Key concepts in artificial intelligence and technologies 4.0 in services

The emerging Industry 4.0 technologies that are impacting the global economy also represent an extraordinary opportunity to increase customer value in the service sector. Indeed, the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution differs from previous technologies in three main ways: (1) technological developments overcomes humans’ capabilities such that humans or even companies are no longer controlling technology; (2) customers embrace life in new technology-made environments, and (3) the boundaries between human and technology become to be blurred. This document explains these novel insights and defines the key AI-related concepts linked to each of these three distinctive aspects of Technologies 4.0 in services

Semi-Classical Description of Antiproton Capture on Atomic Helium

A semi-classical, many-body atomic model incorporating a momentum-dependent Heisenberg core to stabilize atomic electrons is used to study antiproton capture on Helium. Details of the antiproton collisions leading to eventual capture are presented, including the energy and angular momentum states of incident antiprotons which result in capture via single or double electron ionization, i.e. into [He$^{++}\,\bar p$ or He$^{+}\,\bar p$], and the distribution of energy and angular momentum states following the Auger cascade. These final states are discussed in light of recently reported, anomalously long-lived antiproton states observed in liquid He.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures may be obtained from authors, Revte

Assessing Change in a Personality Profile

We tested the validity of 6 methods (mean difference, variance difference, bivariate, profile agreement, pattern similarity, and intraclass) to assess change in a personality profile. During their first 2 months of college, 372 students completed reactive and spontaneous measures of their personality. Eight weeks later, 300 returned to complete a second set of the same measures and noted change in their spontaneous personality list. Sixty participants returned during their second semester to complete a third set of assessments. The bivariate and intraclass change coefficients showed consistent convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity across time points. Recommendations and caveats for using these coefficients are discussed

Neighborhood context and financial strain as predictors of marital interaction and marital quality in African American couples

Demographic characteristics, family financial strain, neighborhood–level economic disadvantage, and state of residence were tested as predictors of observed warmth, hostility, and self–reported marital quality. Participants were 202 married African American couples who resided in a range of neighborhood contexts. Neighborhood–level economic disadvantage predicted lower warmth during marital interactions, as did residence in the rural south. Consistent with the family stress model (e.g., Conger & Elder, 1994), family financial strain predicted lower perceived marital quality. Unexpectedly, neighborhood–level economic disadvantage predicted higher marital quality. Social comparison processes and degree of exposure to racially based discrimination are considered as explanations for this unexpected result. The importance of context in relationship outcomes is highlighted

Assessing the Social Media Use and Needs of Small Rural Retailers: Implications for Extension Program Support

To assess small rural retailers\u27 use of social media and the role of social media in their business sustainability, we conducted focus group interviews with small business owners/managers from rural communities in a midwestern state. Participants revealed strong interest in social media, especially for use in sales and marketing. However, their engagement in social media was limited due to lack of knowledge and resources (i.e., time, human resources, financial resources, effectiveness measurement) related to developing and updating content. On the basis of these findings, we examine implications for Extension professionals and outreach educators regarding social media needs and programming for small rural businesses

Developing a scale to measure problems in finding a good fit

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring perceived PFGF. This research conceptualized problems of finding a good fit (PFGF) as a consumer\u27s generalized perception of fit problems based on prior experience with physical, aesthetic, and functional aspects of clothing. Scale development took place through item generation, preliminary tests of reliability and validity, and final scale validation. This study contributes to the literature of consumer fit perceptions by developing a scale to assess perceived PFGF that may be a key factor influencing multiple apparel shopping behaviors, such as returning unsatisfactory products and online shopping conversion rate. The multidimensional scale of perceived PFGF should be useful to apparel product developers and designers by providing solutions to PFGF based on information from customers. Better understanding of perceived PFGF will ultimately increase consumer fit satisfaction

Economical ground data delivery

Data delivery in the Deep Space Network (DSN) involves transmission of a small amount of constant, high-priority traffic and a large amount of bursty, low priority data. The bursty traffic may be initially buffered and then metered back slowly as bandwidth becomes available. Today both types of data are transmitted over dedicated leased circuits. The authors investigated the potential of saving money by designing a hybrid communications architecture that uses leased circuits for high-priority network communications and dial-up circuits for low-priority traffic. Such an architecture may significantly reduce costs and provide an emergency backup. The architecture presented here may also be applied to any ground station-to-customer network within the range of a common carrier. The authors compare estimated costs for various scenarios and suggest security safeguards that should be considered