great efficiency in the retail value chain, and their existence has tremendously paved the way for electronic commerce. Understanding the intention of consumers to shop online in attitudinal perspective will provide important contribution to the area of e-commerce. This research proposes Task Technology Fit, Perceived Ease of Use (PEoU, and Perceived Usefulness (PU as the factors that drive consumers’ intention. The results from our survey study of 310 online consumers in Indonesia indicate that TTF affects PEoU and PU significantly. Our hierarchical model also reports that PEoU is the mediating effect on the relationship between TTF and Intention. The resulting model explains a large portion of the factors that lead a user’s behavioural intention to use a virtual shop. Keywords : Attitudinal, Task Technology Fit, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Retail, Virtual Shopping Intention

  7. Gender Awareness Raising & EFL

    OpenAIRE

    長坂, 達彦; ナガサカ, タツヒコ; Tatsuhiko, Nagasaka

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this short paper is to provide an example of classroom application of the concept of gender roles within the broader framework of Gender Awareness. More generally, it attempts to introduce growing interest in Gender Awareness within the context of changing perspective on Language Learning. What is understood by "gender roles" or "gender domain" will be examined. Explicit and traditional concept of gender roles will be briefly discussed with the relationship between explicit and imp...

  8. Minimizing total weighted completion time in a proportionate flow shop

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shakhlevich, N.V.; Hoogeveen, J.A.; Pinedo, M.L.

    1998-01-01

    We study the special case of the m machine flow shop problem in which the processing time of each operation of job j is equal to pj; this variant of the flow shop problem is known as the proportionate flow shop problem. We show that for any number of machines and for any regular performance

  9. Opioid shopping behavior: how often, how soon, which drugs, and what payment method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cepeda, M Soledad; Fife, Daniel; Chow, Wing; Mastrogiovanni, Gregory; Henderson, Scott C

    2013-01-01

    Doctor shopping (obtaining opioid prescriptions from multiple prescribers) is one example of opioid abuse and diversion. The authors assessed how soon shopping behavior was observed after opioid exposure, number of events per shopper, preferred opioids, and method of payment. This was a cohort study. Individuals with ≤1 dispensing for any opioid in 2008 were followed for 18 months. Shopping behavior was defined as ≤2 prescriptions by different prescribers with ≤1 day of overlap and filled at ≤3 pharmacies. Of 25,161,024 subjects, 0.30% exhibited shopping behavior. Opioid-experienced subjects were 13.7 times more likely to exhibit shopping behavior and had more shopping episodes than opioid-naive subjects. Time to first shopping event was 246.90 ± 163.61 days. Number of episodes was 2.74 ± 4.66. Most subjects with shopping behavior (55.27%) had 1 shopping episode, whereas 9.52% had ≤6 episodes; 88.99% had ≤4 prescribers. Subjects with shopping behavior filled schedule II opioids more often than subjects without shopping behavior (19.51% vs 10.89%) and more often paid in cash (44.85% vs 18.54%). Three of 1000 people exposed to opioids exhibit shopping behavior, on average, 8 months after exposure. Opioid shoppers seek strong opioids, avoid combination products, often pay cash, and obtain prescriptions from few prescribers. © 2012 The Author(s).

  10. Social media or shopping websites? The influence of eWOM on consumers' online purchase intentions

    OpenAIRE

    Erkan, I.; Evans, C.

    2016-01-01

    This study empirically tests and compares the influence of friends' recommendations on social media and anonymous reviews on shopping websites in the context of online purchase intention. For this purpose, we analyse the impacts of these two platforms based on the components of information adoption model (IAM) which are borrowed as information quality, information credibility, information usefulness and information adoption. We conduct a survey and find anonymous reviews as more influential o...

  11. Use of malaria RDTs in various health contexts across sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyce, Matthew R; O'Meara, Wendy P

    2017-05-18

    The World Health Organization recommends parasitological confirmation of malaria prior to treatment. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) represent one diagnostic method that is used in a variety of contexts to overcome limitations of other diagnostic techniques. Malaria RDTs increase the availability and feasibility of accurate diagnosis and may result in improved quality of care. Though RDTs are used in a variety of contexts, no studies have compared how well or effectively RDTs are used across these contexts. This review assesses the diagnostic use of RDTs in four different contexts: health facilities, the community, drug shops and schools. A comprehensive search of the Pubmed database was conducted to evaluate RDT execution, test accuracy, or adherence to test results in sub-Saharan Africa. Original RDT and Plasmodium falciparum focused studies conducted in formal health care facilities, drug shops, schools, or by CHWs between the year 2000 and December 2016 were included. Studies were excluded if they were conducted exclusively in a research laboratory setting, where staff from the study team conducted RDTs, or in settings outside of sub-Saharan Africa. The literature search identified 757 reports. A total of 52 studies were included in the analysis. Overall, RDTs were performed safely and effectively by community health workers provided they receive proper training. Analogous information was largely absent for formal health care workers. Tests were generally accurate across contexts, except for in drug shops where lower specificities were observed. Adherence to RDT results was higher among drug shop vendors and community health workers, while adherence was more variable among formal health care workers, most notably with negative test results. Malaria RDTs are generally used well, though compliance with test results is variable - especially in the formal health care sector. If low adherence rates are extrapolated, thousands of patients may be incorrectly

  12. Implementing the Affordable Care Act: State Action to Establish SHOP Marketplaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dash, Sarah J; Lucia, Kevin W; Thomas, Amy

    2014-03-01

    The Affordable Care Act seeks to help small employers offer coverage by reforming the small-group market and establishing Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) marketplaces. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia chose to operate their own SHOP marketplaces in 2014, with the federal government operating the SHOP marketplace in 33 states. This brief examines state decisions to enhance the value of SHOP marketplaces for small employers and finds that most have set predictable participation and eligibility requirements and will offer a competitive choice of insurers and plans. States also are seeking to facilitate small employers' shopping experience through online tools and access to personalized assistance. While not all SHOP marketplaces are yet functioning as intended, their establishment offers an opportunity to identify successful strategies for improving the affordability and accessibility of coverage for small employers.

  13. Knowledge engineering in a temporal symantic web context

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Milea, D.V.; Frasincar, F.; Kaymak, U.; Schwabe, D.; Curbera, F.; Dantzig, P.

    2008-01-01

    The emergence of Web 2.0 and the semantic Web as established technologies is fostering a whole new breed of Web applications and systems. These are often centered around knowledge engineering and context awareness. However, adequate temporal formalisms underlying context awareness are currently

  14. Workload control in job shops, grasping the tap

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Land, Martin Jaap

    2004-01-01

    The term job shops is used to indicate companies that produce customer-specific components in small batches. Jobs (production orders) in a job shop are characterised by a large variety of routings and operation processing times. This variety, combined with irregular order arrivals, generally leads

  15. Strategi Komunikasi Pemasaran Batik Gonggong “Lawana” Tanjungpinang dalam Membangun Brand Awareness

    OpenAIRE

    Nur, Ajura; Firdaus, Muhammad

    2017-01-01

    The term of gonggong sounds foreign or strange impression for people outside the Kepulauan Riau. But for people in the Kepulauan Riau, is no stranger to this one sea slug. Gonggong (Strombus Turturella) is one of the many sea slug that are found around the Kepri waters. Batik Gonggong is new textile design in Indonesia. In 2010 open Selaras Shop as a manufacturer of batik gonggong with the brand "Lawana". In building brand awareness can be done through marketing communications. But in reality...

  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. Influence of visualization on consumption during on-line shopping

    OpenAIRE

    Hictaler, Urška

    2013-01-01

    This diploma work studies the influence of visualization on consumption during on-line shopping. The first part of the thesis starts with key areas of visualization, consumption and on-line shopping. Visualization, areas of use, human perception and ways of product presentation in on-line shops are defined discussed first. Next, consumption, consumers and factors that influence their decisions and satisfaction are defined. The last topic in the first part of the thesis discusses on-line shopp...

  18. Focused science shop - Potential environmental impact of radioactive waste disposal in comparison with other hazardous wastes. Deliverable 7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vojtechova, Hana

    2008-07-01

    An important part of the ARGONA project is the testing and application of novel participation and dialogue approaches. The Czech Republic is one of the countries where these approaches will be applied and tested. The ways in this is being done include a series of events involving different stakeholders such as a focused science shop, a consensus panel and an interaction panel. In the framework of these activities in the Czech Republic the focused science shop was held on March 12, 2008 in the Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) in Rez, and addressed the theme: 'Radioactive waste management and radiation risk in comparison with other hazardous waste and risks'. The main goal of this focused science shop was to increase awareness amongst the public of actual and potential effects of radioactive and toxic wastes and to prioritise questions/uncertainties that people might have in this field. The following topics were discussed: - Differences in the general perception of nuclear waste in comparison with other toxic wastes; - General public awareness of the issue of nuclear waste management and other toxic wastes management; - Management and ultimate disposal of radioactive waste and other toxic waste in terms of the technology employed; - NIMBY effect. A broader audience was selected with a suitable mixture of specialists and interested technical and non-technical peers including representatives from NRI, universities, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of the Environment, State Office for Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, representatives of municipalities and NGOs, and waste producers such as CEZ plc etc. In the Czech Republic there is a general unwillingness by the public to actively participate in the NWM decision-making process. Therefore, despite all the efforts made by the project team, not all invited stakeholders attended the meeting. Despite this, the meeting was very positively received by those who did attend and indicates the

  19. Shopping intention prediction using decision trees

    OpenAIRE

    Šebalj, Dario; Franjković, Jelena; Hodak, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: The price is considered to be neglected marketing mix element due to the complexity of price management and sensitivity of customers on price changes. It pulls the fastest customer reactions to that change. Accordingly, the process of making shopping decisions can be very challenging for customer.Objective: The aim of this paper is to create a model that is able to predict shopping intention and classify respondents into one of the two categories, depending on whether they inten...

  20. Constraint-based job shop scheduling with ILOG SCHEDULER

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nuijten, W.P.M.; Le Pape, C.

    1998-01-01

    We introduce constraint-based scheduling and discuss its main principles. An approximation algorithm based on tree search is developed for the job shop scheduling problem using ILOG SCHEDULER. A new way of calculating lower bounds on the makespan of the job shop scheduling problem is presented and