Location Recommendations for New Businesses Using Check-in Data

Location based social networks (LBSN) and mobile applications generate data useful for location oriented business decisions. Companies can get insights about mobility patterns of potential customers and their daily habits on shopping, dining, etc.To enhance customer satisfaction and increase profitability. We introduce a new problem of identifying neighborhoods with a potential of success in a line of business. After partitioning the city into neighborhoods, based on geographical and social distances, we use the similarities of the neighborhoods to identify specific neighborhoods as candidates for investment for a new business opportunity. We present two solutions for this new problem: i) a probabilistic approach based on Bayesian inference for location selection along with a voting based approximation, and ii) an adaptation of collaborative filtering using the similarity of neighborhoods based on co-existence of related venues and check-in patterns. We use Foursquare user check-in and venue location data to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. Our experiments show promising results for identifying new opportunities and supporting business decisions using increasingly available check-in data sets. © 2016 IEEE

Postopek pridobitve vstopnega vizuma za državljane Bosne in Hercegovine

With the rise of online social networks and smartphones that record the user's location, a new type of online social network has gained popularity during the last few years, the so called Location-based Social Networks (LBSNs). In such networks, users voluntarily share their location with their friends via a check-in. In exchange they get recommendations tailored to their particular location as well as special deals that businesses offer when users check-in frequently. LBSNs started as specialized platforms such as Gowalla and Foursquare, however their immense popularity has led online social networking giants like Facebook to adopt this functionality. The spatial aspect of LBSNs directly ties the physical with the online world, creating a very rich ecosystem where users interact with their friends both online as well as declare their physical (co-)presence in various locations. Such a rich environment calls for novel analytic tools that can model the aforementioned types of interactions. In this work, we propose to model and analyze LBSNs using Tensors and Tensor Decompositions, powerful analytical tools that have enjoyed great growth and success in fields like Machine Learning, Data Mining, and Signal Processing alike. By doing so, we identify tightly knit, hidden communities of users and locations which they frequent. In addition to Tensor Decompositions, we use Signal Processing tools that have been previously used in Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimations, in order to study the temporal dynamics of hidden communities in LBSNs

Washington Park Main Street Plan

There is an immense variety of privately owned businesses. They will be stakeholders because their businesses are located there, but they will also be assets in themselves in drawing people to the area. There is basically everything anyone could possible want or need in this area. There are two gas stations, a Family Dollar, a liquor store, a few sit down restaurants, numerous places where one can get a quick bite to eat, a frame shop, a clothing store, a pawn shop, a store with fresh produce (which is hard to find in urban areas), a store that sells sports uniforms, a frame shop, a lawyerʼs office, an animal hospital, two Laundromats, a record shop, a health food store, two cell phone stores, an automotive shop, and a karate school with an afterschool program. With such variety, it will draw people to the area and then give them other reasons to keep coming back

Food Access in Petersburg, Virginia: Final Report and Recommendations

The City of Petersburg has long suffered with issues of limited access to food and food insecurity. Food deserts, or areas underserved by retail food options, are prevalent throughout the City. As a result, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has ranked the city last of Virginia\u27s 133 counties in their annual health rankings. For the Fall 2019 semester, students from Virginia Commonwealth University\u27s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, through Dr. John Accordino\u27s Urban Commercial Revitalization course, focused on planning solutions to address food deserts in commercial areas, with the City of Petersburg being one of their clients. The class assessed the potential for commercial revitalization and made five recommendations

Word of Mouth, the Importance of Reviews and Ratings in Tourism Marketing

The Internet and social media have given place to what is commonly known as the democratization of content and this phenomenon is changing the way that consumers and companies interact. Business strategies are shifting from influencing consumers directly and induce sales to mediating the influence that Internet users have on each other. A consumer review is “a mixture of fact and opinion, impression and sentiment, found and unfound tidbits, experiences, and even rumor” (Blackshaw & Nazarro, 2006). Consumers' comments are seen as honest and transparent, but it is their subjective perception what shapes the behavior of other potential consumers. With the emergence of the Internet, tourists search for information and reviews of destinations, hotels or services. Several studies have highlighted the great influence of online reputation through reviews and ratings and how it affects purchasing decisions by others (Schuckert, Liu, & Law, 2015). These reviews are seen as unbiased and trustworthy, and considered to reduce uncertainty and perceived risks (Gretzel & Yoo, 2008; Park & Nicolau, 2015). Before choosing a destination, tourists are likely to spend a significant amount of time searching for information including reviews of other tourists posted on the Internet. The average traveler browses 38 websites prior to purchasing vacation packages (Schaal, 2013), which may include tourism forums, online reviews in booking sites and other generic social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Program on stimulating operational private sector use of Earth observation satellite information

Ideas for new businesses specializing in using remote sensing and computerized spatial data systems were developd. Each such business serves as an 'information middleman', buying raw satellite or aircraft imagery, processing these data, combining them in a computer system with customer-specific information, and marketing the resulting information products. Examples of the businesses the project designed are: (1) an agricultural facility site evaluation firm; (2) a mass media grocery price and supply analyst and forecaster; (3) a management service for privately held woodlots; (4) a brokerage for insulation and roofing contractors, based on infrared imagery; (5) an expanded real estate information service. In addition, more than twenty-five other commercially attractive ideas in agribusiness, forestry, mining, real estate, urban planning and redevelopment, and consumer information were created. The commercial feasibility of the five business was assessed. This assessment included market surveys, revenue projections, cost analyses, and profitability studies. The results show that there are large and enthusiastic markets willing to pay for the services these businesses offer, and that the businesses could operate profitably

Aiming for service excellence: Implementing a plan for customer service quality at a blended service desk

This article discusses a public service review and redesign that resulted in a blended service desk combining reference and circulation functions, staffed by nonlibrarians. The redesign implements a number of organizational structures that encourage service excellence, as found in the business literature and in examples of nonlibrary organizations that excel in customer service. The article identifies key organizational structures that have been shown to support or hinder good service and discusses the process of implementing these structures in practice and the results of an assessment process designed around determining success

Reliability, availability and security of wireless networks in the community

Wireless networking increases the flexibility in the home, work place and community to connect to the Internet without being tied to a single location. Wireless networking has rapidly increased in popularity over recent years. There has also been a change in the use of the internet by users. Home users have embraced wireless technology and businesses see it as having a great impact on their operational efficiency. Both home users and industry are sending increasingly sensitive information through these wireless networks as online delivery of banking, commercial and governmental services becomes more widespread. However undeniable the benefits of wireless networking are, there are additional risks that do not exist in wired networks. It is imperative that adequate assessment and management of risk is undertaken by businesses and home users. This paper reviews wireless network protocols, investigates issues of reliability, availability and security when using wireless networks. The paper, by use of a case study, illustrates the issues and importance of implementing secured wireless networks, and shows the significance of the issue. The paper presents a discussion of the case study and a set of recommendations to mitigate the threat