Perceived Value of Mobile Service Use and its Consequences

The thesis is positioned in the services marketing field. Previous mobile service research has identified perceived value or relative advantage as a stable predictor of use of services. However, a more detailed view of what customers value in mobile services is needed for marketing diverse types of mobile content and attracting committed customers. The direct relationships between multidimensional value and loyalty constructs have received limited attention in the previous literature, although a multidimensional view is needed for differentiating services. This thesis studies how perceived value of mobile service use affects customer commitment, repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth and willingness to pay. The doctoral thesis consists of three journal articles and one working paper. The four papers have different sub-aims and comprise individual empirical studies. Mixed methods including both personal interviews and survey data collected from end-users of different types of mobile content services are used. The conceptual mobile perceived value model that results from the first explorative empirical study supports a six- dimensional value view. The six dimensions are further categorized into two higher order constructs: content-related perceived value (emotional, social, convenience and monetary value) and context-related (epistemic and conditional value) perceived value. Structural equation modeling is used in the other three studies to validate this framework by analyzing the relationships between context- and content-related value, and how the individual perceived value dimensions affect commitment and behavioral outcomes. Analyzing the direct relationships revealed differences in the effect of perceived value dimensions between information and entertainment mobile service user groups, between effects on commitment, repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth intentions, as well as between effects on commitment to the provider and to the mobile channel as such. This thesis contributes to earlier perceived value literature by structuring the value dimensions into two groups. Most importantly, the thesis contributes to the value and loyalty literature by increasing understanding of how the different dimensions of perceived value directly affect commitment and post-purchase intentions. The results have implications for further theory development in the electronic services field using multidimensional latent constructs, and practical implications for enhancing commitment to content provider and for differentiated marketing strategies in the mobile field. The general conclusion of this thesis is that differentiated value-based marketing of mobile services is essential for attracting committed customers who will use the same providers’ content also in the future. Minna Pihlström is associated with the Centre for Relationship Marketing and Service Management (CERS) at Hanken.

Ecology of the Asian Elephant in Southern India. I. Movement and Habitat Utilization Patterns

The movement and habitat utilization patterns were studied in an Asian elephant population during 1981-83 within a 1130 km2 area in southern India (110 30' N to 120 0' N and 760 50' E to 770 15' E). The study area encompasses a diversity of vegetation types from dry thorn forest (250-400 m) through deciduous forest (400-1400 m) to stunted evergreen shola forest and grassland (1400-1800 m). Home range sizes of some identified elephants were between 105 and 320 km2. Based on the dry season distribution, five different elephant clans, each consisting of between 50 and 200 individuals and having overlapping home ranges, could be defined within the study area. Seaso- nal habitat preferences were related to the availability of water and the palatability of food plants. During the dry months (January-April) elephants congregated at high densities of up to five individuals kM-2 in river valleys where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes. With the onset of rains of the first wet season (May- August) they dispersed over a wider area at lower densities, largely into the tall grass forests, to feed on the fresh grasses, which then had a high protein value. During the second wet season (September-December), when the tall grasses became fibrous, they moved into lower elevation short grass open forests. The normal movement pattern could be upset during years of adverse environmental con- ditions. However, the movement pattern of elephants in this region has not basically changed for over a century, as inferred from descriptions recorded during the nineteenth century.

Constructions of 2D-Metallamacrocycles Using Half-Sandwich Ru-2(II) Precursors: Synthesis, Molecular Structures, and Self-Selection for a Single Linkage Isomer

Coordination-driven self-assembly of oxalato-bridged half-sandwich p-cymene ruthenium complex Ru-2(mu-eta(4)-C2O4)(MeOH)(2)(eta(6)-p-cymene)(2)] (O3SCF3)(2) (1a) with several ditopic donors (L-a-L-d) in methanol affords a series of bi- and tetranuclear metallamacrocycles (2a and 3-5). Similarly, the combination of 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinonato (dhbq)-bridged binuclear complex Ru-2(mu-eta(4)-C6H2O4)(MeOH)(2)(eta(6)-p-cymene)(2)](O3SCF3)(2) (1b) with a flexible bidentate amide linker (L-a) in 1:1 molar ratio gave the corresponding tetranuclear complex 2b. All the macrocycles were isolated as their triflate salts in high yields and were fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. Finally, the molecular structures of all the assemblies were determined unambiguously by single-crystal X-diffraction analysis. Interestingly, the combination of acceptor 1a or 1b with an unsymmetrical linear ditopic donor L-a results in a self-sorted linkage isomeric (head-to-tail) macrocycle (2a or 2b) despite the possibility of formation of two different isomeric macrocycles (head-to-head or head-to-tail) due to different connectivity of the donor. Molecular structures of the complexes 2a and 2b showed tetranuclear rectangular geometry with dimensions of 5.51 angstrom x 13.29 angstrom for 2a and 7.91 angstrom x 13.46 angstrom for 2b. In both cases, two binuclear Ru-2(II) building blocks are connected by a mu-N-(4-pyridyl)isonicotinamide donor in a head-to-tail fashion. Surprisingly, the macrocycle 2a loses one counteranion and cocrystallizes with monodeprotonated 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene via strong intermolecular pi-pi stacking and hydrogen bonding. The tweezer complex 3 showed strong fluorescence in solution, and it showed fluorescence sensing toward nitroaromatic compounds. A fluorescence study demonstrated a marked quenching of the initial fluorescence intensity of the macrocycle 3 upon gradual addition of trinitrotoluene and exhibits significant fluorescence quenching response only for nitroaromatic compounds compared to various other aromatic compounds tested.

Coordination driven self-assembly of metallamacrocycles using ambidentate linkers and self-selection of single linkage isomer

Nicotinate-N-oxide and isonicotinate-N-oxide have been employed to synthesize four heterometallic metallamacrocycles (dppf)(2)Pd-2(nicotinate-N-oxide)(2)](OTf)(2) (1), (dppf)(2)Pt-2(nicotinate-N-oxide)(2)](OTf)(2) (2), (dppf) 2Pd2(isonicotinate-N-oxide)(2)](OTf)(2) (3) and (dppf)(2)Pt-2(isonicotinate-N-oxide)(2)](OTf)(2) (4). The complexes represent the first examples of metallamacrocycles driven by solely Pd(II)/Pt(II)-O coordination using carboxylate-N-oxide donor. All the complexes 1-4 are characterized by IR, UV-Vis, multinuclear NMR spectroscopic and ESI-MS studies. The molecular structures of the complexes 1 and 3 are unambiguously determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Despite the possibility of formation of several linkage isomers due to ambidentate nature of the donors, exclusive formation of 2 + 2] self-assembled single isomeric metallamacrocycle in each case is interesting observation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Geometry Optimization and Material Selection for Truss Structures

In this work, we explore simultaneous design and material selection by posing it as an optimization problem. The underlying principles for our approach are Ashby's material selection procedure and structural optimization. For the simplicity and ease of initial implementation of the general procedure, truss structures under static load are considered in this work in view of maximum stiffness, minimum weight/cost and safety against failure. Along the lines of Ashby's material indices, a new design index is derived for trusses. This helps in choosing the most suitable material for any design of a truss. Using this, both the design space and material database are searched simultaneously using optimization algorithms. The important feature of our approach is that the formulated optimization problem is continuous even though the material selection is an inherently discrete problem.

Feedback Overhead-Aware, Distributed, Fast, and Reliable Selection

In a communication system in which K nodes communicate with a central sink node, the following problem of selection often occurs. Each node maintains a preference number called a metric, which is not known to other nodes. The sink node must find the `best' node with the largest metric. The local nature of the metrics requires the selection process to be distributed. Further, the selection needs to be fast in order to increase the fraction of time available for data transmission using the selected node and to handle time-varying environments. While several selection schemes have been proposed in the literature, each has its own shortcomings. We propose a novel, distributed selection scheme that generalizes the best features of the timer scheme, which requires minimal feedback but does not guarantee successful selection, and the splitting scheme, which requires more feedback but guarantees successful selection. The proposed scheme introduces several new ideas into the design of the timer and splitting schemes. It explicitly accounts for feedback overheads and guarantees selection of the best node. We analyze and optimize the performance of the scheme and show that it is scalable, reliable, and fast. We also present new insights about the optimal timer scheme.

A long-lost relic from the eastern ghats: morphology, distribution and habitat of sepsophis punctatus Beddome, 1870 (Squamata: Scincidae)

Sepsophis punctatus Beddome 1870, the only species of a monotypic genus, was described based on a single specimen from the Eastern Ghats of India. We rediscovered the species based on specimens from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state, India, after a gap of 137 years, including four specimens from close to the type locality. The holotype was studied in detail, and we present additional morphological characters of the species with details on natural history, habitat and diet. The morphological characters of the holotype along with two additional specimens collected by Beddome are compared with the specimens collected by us. We also briefly discuss the distribution of other members of the subfamily Scincinae and their evolutionary affinities.

Isolating the impacts of land use and climate change on streamflow

Quantifying the isolated and integrated impacts of land use (LU) and climate change on streamflow is challenging as well as crucial to optimally manage water resources in river basins. This paper presents a simple hydrologic modeling-based approach to segregate the impacts of land use and climate change on the streamflow of a river basin. The upper Ganga basin (UGB) in India is selected as the case study to carry out the analysis. Streamflow in the river basin is modeled using a calibrated variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrologic model. The approach involves development of three scenarios to understand the influence of land use and climate on streamflow. The first scenario assesses the sensitivity of streamflow to land use changes under invariant climate. The second scenario determines the change in streamflow due to change in climate assuming constant land use. The third scenario estimates the combined effect of changing land use and climate over the streamflow of the basin. Based on the results obtained from the three scenarios, quantification of isolated impacts of land use and climate change on streamflow is addressed. Future projections of climate are obtained from dynamically downscaled simulations of six general circulation models (GCMs) available from the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) project. Uncertainties associated with the GCMs and emission scenarios are quantified in the analysis. Results for the case study indicate that streamflow is highly sensitive to change in urban areas and moderately sensitive to change in cropland areas. However, variations in streamflow generally reproduce the variations in precipitation. The combined effect of land use and climate on streamflow is observed to be more pronounced compared to their individual impacts in the basin. It is observed from the isolated effects of land use and climate change that climate has a more dominant impact on streamflow in the region. The approach proposed in this paper is applicable to any river basin to isolate the impacts of land use change and climate change on the streamflow.

Chief Kerry's moose : a guidebook to land use and occupancy mapping, research design, and data collection

Aboriginal peoples in Canada have been mapping aspects of their cultures for more than a generation. Indians, Inuit, Métis, non-status Indians and others have called their maps by different names at various times and places: land use and occupancy; land occupancy and use; traditional use; traditional land use and occupancy; current use; cultural sensitive areas; and so on. I use “land use and occupancy mapping” in a generic sense to include all the above. The term refers to the collection of interview data about traditional use of resources and occupancy of lands by First Nation persons, and the presentation of those data in map form. Think of it as the geography of oral tradition, or as the mapping of cultural and resource geography. (PDF contains 81 pages.)

Land Use and Spring Protection

(1 poster)