An improved negative selection algorithm based on the hybridization of cuckoo search and differential evolution for anomaly detection

The biological immune system (BIS) is characterized by networks of cells, tissues, and organs communicating and working in synchronization. It also has the ability to learn, recognize, and remember, thus providing the solid foundation for the development of Artificial Immune System (AIS). Since the emergence of AIS, it has proved itself as an area of computational intelligence. Real-Valued Negative Selection Algorithm with Variable-Sized Detectors (V-Detectors) is an offspring of AIS and demonstrated its potentials in the field of anomaly detection. The V-Detectors algorithm depends greatly on the random detectors generated in monitoring the status of a system. These randomly generated detectors suffer from not been able to adequately cover the non-self space, which diminishes the detection performance of the V-Detectors algorithm. This research therefore proposed CSDE-V-Detectors which entail the use of the hybridization of Cuckoo Search (CS) and Differential Evolution (DE) in optimizing the random detectors of the V-Detectors. The DE is integrated with CS at the population initialization by distributing the population linearly. This linear distribution gives the population a unique, stable, and progressive distribution process. Thus, each individual detector is characteristically different from the other detectors. CSDE capabilities of global search, and use of L´evy flight facilitates the effectiveness of the detector set in the search space. In comparison with V-Detectors, cuckoo search, differential evolution, support vector machine, artificial neural network, na¨ıve bayes, and k-NN, experimental results demonstrates that CSDE-V-Detectors outperforms other algorithms with an average detection rate of 95:30% on all the datasets. This signifies that CSDE-V-Detectors can efficiently attain highest detection rates and lowest false alarm rates for anomaly detection. Thus, the optimization of the randomly detectors of V-Detectors algorithm with CSDE is proficient and suitable for anomaly detection tasks

An Exploratory Study on the Influences of Website Quality on Actual Purchase and Moderation Effects

In the context of e-tailing, website quality serves as a portal that affords informational cues of the product and services offered. Many scholars proved that more than a satisfactory website quality is one of the critical aspects for the success of the e-tailer as well as achieving customer\u27s purchase intention. However, moderating effects of perceived risk and price tolerance on the relationship between website quality and purchase intention has not been examined. Furthermore, relationships between actual purchase and purchase intention have been relatively uncovered. Drawing from literature, we propose a research model to investigate interrelationships among website quality, purchase intention, actual purchase, perceived risk, and price tolerance. Conducting this research would contribute to our understanding of the moderator influence on the relation between website quality and purchase intention in the e-tailing environment and how this relationship leads to actual purchase behaviors

The Role of the Quality of a Website in Consumer Perception

The wide spread of the Internet has allowed businesses to present information, sell products, and provide relevant services through websites. Many researchers argue that websites are an imperative channel for communication and online shopping. However, businesses struggle to retain customers due to low switching cost and lack of face-to-face communication. Customers who do not appreciate the user interface and information presented in the website may choose a competitor’s site to achieve their goals. Therefore, e-loyalty, which is about attracting and retaining customers in an online environment, is crucial to remaining a successful business. In the context of e-loyalty, the website serves as a gateway to access loyal customers. Many studies have found that website quality affects customer’s perceived risk. Perceived risk is the extent to which a customer believes there is a potential for an uncertain or negative outcome with an online transaction. Several studies have found an inverse relationship between perceived risk and purchase intention, which is the likelihood that a customer will purchase from the website. Studies have also shown that an increase in purchase intentions positively affects e-loyalty. In this thesis, the effect of perceived risk on purchase intentions is studied. Purchase intentions can be further categorized as initial or continued purchase intention. Initial purchase intention refers to the likelihood that a customer will purchase from the website for the first time. Continued purchase intention refers to the likelihood that a customer will return to the website to purchase again in the future. Although purchase intentions have been recognized as a major factor affected by website quality and subsequently impacting e-loyalty, few studies have examined how initial purchase intention affects continued purchase intention. To fill the aforementioned research gaps, the purpose of this study is to examine whether: a) perceived risk moderates the relationships between website quality and initial/continued purchase intention, and b) perception of initial purchase intention influences continued purchase intention in an online context. Survey methodology was used to investigate the relationships between the above factors. The study population was a sample set of University of North Florida students. Multiple regression technique was employed for analyzing data collected from a questionnaire. This research contributes to the understanding of the moderator that could impact website quality in the business environment. Such an understanding would allow researchers to explore a wide range of variables that could affect the relationship between website quality and purchase intention to increase customer retentions

The Influence of Shopping Website Design on Consumer’s Intention to Buy Online: The Case of 3D vs. 2D Online Book Stores

As increasing number of consumers take their business on-line, retailers try to gain competitive advantage through innovativedesign of their electronic storefronts. In the last few years, more and more three dimensional online stores (3D) have becomean alternative to the more traditional two dimensional ones (2D). The goal of this study is to examine the influence ofshopping website design (3D vs. 2D websites) on consumer’s intention to buy online. We draw from research in electroniccommerce, web-site design, technology acceptance and psychology, and propose a model that seeks to explain the influenceof online store front design on shopping outcomes through of such mediators as user perceptions and cognitive absorption.The proposed model offers useful insights to researchers and practitioners alike

Lemon Jelly : spreading lemon through the internet

Lemon Jelly is a fashion brand that produces and sells plastic footwear. The brand belongs to the company Procalçado, a family-owned Portuguese company that already had an experience of 40 years as a soles and footwear components producer before creating Lemon Jelly. The company is characterized by innovative production processes that allow them to produce plastic injected shoes. Lemon Jelly is mostly being sold through distributors, however it also has an online presence. The brand’s official website represents from 5 to 10% of the brand’s sales, which were up to 3 million euros in 2015. The motivation for this dissertation was to write a case study about the e-commerce strategy of Lemon Jelly. The main challenge of the brand is to understand how it can increase its online sales, being this analyzed in the Teaching Note chapter that explores some issues relevant to the main problem of the case and proposes recommendations for the future. The previous chapter, Literature Review, was designed to support the Teaching Note through theoretical concepts. It is concluded that there are several factors that can influence a brand’s online sales, therefore Lemon Jelly should select some of them according to its needs, while monitoring the results at the same time. It is also important to benchmark competitors and other players in the industry in order to keep updated through the digital evolution.A Lemon Jelly é uma marca de moda que produz e vende sapatos de plástico. A marca pertence à Procalçado, uma empresa familiar Portuguesa que já contava com 40 anos de experiência enquanto produtora de solas e componentes de sapatos antes de criar a Lemon Jelly. A empresa é caraterizada por produzir através de processos inovadores, o que lhe permite criar calçado de plástico injetado. A Lemon Jelly é vendida principalmente através de distribuidores, no entanto também está presente online. O website oficial da marca representa entre 5 a 10% das suas vendas totais, que atingiram 3 milhões de euros em 2015. A motivação para esta dissertação passou por escrever um caso de estudo sobre a estratégia de comércio eletrónico da Lemon Jelly. O principal desafio da marca é perceber como pode aumentar as suas vendas online, e para isto é feita uma análise no capítulo da nota de ensino, que explora algumas questões relevantes para o principal problema do caso e onde são propostas recomendações para o futuro. O capítulo anterior, de revisão de literatura, destina-se a apoiar a nota de ensino através de conceitos teóricos. Conclui-se que há vários fatores que podem influenciar as vendas online de uma marca, pelo que a Lemon Jelly deve selecioná-los consoante as suas necessidades, controlando ao mesmo tempo os resultados obtidos. É também importante efetuar comparações com concorrentes e outras empresas da indústria para a marca se manter atualizada perante a evolução digital

Differential Impact Of Web And Mobile Interactivity On E-Retailers\u27 Performance

This study investigates the differential impact of machine and person interactivity in both Web and mobile e-commerce channels on e-retailers’ operational and financial performance. Based on the data on 463 large e-retailers in U.S. and Canada, interesting findings that Web machine interactivity and mobile person interactivity have significantly positive impact on e-retailers’ operational performance, while Web person interactivity and mobile machine interactivity do not. E-retailers’ operational performance was found to have significantly positive impact on e-retailers’ financial performance. Overall, this study provides in-depth insights into the differential role that machine and person interactivity in Web and mobile channels play in impacting e-retailers’ performance. Implications for research and practice as well as suggestions for future research are discussed

E-commerce website usability analysis using the association rule mining and machine learning algorithm

The overall effectiveness of a website as an e-commerce platform is influenced by how usable it is. This study aimed to find out if advanced web metrics, derived from Google Analytics software, could be used to evaluate the overall usability of e-commerce sites and identify potential usability issues. It is simple to gather web indicators, but processing and interpretation take time. This data is produced through several digital channels, including mobile. Big data has proven to be very helpful in a variety of online platforms, including social networking and e-commerce websites, etc. The sheer amount of data that needs to be processed and assessed to be useful is one of the main issues with e-commerce today as a result of the digital revolution. Additionally, on social media a crucial growth strategy for e-commerce is the usage of BDA capabilities as a guideline to boost sales and draw clients for suppliers. In this paper, we have used the KMP algorithm-based multivariate pruning method for web-based web index searching and different web analytics algorithm with machine learning classifiers to achieve patterns from transactional data gathered from e-commerce websites. Moreover, through the use of log-based transactional data, the research presented in this paper suggests a new machine learning-based evaluation method for evaluating the usability of e-commerce websites. To identify the underlying relationship between the overall usability of the eLearning system and its predictor factors, three machine learning techniques and multiple linear regressions are used to create prediction models. This strategy will lead the e-commerce industry to an economically profitable stage. This capability can assist a vendor in keeping track of customers and items they have viewed, as well as categorizing how customers use their e-commerce emporium so the vendor can cater to their specific needs. It has been proposed that machine learning models, by offering trustworthy prognoses, can aid in excellent usability. Such models might be incorporated into an online prognostic calculator or tool to help with treatment selection and possibly increase visibility. However, none of these models have been recommended for use in reusability because of concerns about the deployment of machine learning in e-commerce and technical issues. One problem with machine learning science that needs to be solved is explainability. For instance, let us say B is 10 and all the people in our population are even. The hash function’s behavior is not random since only buckets 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 can be the value of h(x). However, if B = 11, we would find that 1/11th of the even integers is transmitted to each of the 11 buckets. The hash function would work well in this situation

Experiential marketing: bridging the gap between value creation to customers and value capture by firms

An already voluminous literature addressing the value of marketing to the firm has, until now, fallen short of expectations. In a context in which marketers have increasingly been challenged to prove their worth, the scholarly attempts to demonstrate the value of marketing to the firm have stumbled to reach unquestionable results. Part of the problem may lie in the lengthy and twisted chain of effects from marketing actions to marketing performance outcomes. Between inputs and outputs lie numerous uncontrollable and often confounding external factors, such as the actions of customers, competitors, and other market agents. The problematic operationalization of such complex market structures impelled researchers to analyze fractions of this web of effects rather than attempting to study overarching conceptual models in full. Prior empirical research has typically considered either the impact of marketing actions in the marketplace or the consequences to the firm of the behaviors of customers and rivals. There is still a gap in the literature of an all-encompassing end-to-end demonstration of how specific marketing inputs can drive specific marketing outputs unequivocally contributing to organizational performance. This thesis addresses the issue of marketing as a value-capturing corporate function through its determinant role in managing value-creating exchanges with customers in the marketplace while hindering competitors from appropriating it. Our research suggests that experiential marketing may bridge the gap between value creation to the customer and value capture by the firm. In particular, our findings show that marketing-crafted valuecreating online shopping experiences may predict value-capturing marketing performance outcomes with the mediation of superior customer-level marketing performance. Thus, our results suggest that experiential marketing may offer an opportunity to bridge the gap between "give and take," value creation and value capture, and demonstrate how relevant the contribution of marketing to the firm's value rising can be.Uma já volumosa literatura abordando o valor do marketing para a empresa tem até agora ficado aquém das expectativas. As tentativas para demonstrar a valia do marketing para a empresa não têm conseguido alcançar inequívocas demonstrações de como o marketing pode ter uma contribuição relevante para a apropriação de valor pela empresa. Parte do problema reside na longa e sinuosa cadeia de efeitos ligando os estímulos de marketing aos resultados do desempenho. Entre uns e outros existem inúmeros fatores externos, incontroláveis e perturbadores, tais como as ações de outros participantes no mercado. A investigação empírica anterior tem tipicamente estudado ou os efeitos the ações de marketing no mercado, sobretudo nos clientes, mas também nos concorrentes, ou então as consequências para a empresa dos comportamentos dos clientes e rivais. Consequentemente, há uma lacuna na literatura de uma demonstração abrangente de como determinados estímulos de marketing podem conduzir a efeitos específicos precursores do desempenho da organização. Esta tese equaciona o marketing como função de captura de valor para a empresa através do seu papel determinante na gestão de trocas de valor com clientes, em paralelo com o impedimento aos concorrentes de se apropriarem do valor criado. A nossa investigação sugere que o marketing experiencial pode estabelecer a ligação entre criação de valor para o cliente e captura de valor para a empresa. Em particular, os nossos resultados mostram que experiências de compra criadoras de valor para os clientes em ambientes digitais podem conduzir à captura de valor para a empresa através da mediação de desempenho de marketing a nível de cliente. Portanto, os nossos resultados sugerem que o marketing experiencial pode ser uma grande oportunidade para preencher a lacuna entre “dar e receber”, criação e captura de valor, e mostram quão relevante pode ser a contribuição do marketing para o valor da empresa