Tools in Marketing Research: Exploring Emotional Responses to Stimuli

Electromyography (EMG), galvanic skin responses (GSR), and electrocardiogram (ECG) tools have been used to investigate emotional responses to marketing stimuli, encompassing advertisements, product packaging, and brand logos. However, despite the widespread application of EMG, GSR, and ECG tools in neuromarketing research, a comprehensive synthesis of their collective impact remains conspicuously absent. Addressing this gap is the primary goal of the present review paper, which systematically scrutinizes recent studies employing EMG, GSR, and ECG to assess emotional responses to marketing stimuli. Employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, relevant articles were meticulously extracted from the Scopus database, spanning the years 2009 to 2022, including twenty articles for detailed analysis. The outcomes of this review underscore the unique insights offered by these tools into emotional reactions, emphasizing that their collective utilization can afford a more comprehensive understanding of these intricate processes. This propels advancements in comprehending the pivotal role of emotions in consumer behavior and serves as a guidepost for future research directions in this burgeoning field. Ultimately, this paper aims to furnish a broad understanding and detailed insights into the current trends within neuromarketing research, specifically employing EMG, GSR, and ECG tools

Efficient and Privacy-Preserving Ride Sharing Organization for Transferable and Non-Transferable Services

Ride-sharing allows multiple persons to share their trips together in one vehicle instead of using multiple vehicles. This can reduce the number of vehicles in the street, which consequently can reduce air pollution, traffic congestion and transportation cost. However, a ride-sharing organization requires passengers to report sensitive location information about their trips to a trip organizing server (TOS) which creates a serious privacy issue. In addition, existing ride-sharing schemes are non-flexible, i.e., they require a driver and a rider to have exactly the same trip to share a ride. Moreover, they are non-scalable, i.e., inefficient if applied to large geographic areas. In this paper, we propose two efficient privacy-preserving ride-sharing organization schemes for Non-transferable Ride-sharing Services (NRS) and Transferable Ride-sharing Services (TRS). In the NRS scheme, a rider can share a ride from its source to destination with only one driver whereas, in TRS scheme, a rider can transfer between multiple drivers while en route until he reaches his destination. In both schemes, the ride-sharing area is divided into a number of small geographic areas, called cells, and each cell has a unique identifier. Each driver/rider should encrypt his trip's data and send an encrypted ride-sharing offer/request to the TOS. In NRS scheme, Bloom filters are used to compactly represent the trip information before encryption. Then, the TOS can measure the similarity between the encrypted trips data to organize shared rides without revealing either the users' identities or the location information. In TRS scheme, drivers report their encrypted routes, an then the TOS builds an encrypted directed graph that is passed to a modified version of Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm to search for an optimal path of rides that can achieve a set of preferences defined by the riders

Determination of the breast cancer tumor diameter using a UWB microwave antenna system

This paper presents a novel ultra-wideband microwave antenna system to detect breast cancer and estimate tumor diameter. The system operates within the frequency range of 1 to 12 GHz and comprises a microstrip-fed monopole antenna that encircles the breast to identify the presence of tumors. The study demonstrates that a tumor within the breast can be detected by observing changes in the distribution of current density within the breast tissue, particularly in regions containing tumors of varying sizes. The research findings reveal that the system can identify breast tumors with the highest recorded current density of 188 A/m2 in cases with a tumor diameter of 30 mm, while the lowest recorded current density is 140 A/m2 for tumors with a diameter of 5 mm. Furthermore, the highest Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) value measured at the surface of the breast model is 0.2 W/kg. To determine the diameter of the tumors, the system collects and analyzes backscattered waves from a breast model. The investigation covers tumors with diameters ranging from 1 mm to 35 mm, and the received signals are recorded. In contrast to prior research, this study introduces an empirical model with a remarkable accuracy rate of 92.28% for characterizing the diameter of breast tumors based on the measurement analysis.</p

A Comparative Performance Evaluation of Islamic and Conventional Mutual Funds in Saudi Arabia

Abstract Purpose The literature on the comparative performance of Islamic and conventional mutual funds provides conflicting results. Some studies find superior performance of Islamic mutual funds (IMF) to conventional mutual funds (CMF) whereas others conclude to the contrary. This study aims to contribute to the debate on the comparative performance of Islamic and conventional mutual funds in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach This study participates in the ongoing debate by analyzing the performance of IMF and CMF based on risk-adjusted returns measures such as the Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, and Jensen’s Alpha. Furthermore, we examine the selectivity and the market timing skills of IMF and CMF using Treynor and Mazuy model. Five-year monthly data from 2013 to 2017 for forty mutual funds located in Saudi Arabia are used for analysis. Findings We find that IMF and CMF have almost similar performance on the basis of Treynor ratio and Jensen’s Alpha. However, results from the Sharpe ratio indicate that Islamic funds perform better than their conventional counterpart. The study also finds that the selectivity and the market timing abilities of both Islamic and conventional mutual funds outperform the market portfolio. Superior selectivity skills of IMF to the CMF and similar timing ability of both types of fund managers is also observed. Practical implications Islamic mutual funds are less risky than conventional mutual funds and they provide better hedging prospects for stockholders in general Originality/value This study aims to contribute to the debate on the comparative performance of Islamic and conventional mutual funds using the latest data and applying the equality of means and the Random effect model, which no other study has used in the context of Saudi Arabia

Association of parental knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral health with early childhood caries among preschool children: a systematic review

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a serious public health problem in both developing and developed countries. Given that children mainly depend on their parents for their day-to-day activities, it is important to investigate the extent of parental influence on the oral health of their children. The objective of this study is to review the association of parental knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral health with ECC among preschool children. PubMed, Medline, and Google scholar were used to search for related articles published within the past 10 years. All of the studies that investigated parental oral health practice have shown association with the development of dental caries. However, there were discrepancies in the outcome of studies that examined the association of parental knowledge and attitude with ECC. More investigations on parental knowledge and attitude are needed to clarify their association with ECC

Host attachment and fluid shear are integrated into a mechanical signal regulating virulence in Escherichia coli O157:H7

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a foodborne pathogen causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. EHEC colonizes the intestinal tract through a range of virulence factors encoded by the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), as well as Shiga toxin. Although the factors involved in colonization and disease are well characterized, how EHEC regulates its expression in response to a host encounter is not well understood. Here, we report that EHEC perceives attachment to host cells as a mechanical cue that leads to expression of LEE-encoded virulence genes. This signal is transduced via the LEE-encoded global regulator of LEE-encoded regulator (Ler) and global regulator of Ler and is further enhanced by levels of shear force similar to peristaltic forces in the intestinal tract. Our data suggest that, in addition to a range of chemical environmental signals, EHEC is capable of sensing and responding to mechanical cues to adapt to its host’s physiology

Everything is going electronic, so do services and service quality: bibliometric analysis of e-services and e-service quality

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the developments in ‘e-services and e-service quality' from 2000 to 2020. Data Source: Scopus database was used to conduct the bibliometric analysis of 404 documents. Method: VOSviewer software was used to analyse the research articles associated with ‘e-services and e-service quality' research. Search was limited to keywords of ‘e-services OR e-service and e-service quality'. Findings: Results revealed that the field of ‘Business, Management and Accounting' had the highest number of publications. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence was found at the top among the most productive journals in chosen search. Chang W.-I. and Yuan S.-T. from Taiwan were found to be the leading authors among top ten authors. United States and National Cheng Kung University of Taiwan were found to be the leading country and institution in the selected search of e-service and e-service quality. Originality/Value: This study, to best of our knowledge, is the first of its kind in mapping the ‘e-services and e-service quality' literature in Scopus. This will aid in shaping the central theme and set the future research directions for the researchers

An Overview Of Status Post Splenectomy, Role Of Nursing, Paramedics, Psychologist And Clinical Laboratory Teams

People who have had their spleen removed through elective or non-elective splenectomy are at a significant risk of developing serious infections. Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI) is a series of events characterized by a fast advance from infection to severe sepsis. Postsplenectomy infection is a critical medical situation that requires immediate attention. It is highly advisable to promptly administer antibiotics upon the initial indication of infection. Typically, in adults, the progression of the disease takes many days but can accelerate within a few hours from the first indication of fever to the development of widespread pneumonia, widespread blood clotting, bleeding and tissue death in the adrenal glands, and tissue death in the kidney tubules. The paramedics play a vital role in evaluating patients with critical conditions before they reach the hospital and implementing effective measures. Similarly, the nursing and clinical laboratory staff have a crucial role in properly managing these cases. Lastly, psychologists play an important role in providing support to patients and their families after a spleenectomy