750 research outputs found
Generation Z consumers' expectations of interactions in smart retailing: a future agenda
Retailing is witnessing a transformation due to rapid technological developments. Retailers are using smart technologies to improve consumer shopping experiences and to stay competitive. The biggest future challenge for marketing and consequently for retailing seems to be generation Z, since members of this generation seem to behave differently as consumers and are more focused on innovation. The aim of this paper is to explore Generation Z consumers’ current perceptions, expectations and recommendations in terms of their future interactions in smart retailing contexts. To do so, we used a qualitative approach by conducting a series of semi-structured in depth interviews with 38 university students-consumers in the UK market. The findings showed that smart technologies have a significant influence on generation Z consumers’ experiences. Moreover, this particular group of consumers expects various new devices and electronic processes to be widely available, thus offering consumers more autonomy and faster transactions. In addition, they expect the technology to enable them to make more informed shopping decisions. Interviewees also stressed the importance of training consumers how to use new smart retailing applications. In addition, some of the participants were sceptical about the effects of further advancing smart retailing on part of the job market. Relevant theoretical and practical implications are also provided
Harmonic diffeomorphisms between pseudo-riemannian surfaces
We study locally harmonic maps between a Riemann surface or Lorentz surface
and a Riemann surface or Lorentz surface . All four cases are studied in
a unified way.
Harmonic maps to a constant curvature Riemann surface or Lorentz surface
are classified by the classification of the solutions of a generalized
sine-Gordon equation. We then study the one-soliton solutions of this equation
and we find the corresponding harmonic maps in a unified way.
Next, we discuss a B\"acklund transformation that provides a connection
between the solutions of two sine-Gordon type equations. Finally, we give an
example of a harmonic map that is constructed by the use of a B\"acklund
transformation
The effect of sport tourists' travel style, destination and event choices, and motivation on their involvement in small-scale sports events
This exploratory study investigates whether and in which way motivation and destination, travel and event selection criteria influence sport tourists ’ involvement in small-scale events. Thus, a model was developed and tested at a small scale sport event in Sfendami, Greece. To test the six hypotheses of the proposed model a primary research study was conducted, which received responses from 181 participants. Implementation of the partial least square technique showed that changes in sport tourists’ travel style exert a direct and positive effect on involvement, as well as an indirect effect with motivation acting as a mediator; however, perception of destination and events characteristics does not exert a significant influence on participants’ involvement. Additionally, the model's ability to predict the motivational aspects of sport tourists’ participation was demonstrated. Multidimensional scaling was employed to assist with event service design and improve organizers’ capabilities to develop effective promotional strategies
3-D Registration on Carotid Artery imaging data: MRI for different timesteps
A common problem which is faced by the researchers when dealing with arterial
carotid imaging data is the registration of the geometrical structures between
different imaging modalities or different timesteps. The use of the "Patient
Position" DICOM field is not adequate to achieve accurate results due to the
fact that the carotid artery is a relatively small structure and even
imperceptible changes in patient position and/or direction make it difficult.
While there is a wide range of simple/advanced registration techniques in the
literature, there is a considerable number of studies which address the
geometrical structure of the carotid artery without using any registration
technique. On the other hand the existence of various registration techniques
prohibits an objective comparison of the results using different registration
techniques. In this paper we present a method for estimating the statistical
significance that the choice of the registration technique has on the carotid
geometry. One-Way Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) showed that the p-values were
<0.0001 for the distances of the lumen from the centerline for both right and
left carotids of the patient case that was studied.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, preprint submitted to IEEE-EMBC 201
Underlying motivating factors for movie-induced tourism among Emiratis and Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
This study explores the underlying motivating factors of Emiratis and Indian expatriates to visit destinations featured in movies. The results revealed a five-factor structure for Indians: novelty, fantasy-driven, personal connection, prestige and movie connection, vis-Ă -vis a three-factor structure for Emiratis: novelty, fantasy-driven and personal connection with the movie location. An analyses of variance analysis (ANOVA) showed significant differences in the individual mean scores of items, with the exception of novelty. Regarding gender, while no significant differences were found between the male and female Indian expatriate populations across all factors and underlying items, differences for some items were observed between male and female Emiratis, with male participants demonstrating higher motivation than female participants. These findings support the notion that the underlying factors influencing movie-induced tourism differ between cultures, while the influence of gender was found to be limited. Overall, the study enhances the understanding of practitioners and policymakers tasked with attracting tourists to movie destinations
Artificial Neural Networks for Solving Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
We present a method to solve initial and boundary value problems using
artificial neural networks. A trial solution of the differential equation is
written as a sum of two parts. The first part satisfies the boundary (or
initial) conditions and contains no adjustable parameters. The second part is
constructed so as not to affect the boundary conditions. This part involves a
feedforward neural network, containing adjustable parameters (the weights).
Hence by construction the boundary conditions are satisfied and the network is
trained to satisfy the differential equation. The applicability of this
approach ranges from single ODE's, to systems of coupled ODE's and also to
PDE's. In this article we illustrate the method by solving a variety of model
problems and present comparisons with finite elements for several cases of
partial differential equations.Comment: LAtex file, 26 pages, 21 figs, submitted to IEEE TN
Editorial: Investigating the Impact of Current Issues on Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality in Psychological Science
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