The relationships between brand attributes and word of mouth on brand identity and brand image

Companies all around the world have to deal with issues relating to brand image development and maintenance because brand image can affect their brand performance. Based on the attribution theory, this research examined the impact of the components of brand attributes, namely brand relevance, brand consistency, brand sustainability, brand credibility, brand uniqueness and word of mouth (WOM) of brand image. This study also evaluated the mediating influence of brand WOM identity on the relationship between the brand attribute components, WOM and brand image. Insufficient empirical attention, particularly in relation to the attribution theory, was the driving force for the current study to be undertaken. Two hundred and fifty-four travellers via two airports located in the northern region of Malaysia participated in this study. A cross-sectional survey approach and the quota sampling technique were adopted to select the participants, and PLS algorithm and bootstrapping techniques were deployed to test the hypothesized relationships. The PLS path modelling reported significant results of the major hypotheses; brand sustainability was the only variable not significantly related to brand image. It was found that brand identity mediated significantly the relationship between brand attributes, WOM and brand image. Overall, the results provide support for the attribution theory in that brand attributes, namely brand relevance, brand consistency, brand sustainability, brand credibility, brand uniqueness and word of mouth can help shape consumers' perceptions which ultimately result in harnessing brand image. Finally, the study's implications for theory and practice, limitations, conclusions as well as directions for future research are provided and discussed

Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium

As in all fields of work, an unmanageable number of abbreviations are used today in aviation for terms, definitions, commands, standards and technical descriptions. This applies in general to the areas of aeronautical communication, navigation and surveillance, cockpit and air traffic control working positions, passenger and cargo transport, and all other areas of flight planning, organization and guidance. In addition, many abbreviations are used more than once or have different meanings in different languages. In order to obtain an overview of the most common abbreviations used in air traffic management, organizations like EUROCONTROL, FAA, DWD and DLR have published lists of abbreviations in the past, which have also been enclosed in this document. In addition, abbreviations from some larger international projects related to aviation have been included to provide users with a directory as complete as possible. This means that the second edition of the Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium includes now around 16,500 abbreviations and acronyms from the field of aviation

Exploring the Driving Forces of the Bitcoin Exchange Rate Dynamics: An EGARCH Approach

Bitcoin is a virtual currency scheme that is characterised by a decentralised network and cryptographic transfer verification which has been attracting much public attention due to its technological innovation and its high exchange rate volatility. In this paper, Bitcoin’s exchange rate movement from 2011 to 2018 and its relationship with the global financial markets are explored using an EGARCH framework. The results are as follows. First, fundamentals and Bitcoin-related events play a critical role in the exchange rate formation of Bitcoin. Second, the impact of regulation-related events on Bitcoin indicates that market sentiment is responding to market regulation statements. Third, news coverage is an essential factor in driving the volatility of Bitcoin. Fourth, Bitcoin may be a hedge in times of calm financial markets and a safe haven against uncertain economic policy but is likely to expose to flight-to-quality as global financial uncertainty increases. Lastly, the positive effect of the central bank’s announcements on Bitcoin is marginal enough to rule out the involvement of global expansionary monetary policy in inflating Bitcoin’s exchange rate over the past years, as it may have been the case with traditional asset prices after the great recession

Exploring the Driving Forces of the Bitcoin Exchange Rate Dynamics: An EGARCH Approach

Bitcoin is a virtual currency scheme that is characterised by a decentralised network and cryptographic transfer verification which has been attracting much public attention due to its technological innovation and its high exchange rate volatility. In this paper, Bitcoin’s exchange rate movement from 2011 to 2018 and its relationship with the global financial markets are explored using an EGARCH framework. The results are as follows. First, fundamentals and Bitcoin-related events play a critical role in the exchange rate formation of Bitcoin. Second, the impact of regulation-related events on Bitcoin indicates that market sentiment is responding to market regulation statements. Third, news coverage is an essential factor in driving the volatility of Bitcoin. Fourth, Bitcoin may be a hedge in times of calm financial markets and a safe haven against uncertain economic policy but is likely to expose to flight-to-quality as global financial uncertainty increases. Lastly, the positive effect of the central bank’s announcements on Bitcoin is marginal enough to rule out the involvement of global expansionary monetary policy in inflating Bitcoin’s exchange rate over the past years, as it may have been the case with traditional asset prices after the great recession

The Reasonable Intelligence Agency

Article 57(2) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions requires parties to an armed conflict to “do everything feasible to verify” their objects of attack and take “all precautions” to minimize civilian casualties and unintentional damage to civilian property. This obligation has been interpreted in international law to require state parties to set up an “effective intelligence gathering system” that would properly identify targets using all technical means at the disposal of the combating forces.But existing law has failed to define what “effective intelligence” looks like. Quite the opposite. Modern history is filled with examples of intelligence errors that resulted in calamitous civilian casualties. In this paper I look at three such case studies, spanning various historical periods, geographical zones, and belligerent parties. Examining these cases, this Article makes the claim that faults in wartime intelligence production are not inevitable as is often presumed and that it is for a lack of specific regulation within the treatises of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that they occur at the rate that they do.The paper makes two important contributions: First, it highlights a temporal and spatial disconnect between the intelligence and military functions, which is not sufficiently accounted for in our contemporary laws of war. Tribunals and military manuals guide us to rely on the reasonable commander test in determining the lawfulness of a particular strike. Yet, in the process we overlook the fact that any reasonable commander will turn to her reasonable intelligence agency —the contours of this standard are conspicuously under-defined. Second, the paper demonstrates the existence of an accountability gap in IHL for faulty intelligence used in targeting decisions. The paper takes a first step at proposing a new duty of care, under which states will be held civilly liable for unreasonable intelligence errors that are found to be the cause for the otherwise avoidable civilian harm

Preservation of Patient Level Privacy: Federated Classification and Calibration Models

With the launching of the Precision Medicine Initiative in the United States, by the National Institute of Health, and the emergence of a large volume of electronic health records, there are many opportunities to improve clinical decision support systems. A large number of samples are needed to build predictive models that have adequate discrimination and calibration. However, protecting patient privacy is also an important issue. Patient data are typically protected in localized silos, and consolidation of datasets from different healthcare systems is difficult. Federated learning allows the training of a global model by amassing intermediate calculations from localized medical systems. The knowledge learned from the data can be transferred and aggregated to achieve better performance than the one achieved by individual local models. Federated learning may help build better models, providing more accurate predictions. There are two types of measures to assess how well a model performs: discrimination and calibration. While most papers report discrimination measures, calibration has often been neglected but it is a critical metric for evaluation. In this dissertation, I show a novel way to build classifiers and calibration models in a federated manner. I also show how I can evaluate and improve model calibration in this manner. Federated modeling enables the accumulation of knowledge and information that are otherwise locked behind local medical systems

Exploring the relationship between hemi-inattention and functional recovery in the first six months after stroke: a longitudinal study with a multilevel modelling approach to data analysis

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonIn recent years, the functional outcomes of patients with right hemisphere stroke (RHS) received considerable attention due to their impact on disability, independent living, quality of life and economic burden. Hemi-inattention (HI) is a complex condition which often accompanies RHS. It is characterised by reduced alertness, attention and low spatial awareness levels. Past studies reported poor outcomes in patients with HI and inconsistent findings in regard to the relationship of HI with functional outcome. Literature review of 13 relevant studies highlighted poor research methodology which complicated interpretation of previous results. Aims: The aim of this study was to address the clinically important question “What is the relationship between early HI status (HI±) and functional change in the 1st six months after right hemisphere stroke?” by improving on research methodology from past studies. Methods: An all-inclusive stroke severity RHS sample (58 with and 35 without HI) were recruited from two stroke units and assessed on motor and cognitive factors with validated measurement tools on four occasions; baseline, hospital discharge, 6 weeks after discharge, and 6 months after stroke. A multi-level modelling approach was used to analyse change in functional progress over time with potential explanatory motor and cognitive factors. Results: HI status was only statistically significant when modelled alone. Its predictive importance greatly diminished when modelled with other factors e.g. stroke severity, time since stroke and age. Conclusion: On average, HI group membership at baseline is unrelated to functional recovery when other influential factors are also considered. The findings extend current knowledge in stroke recovery research and provide suggestions for optimal therapeutic and rehabilitation outcomes. In contrast with traditional methods of regression analysis, multi-level modelling techniques enabled important relationships to be studied in depth. This resulted in new insights into the data which can be used to inform patient management and future research in the field

Imagining a New Belfast: Municipal Parades in Urban Regeneration

This work highlights civic events and celebration as functional components of Belfast, Northern Ireland's ongoing post-conflict regeneration. Exploring the broad networks that fund and organize such events through a material semiotic approach, this dissertation sketches an outline of the process that produces parades, and examines the motivations and intentions behind them. It finds that parades function within a negotiated process of "place-making" to convey idealized visions of a peaceful "New Belfast". In particular the tropes of multiculturalism and European identity are repeated as aspirational ideals for Belfast's regeneration. The parades display, and in doing so reify these ideals as a temporary reality. Longer-term effects of the parades are difficult to determine, but they may potentially change public opinion regarding the social space of the city center, leading to more integrated and liberal use of the city center. In these events, issues central to Belfast's political life--from tourism, physical redevelopment, to European integration--are addressed through carnivalesque play and performance, as the events' producers and participants imagine Belfast's future urban identity

Severe Hand Foot and Mouth Disease in Vietnamese Children: Clinical Features and Management Strategies

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) plays a major role in childhood morbidity and mortality in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region. The spectrum of severe disease and predictors for poor outcome are not well understood, and the evidence-base for management of hypertension in severe cases is lacking. In this thesis I describe the clinical features, their evolution over time, and the viral serotype/genotype findings, among 1272 HFMD cases admitted to PICU at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD), Ho Chi Minh City, during the the 2011-2012 Vietnam outbreak. Fever, skin rash, and myoclonic jerks happened in the early stage while the more severe features, including hypertension, tachypnea, irregular breathing, pulmonary edema and shock occurred after day 3. Most severe features were associated with EV-A71 infection rather than with Coxsackieviruses (CV). However having mouth ulcers without skin lesions was associated with CV infection. The C4 genogroup of EV-A71 was associated with more severe neurological involvement. Risk factors present within 24 hours of PICU admission that were associated with subsequent deterioration to severe outcome were skin lesions and tachypnea, while presence of mouth ulcers alone was protective. I also describe the development and execution of a randomized controlled trial of a novel treatment, MgSO4, for severe HFMD with hypertension secondary to ANS dysregulation. However, only 26 of the planned 190 patients were enrolled before the outbreak was controlled, and with this small number we found no evidence of benefit in this trial. In another approach, I assessed the efficacy of MgOS4 on severe hypertension among 33 patients treated with open-label MgSO4 compared to 12 patients of similar clinical severity who did not receive this intervention, and found a significant reduction in mean arterial pressure among the MgSO4 recipients. However, It is clear that with the small sample size, these data are insufficient to address the important question originally posed. Using our pre-prepared protocol as a basis, a much larger trial could be developed at short notice in the event of another outbreak, to properly evaluate whether MgSO4 has a role in controlling the blood pressure in severe HFMD