188,751 research outputs found
Pirate or subscriber? An exploratory study on italian consumers' music habits
Purpose of the paper: This paper analyzes Italian consumers’ music habits in
terms of online piracy behaviors and their interest toward subscription-based music
services (SBMS), i.e. services that for a small monthly fee give users legal access to vast
music libraries across multiple devices. The objective is to try and profile a piracy-prone
consumer and explore if SBMS could be a viable alternative to online music piracy in
Italy, where the general piracy rate is very high.
Methodology: The study is based on an empirical quantitative analysis through the
collection of 505 questionnaires completed by Italian consumers.
Findings: The paper highlights how Italian consumers reflect the ‘attitude-behavior
gap’ in music consumption, as they perceive online music piracy as ethically wrong, yet
they still show low preference for the legal, reasonably priced choice (such as SBMS).
Younger, male, lower education, students have the highest propensity towards online
piracy. In addition, consumers’ awareness, familiarity and interest in subscriptionbased
music services are still very low.
Research limitations: The limitations of the paper are linked mainly to the adapted
scales, to the omission of alternative determinants of attitude towards piracy, to the
composition of the sample and for analyzing only two subscription-based music services
(Napster and Spotify).
Managerial implications: The results call for greater efforts by music industry
actors and public institutions to educate Italian consumers about the consequences of
their online piracy behavior and the possible solutions offered by SBMS.
Originality of the paper: This paper is the first to focus on Italian consumers’
music habits, their attitude and behavior towards online piracy and their interest
toward subscription-based music services as a viable alternative
Gainsharing: A Critical Review and a Future Research Agenda
This paper provides a critical review of the extensive literature on gainsharing. It examines the reasons for the fast growth in these programs in recent years and the major prototypes used in the past. Different theoretical formulations making predictions about the behavioral consequences and conditions mediating the success of these programs are discussed and the supporting empirical evidence is examined. The large number of a theoretical case studies and practitioner reports or gainsharing are also summarized and integrated. The article concludes with a suggested research agenda for the future
Cougar Dispersal and Natal Homing in a Desert Environment
We present a review of cougar dispersal literature and the first evidence of natural (i.e., unmanipulated) homing behavior by a dispersing male cougar (Puma concolor) that sustained severe injuries crossing the northern Mojave Desert. Based on Global Positioning System and ground tracking data, the male traveled a total distance of 981.1 km at 5.03 km/d, including 170.31 km from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the northwestern Grand Canyon, where he sustained severe injuries. The interkill interval increased from 7.1 ± 2.7 d while he was in his natal range to 17.5 ± 4.9 d during dispersal. While homing, the male appeared to consume only reptiles until he died, 33.7 km from his capture site. In desert environments where prey availability is low, homing behavior may be an important strategy for dispersing cougars, providing a mechanism for persistence when the best quality habitats they encounter are already occupied by adult residents. Therefore, managing for habitat connectivity can ensure successful homing as well as dispersal on a greater scale than has been previously suggested. Elucidating the mechanisms that trigger homing during dispersal may provide critical insight into animal movements often overlooked as mundane behavior
Value-in-exchange or value-in-use? Empirical insights into consumer perceptions.
This paper considers consumer perceptions of value against the background of emerging paradigm shifts in marketing moving away from traditional transactional ‘value-in-exchange’ approaches where marketers create value for consumers, towards a concept of ‘value-in-use’ where it is the consumer who creates the value with the organisation deemed to be at best only a co-creator.
Much of the relevant literature on governmental interventions is located within the public health arena, yet there is little which examines issues of value or value creation. This paper also therefore addresses this gap in the extant literature by considering issues of value in relation to engagement in physical activity and health in a leisure service setting
Differences in work environment for staff as an explanation for variation in central line bundle compliance in intensive care units.
BACKGROUND: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are a common and costly quality problem, and their prevention is a national priority. A decade ago, researchers identified an evidence-based bundle of practices that reduce CLABSIs. Compliance with this bundle remains low in many hospitals.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether differences in core aspects of work environments-workload, quality of relationships, and prioritization of quality-are associated with variation in maximal CLABSI bundle compliance, that is, compliance 95%-100% of the time in intensive care units (ICUs).
METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A cross-sectional study of hospital medical-surgical ICUs in the United States was done. Data on work environment and bundle compliance were obtained from the Prevention of Nosocomial Infections and Cost-Effectiveness Refined Survey completed in 2011 by infection prevention directors, and data on ICU and hospital characteristics were obtained from the National Healthcare Safety Network. Factor and multilevel regression analyses were conducted.
FINDINGS: Reasonable workload and prioritization of quality were positively associated with maximal CLABSI bundle compliance. High-quality relationships, although a significant predictor when evaluated apart from workload and prioritization of quality, had no significant effect after accounting for these two factors.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Aspects of the staff work environment are associated with maximal CLABSI bundle compliance in ICUs. Our results suggest that hospitals can foster improvement in ensuring maximal CLABSI bundle compliance-a crucial precursor to reducing CLABSI infection rates-by establishing reasonable workloads and prioritizing quality
Capital and Punishment: Resource Scarcity Increases Endorsement of the Death Penalty
Faced with punishing severe offenders, why do some prefer imprisonment whereas others impose death? Previous research exploring death penalty attitudes has primarily focused on individual and cultural factors. Adopting a functional perspective, we propose that environmental features may also shape our punishment strategies. Individuals are attuned to the availability of resources within their environments. Due to heightened concerns with the costliness of repeated offending, we hypothesize that individuals tend toward elimination-focused punishments during times of perceived scarcity. Using global and United States data sets (studies 1 and 2), we find that indicators of resource scarcity predict the presence of capital punishment. In two experiments (studies 3 and 4), we find that activating concerns about scarcity causes people to increase their endorsement for capital punishment, and this effect is statistically mediated by a reduced willingness to risk repeated offenses. Perceived resource scarcity shapes our punishment preferences, with important policy implications
A cluster randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of a brief walking intervention delivered in primary care : study protocol
Background: The aim of the present research is to conduct a fully powered explanatory trial to evaluate the
efficacy of a brief self-regulation intervention to increase walking. The intervention will be delivered in primary care
by practice nurses (PNs) and Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) to patients for whom increasing physical activity is a
particular priority. The intervention has previously demonstrated efficacy with a volunteer population, and
subsequently went through an iterative process of refinement in primary care, to maximise acceptability to both
providers and recipients.
Methods/ Design: This two arm cluster randomised controlled trial set in UK general practices will compare two
strategies for increasing walking, assessed by pedometer, over six months. Patients attending practices randomised
to the self-regulation intervention arm will receive an intervention consisting of behaviour change techniques
designed to increase walking self-efficacy (confidence in ability to perform the behaviour), and to help people
translate their “good” intentions into behaviour change by making plans. Patients attending practices randomised
to the information provision arm will receive written materials promoting walking, and a short unstructured
discussion about increasing their walking.
The trial will recruit 20 PN/HCAs (10 per arm), who will be trained by the research team to deliver the selfregulation
intervention or information provision control intervention, to 400 patients registered at their practices
(20 patients per PN/HCA). This will provide 85% power to detect a mean difference of five minutes/day walking
between the self-regulation intervention group and the information provision control group. Secondary outcomes
include health services costs, and intervention effects in sub-groups defined by age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic
status, and clinical condition. A mediation analysis will investigate the extent to which changes in
constructs specified by the Theory of Planned Behaviour lead to changes in objectively assessed walking behaviour.
Discussion: This trial addresses the current lack of evidence for interventions that are effective at increasing
walking and that can be offered to patients in primary care. The intervention being evaluated has demonstrated
efficacy, and has been through an extensive process of adaptation to ensure acceptability to both provider and
recipient, thus optimising fidelity of intervention delivery and treatment receipt. It therefore provides a strong test
of the hypothesis that a self-regulation intervention can help primary care patients increase their walking
Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007
The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information
technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to
improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of
articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007.
Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article
sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The
article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of
the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and
marketing of organizations on a global scale
Critical review of the e-loyalty literature: a purchase-centred framework
Over the last few years, the concept of online loyalty has been examined extensively in the literature, and it remains a topic of constant inquiry for both academics and marketing managers. The tremendous development of the Internet for both marketing and e-commerce settings, in conjunction with the growing desire of consumers to purchase online, has promoted two main outcomes: (a) increasing numbers of Business-to-Customer companies running businesses online and (b) the development of a variety of different e-loyalty research models. However, current research lacks a systematic review of the literature that provides a general conceptual framework on e-loyalty, which would help managers to understand their customers better, to take advantage of industry-related factors, and to improve their service quality. The present study is an attempt to critically synthesize results from multiple empirical studies on e-loyalty. Our findings illustrate that 62 instruments for measuring e-loyalty are currently in use, influenced predominantly by Zeithaml et al. (J Marketing. 1996;60(2):31-46) and Oliver (1997; Satisfaction: a behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: McGraw Hill). Additionally, we propose a new general conceptual framework, which leads to antecedents dividing e-loyalty on the basis of the action of purchase into pre-purchase, during-purchase and after-purchase factors. To conclude, a number of managerial implementations are suggested in order to help marketing managers increase their customers’ e-loyalty by making crucial changes in each purchase stage
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
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