The role of enduring involvement in the relationship between reference price and price acceptance in the context of multichannel choice

Understanding online price acceptance and its determining factors can be essential if the companies try to manage different type of channels. The paper aimed to reveal the role of enduring involvement in price acceptance in a multichannel (online and offline) context. The study revealed that the hedonic value of shopping can increase the negative intention of price acceptance in the online channel, but also explored that for the segment without shopping motivations a similar price level can be applied both in the online and in the offline environment.

Development of prediction models for freeway incident durations using data mining techniques

The nation's freeway systems are becoming increasingly congested. A major contribution to traffic congestion on freeways is due to traffic incidents. Traffic incidents are non-recurring events such as accidents or stranded vehicles that cause a temporary roadway capacity reduction, and they can account for as much as 60 percent of all traffic congestion on freeways. One major freeway incident management strategy involves diverting traffic to avoid incident locations by relaying timely information through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices such as dynamic message signs or real-time traveler information systems. The decision to divert traffic depends foremost on the expected duration of an incident, which is difficult to predict. In addition, the duration of an incident is affected by many contributing factors. Determining and understanding these factors can help the process of identifying and developing better strategies to reduce incident durations and alleviate traffic congestion. A number of research studies have attempted to develop models to predict incident durations, yet with limited success. ^ This dissertation research attempts to improve on this previous effort by applying data mining techniques to a comprehensive incident database maintained by the District 4 ITS Office of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Two categories of incident duration prediction models were developed: "offline" models designed for use in the performance evaluation of incident management programs, and "online" models for real-time prediction of incident duration to aid in the decision making of traffic diversion in the event of an ongoing incident. Multiple data mining analysis techniques were applied and evaluated in the research. The multiple linear regression analysis and decision tree based method were applied to develop the offline models, and the rule-based method and a tree algorithm called M5P were used to develop the online models. ^ The results show that the models in general can achieve high prediction accuracy within acceptable time intervals of the actual durations. The research also identifies some new contributing factors that have not been examined in past studies. As part of the research effort, software code was developed to implement the models in the existing software system of District 4 FDOT for actual applications. ^

Online solid phase extraction liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-LC-MS/MS) method for the determination of sucralose in reclaimed and drinking waters and its photo degradation in natural waters from South Florida

Background Sucralose has gained popularity as a low calorie artificial sweetener worldwide. Due to its high stability and persistence, sucralose has shown widespread occurrence in environmental waters, at concentrations that could reach up to several μg/L. Previous studies have used time consuming sample preparation methods (offline solid phase extraction/derivatization) or methods with rather high detection limits (direct injection) for sucralose analysis. This study described a faster and sensitive analytical method for the determination of sucralose in environmental samples. Results An online SPE-LC–MS/MS method was developed, being capable to quantify sucralose in 12 minutes using only 10 mL of sample, with method detection limits (MDLs) of 4.5 ng/L, 8.5 ng/L and 45 ng/L for deionized water, drinking and reclaimed waters (1:10 diluted with deionized water), respectively. Sucralose was detected in 82% of the reclaimed water samples at concentrations reaching up to 18 μg/L. The monthly average for a period of one year was 9.1 ± 2.9 μg/L. The calculated mass loads per capita of sucralose discharged through WWTP effluents based on the concentrations detected in wastewaters in the U. S. is 5.0 mg/day/person. As expected, the concentrations observed in drinking water were much lower but still relevant reaching as high as 465 ng/L. In order to evaluate the stability of sucralose, photodegradation experiments were performed in natural waters. Significant photodegradation of sucralose was observed only in freshwater at 254 nm. Minimal degradation (<20%) was observed for all matrices under more natural conditions (350 nm or solar simulator). The only photolysis product of sucralose identified by high resolution mass spectrometry was a de-chlorinated molecule at m/z 362.0535, with molecular formula C12H20Cl2O8. Conclusions Online SPE LC-APCI/MS/MS developed in the study was applied to more than 100 environmental samples. Sucralose was frequently detected (>80%) indicating that the conventional treatment process employed in the sewage treatment plants is not efficient for its removal. Detection of sucralose in drinking waters suggests potential contamination of surface and ground waters sources with anthropogenic wastewater streams. Its high resistance to photodegradation, minimal sorption and high solubility indicate that sucralose could be a good tracer of anthropogenic wastewater intrusion into the environment.

Physics-based modeling of power system components for the evaluation of low-frequency radiated electromagnetic fields

The low-frequency electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is an increasingly important aspect in the design of practical systems to ensure the functional safety and reliability of complex products. The opportunities for using numerical techniques to predict and analyze system's EMC are therefore of considerable interest in many industries. As the first phase of study, a proper model, including all the details of the component, was required. Therefore, the advances in EMC modeling were studied with classifying analytical and numerical models. The selected model was finite element (FE) modeling, coupled with the distributed network method, to generate the model of the converter's components and obtain the frequency behavioral model of the converter. The method has the ability to reveal the behavior of parasitic elements and higher resonances, which have critical impacts in studying EMI problems. For the EMC and signature studies of the machine drives, the equivalent source modeling was studied. Considering the details of the multi-machine environment, including actual models, some innovation in equivalent source modeling was performed to decrease the simulation time dramatically. Several models were designed in this study and the voltage current cube model and wire model have the best result. The GA-based PSO method is used as the optimization process. Superposition and suppression of the fields in coupling the components were also studied and verified. The simulation time of the equivalent model is 80-100 times lower than the detailed model. All tests were verified experimentally. As the application of EMC and signature study, the fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of an induction motor drive was developed using radiated fields. In addition to experimental tests, the 3DFE analysis was coupled with circuit-based software to implement the incipient fault cases. The identification was implemented using ANN for seventy various faulty cases. The simulation results were verified experimentally. Finally, the identification of the types of power components were implemented. The results show that it is possible to identify the type of components, as well as the faulty components, by comparing the amplitudes of their stray field harmonics. The identification using the stray fields is nondestructive and can be used for the setups that cannot go offline and be dismantled

Otimização do controle do diagrama de radiação de radares de varredura para rastreio de foguetes usando o método GAMMC para o Caso Planar (GAMMC-P)

Launching centers are designed for scientific and commercial activities with aerospace vehicles. Rockets Tracking Systems (RTS) are part of the infrastructure of these centers and they are responsible for collecting and processing the data trajectory of vehicles. Generally, Parabolic Reflector Radars (PRRs) are used in RTS. However, it is possible to use radars with antenna arrays, or Phased Arrays (PAs), so called Phased Arrays Radars (PARs). Thus, the excitation signal of each radiating element of the array can be adjusted to perform electronic control of the radiation pattern in order to improve functionality and maintenance of the system. Therefore, in the implementation and reuse projects of PARs, modeling is subject to various combinations of excitation signals, producing a complex optimization problem due to the large number of available solutions. In this case, it is possible to use offline optimization methods, such as Genetic Algorithms (GAs), to calculate the problem solutions, which are stored for online applications. Hence, the Genetic Algorithm with Maximum-Minimum Crossover (GAMMC) optimization method was used to develop the GAMMC-P algorithm that optimizes the modeling step of radiation pattern control from planar PAs. Compared with a conventional crossover GA, the GAMMC has a different approach from the conventional one, because it performs the crossover of the fittest individuals with the least fit individuals in order to enhance the genetic diversity. Thus, the GAMMC prevents premature convergence, increases population fitness and reduces the processing time. Therefore, the GAMMC-P uses a reconfigurable algorithm with multiple objectives, different coding and genetic operator MMC. The test results show that GAMMC-P reached the proposed requirements for different operating conditions of a planar RAV.

Planejamento de trajetórias e navegação de robôs móveis

Oil exploration at great depths requires the use of mobile robots to perform various operations such as maintenance, assembly etc. In this context, the trajectory planning and navigation study of these robots is relevant, as the great challenge is to navigate in an environment that is not fully known. The main objective is to develop a navigation algorithm to plan the path of a mobile robot that is in a given position (

Planejamento de trajetórias e navegação de robôs móveis

Oil exploration at great depths requires the use of mobile robots to perform various operations such as maintenance, assembly etc. In this context, the trajectory planning and navigation study of these robots is relevant, as the great challenge is to navigate in an environment that is not fully known. The main objective is to develop a navigation algorithm to plan the path of a mobile robot that is in a given position (

Teleconsultoria Off-line: uma arquitetura distribuída e compartilhada para sistemas heterogêneos

The Telehealth Brazil Networks Program, created in 2007 with the aim of strengthening primary care and the unified health system (SUS - Sistema Único de Saúde), uses information and communication technologies for distance learning activities related to health. The use of technology enables the interaction between health professionals and / or their patients, furthering the ability of Family Health Teams (FHT). The program is grounded in law, which determines a number of technologies, protocols and processes which guide the work of Telehealth nucleus in the provision of services to the population. Among these services is teleconsulting, which is registered consultation and held between workers, professionals and managers of healthcare through bidirectional telecommunication instruments, in order to answer questions about clinical procedures, health actions and questions on the dossier of work. With the expansion of the program in 2011, was possible to detect problems and challenges that cover virtually all nucleus at different scales for each region. Among these problems can list the heterogeneity of platforms, especially teleconsulting, and low internet coverage in the municipalities, mainly in the interior cities of Brazil. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to propose a distributed architecture, using mobile computing to enable the sending of teleconsultation. This architecture works offline, so that when internet connection data will be synchronized with the server. This data will travel on compressed to reduce the need for high transmission rates. Any Telehealth Nucleus can use this architecture, through an external service, which will be coupled through a communication interface.

Marketing político e mídias sociais: as estratégias utilizadas no facebook e twitter de Cássio Cunha Lima PSDB/PB, nas eleições de 2014

This dissertation aims to analyze and understand the process and practices of political marketing strategies applied to social media facebook and twitter Cássio Cunha Lima - PSDB candidate for governor of Paraíba, in the 2014 elections The work is divided into three parts . The first two chapters, both of theoretical nature, underlie the discussion about the use of the Internet as a campaign space and political marketing campaign as well as the different communication strategies and electoral marketing already presented in the literature. Following, is dedicated to a topic for the presentation of the methodology and subsequently makes the discussion of empirical data analysis. Finally, we present the conclusions. The analysis takes as its starting point the models Figueiredo et al. (1998) and Albuquerque (1999) to observe the traditional strategies and suggests the inclusion of typically recorded on the Internet strategies. The methodology used for the analysis was the qualitative and quantitative content from variables that we list different campaign strategies. In order to achieve the purpose of this research, we conducted a case study as an analytical object online campaign Cássio Cunha Lima. The case study took place from the construction of a candidate's biographical and political profile, presented and discussed in the text. This research also made use of virtual ethnography. Therefore, were monitored social media facebook and twitter that political, with the help of image capture program - Greenshot by creating pre-defined categories of analysis, for example, calendar, prestige and support, negative campaign , engagement, among others. The period chosen for monitoring the candidate's official profiles was from 24 August to 28 October 2014, because it holds the pre, during and post-election where there was greater candidate drive level and his team marketing in social media selected for analysis. The results indicate that mobilization strategy (online and offline), merged with the promotion schedule, it is predominant in the social media Cassio. They also indicate that they do not show the failure of the campaign of the candidate in 2014.

Analisi della piattaforma Nutch

Nell’ultima decade abbiamo assistito alla transizione di buona parte dei business da offline ad online. Istantaneamente grazie al nuovo rapporto tra azienda e cliente fornito dalla tecnologia, molti dei metodi di marketing potevano essere rivoluzionati. Il web ci ha abilitato all’analisi degli utenti e delle loro opinioni ad ampio spettro. Capire con assoluta precisione il tasso di conversione in acquisti degli utenti fornito dalle piattaforme pubblicitarie e seguirne il loro comportamento su larga scala sul web, operazione sempre stata estremamente difficile da fare nel mondo reale. Per svolgere queste operazioni sono disponibili diverse applicazioni commerciali, che comportano un costo che può essere notevole da sostenere per le aziende. Nel corso della seguente tesi si punta a fornire una analisi di una piattaforma open source per la raccolta dei dati dal web in un database strutturato

Effetti della tDCS sui pattern ERS/ERD indotti da immaginazione motoria: stato dell'arte

I sistemi BCI EEG-based sono un mezzo di comunicazione diretto tra il cervello e un dispositivo esterno il quale riceve comandi direttamente da segnali derivanti dall'attività elettrica cerebrale. Le features più utilizzate per controllare questi dispositivi sono i ritmi sensorimotori, ossia i ritmi mu e beta (8-30 Hz). Questi ritmi hanno la particolare proprietà di essere modulati durante l'immaginazione di un movimento generando così delle desincronizzazioni e delle sincronizzazioni evento correlate, ERD e ERS rispettavamente. Tuttavia i destinatari di tali sistemi BCI sono pazienti con delle compromissioni corticali e non sono sempre in grado di generare dei pattern ERD/ERS stabili. Per questo motivo, negli ultimi anni, è stato proposto l'uso di tecniche di stimolazione cerebrale non invasiva, come la tDCS, da abbinare al training BCI. In questo lavoro ci si è focalizzati sugli effetti della tDCS sugli ERD ed ERS neuronali indotti da immaginazione motoria attraverso un'analisi dei contributi presenti in letteratura. In particolare, sono stati analizzati due aspetti, ossia: i) lo studio delle modificazioni di ERD ed ERS durante (online) o in seguito (offline) a tDCS e ii) eventuali cambiamenti in termini di performance/controllo del sistema BCI da parte del soggetto sottoposto alla seduta di training e tDCS. Le ricerche effettuate tramite studi offline o online o con entrambe le modalità, hanno portato a risultati contrastanti e nuovi studi sarebbero necessari per chiarire meglio i meccanismi cerebrali che sottendono alla modulazione di ERD ed ERS indotta dalla tDCS. Si è infine provato ad ipotizzare un protocollo sperimentale per chiarire alcuni di questi aspetti.

A deep learning-based approach for 3D people tracking

Questa tesi si occupa dell’estensione di un framework software finalizzato all'individuazione e al tracciamento di persone in una scena ripresa da telecamera stereoscopica. In primo luogo è rimossa la necessità di una calibrazione manuale offline del sistema sfruttando algoritmi che consentono di individuare, a partire da un fotogramma acquisito dalla camera, il piano su cui i soggetti tracciati si muovono. Inoltre, è introdotto un modulo software basato su deep learning con lo scopo di migliorare la precisione del tracciamento. Questo componente, che è in grado di individuare le teste presenti in un fotogramma, consente ridurre i dati analizzati al solo intorno della posizione effettiva di una persona, escludendo oggetti che l’algoritmo di tracciamento sarebbe portato a individuare come persone.

Az online szájreklám alapjául szolgáló magatartás és az elégedettség kapcsolata

A TANULMÁNY CÉLJA A szájreklám régóta fontos területként jelenik meg a marketing szakirodalomban. A tanulmány azonban az online word-of-mouth kutatások között új nézőpontból vizsgálja a szájreklámhoz köthető egyéni magatartáskomponensek hatását az elégedettségre, és ezen keresztül a továbbajánlási és újravásárlási szándékra. ALKALMAZOTT MÓDSZERTAN A látens változók közötti kapcsolatok elemzésére a strukturális egyenletek módszertana (SEM) került alkalmazásra. Az 1 000 fős mintavétel online kérdőíves megkérdezéssel történt azok körében, akik az adatfelvételt megelőző 3 hónapban vásároltak az interneten. Az egyes látens változók mérésére a szakirodalomban fellelhető korábbi kutatások alapján került sor és a skálák megbízhatósági mutatói megfelelőnek bizonyultak. A KUTATÁS LEGFONTOSABB EREDMÉNYE, ÚJDONSÁGOK A feltárt összefüggések többsége szignifikáns és a felvázolt modell illeszkedésmutatói is elfogadhatóak. A személyközi információs befolyásoltság, mint egyéni tényező, meghatározó jelentőséggel bír a vélemények keresésére és terjesztésére mind online, mind offline környezetben. A kapcsolat szorossága és az észlelt hasonlóság pozitív szignifikáns kapcsolatot mutat az online véleményelfogadási hajlandósággal. Az online véleménykeresés a véleményelfogadáson keresztül szintén pozitív hatást gyakorol az elégedettségre és így a továbbajánlási és az újravásárlási szándékra. Mindez fontos mozzanatát jelenti az online vásárlásoknak, hiszen a vállalattal fennálló kapcsolat nagyobb valószínűséggel folytatódik és még inkább sor kerülhet a továbbajánlásra online vagy offline környezetben. GYAKORLATI/GAZDASÁGPOLITIKAI JAVASLATOK Gyakorlati szempontból érdekes következményekkel jár a modellben feltárt összefüggésrendszer. Ezek szerint azok, akik magasabb véleménykeresési magatartással, mint általános személyes jellemzővel bírnak, az internetes vásárlásaik során egy konkrét alkalommal is magasabb elégedettséggel rendelkeznek majd. Így érdemes lehet e tényezőt önmagában is szegmentációs ismérvnek tekinteni, amennyiben a vállalati cél, hogy pozitívabb vásárlási kimeneteket, elégedettebb ügyfeleket szerezzenek. Tovább árnyalja azonban a képet az online véleményadási magatartás és az elégedettség között feltárt negatív irányú kapcsolat. E mögött számos okot feltételezhetünk, amelyek kifejtésre kerülnek a tanulmányban.

O uso da Divergência de Kullback-Leibler e da Divergência Generalizada como medida de similaridade em sistemas CBIR

The content-based image retrieval is important for various purposes like disease diagnoses from computerized tomography, for example. The relevance, social and economic of image retrieval systems has created the necessity of its improvement. Within this context, the content-based image retrieval systems are composed of two stages, the feature extraction and similarity measurement. The stage of similarity is still a challenge due to the wide variety of similarity measurement functions, which can be combined with the different techniques present in the recovery process and return results that aren’t always the most satisfactory. The most common functions used to measure the similarity are the Euclidean and Cosine, but some researchers have noted some limitations in these functions conventional proximity, in the step of search by similarity. For that reason, the Bregman divergences (Kullback Leibler and I-Generalized) have attracted the attention of researchers, due to its flexibility in the similarity analysis. Thus, the aim of this research was to conduct a comparative study over the use of Bregman divergences in relation the Euclidean and Cosine functions, in the step similarity of content-based image retrieval, checking the advantages and disadvantages of each function. For this, it was created a content-based image retrieval system in two stages: offline and online, using approaches BSM, FISM, BoVW and BoVW-SPM. With this system was created three groups of experiments using databases: Caltech101, Oxford and UK-bench. The performance of content-based image retrieval system using the different functions of similarity was tested through of evaluation measures: Mean Average Precision, normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain, precision at k, precision x recall. Finally, this study shows that the use of Bregman divergences (Kullback Leibler and Generalized) obtains better results than the Euclidean and Cosine measures with significant gains for content-based image retrieval.

Procesos creativos en entornos musicales inmersivos: un estudio de caso a través del análisis de metaversos. La Avatar Orchestra Metaverse en Second Life

La virtualidad se presenta como un espacio de creación y expansión de la realidad física. La percepción y la relación de los procesos creativos que giran en torno a lo virtual en lo referente a la música, la performance y la experimentación rigen e interaccionan nuestras realidades físicas, aún estando offline. Dichos procesos creativos son estudiados en la Orquesta virtual Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. Hemos navegado a través de la realidad creada por la Orquesta en el ciberespacio, bajo una metodología de estudio de caso -al que hemos llamado cybercase-, asistiendo y participando durante un tiempo en sus ensayos, junto a una posterior actuación. A través de un enfoque interdisciplinar basado en un proceso de análisis de material audiovisual y textual mediado por la presencia, entendida desde lo físico y lo virtual, exponemos los procesos creativos encontrados que subyacen bajo los miembros de la Orquesta, de modo descriptivo, y mediante el empleo de la teoría fundamentada. Como marco teórico mostramos los conceptos de música, espacio, tiempo y los procesos de comunicación gestados por la máquina y la virtualidad, todo ello mediado desde la percepción del ambiente y el interaccionismo simbólico. Presentamos dentro de este marco una revisión teórica del concepto de la creatividad enfocado desde la mecánica cuántica...