Social Listening Practices towards Social CRM and Customer Relationship Performance in the Fast-Food Industry in Sri Lanka

This study is carried out to identify the impact of social listening practices on social CRM and customer relationship performance in the fast-food industry in Sri Lanka. The target population for this study included the internal stakeholders from the organizations in the fast-food industry located in the Colombo metropolitan area which uses social media. The data was obtained via a structured questionnaire using a sample of 150 registered organizations. The time horizon was cross-sectional, and data were analyzed through both descriptive and inferential analysis. Based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the Capabilities Based Perspective, especially the dynamic capabilities theories, the conceptual model of this research study was developed by expecting that, organizations in the fast-food industry in Sri Lanka can exploit capabilities which are social listening practices and social CRM capabilities and resources which are customer relationship orientation and social media technology usage to obtain higher customer relationship performance.  Further, gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by effectively utilizing such resources. This is one of the few papers to exclusively focus on the impact of social listening practices on social CRM and customer relationship performance in the fast-food industry in Sri Lanka. The findings of this study have important implications for the fast-food industry in Sri Lanka. Keywords: Customer Relationship Management (CRM); Customer Relationship Orientation (CRO); Customer Relationship Performance; Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) capabilities; Social media technology; Fast-food industr

Practices Followed to Manage Plastic Waste including Shopping Bags and Lunch Sheets in Sri Lanka: A Preliminary Study in Western Province

Although plastics have made the workings of our lives easier, it has created many different environmental and social problems due to poor management practices. The problem of plastic waste has been exacerbated due to various regulations that have been introduced from time to time for the sustainable management of plastic waste. However, those are not properly implemented. The main objective of this study is to examine the best practices in Sri Lanka for the management of plastic waste, including shopping bags and lunch sheets (PBLS). Further, the study illustrated the prevailing and possible alternatives for polythene products in Sri Lanka and weaknesses in the identification of alternatives. The study was conducted in the Western Province covering three districts: Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara. Data collection was conducted through different structured questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews and a major workshop from a sample of 1314 respondents. Results revealed that 59% of households in the survey confirm that they were discouraged from switching to alternatives as a result of freely available low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags in the market. Also, 67% of the households and 74% of the supermarkets pointed out that, the current polythene bag usage was higher prior to the ban, due to the poor strength and quality of the bag. Further, the study reveals that ‘Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)’ has the potential to influence material management systems and prevent pollution and has been successfully tested in many countries around the world. DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v07i01.0

Viral-mediated oncolysis is the most critical factor in the late-phase of the tumor regression process upon vaccinia virus infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In principle, the elimination of malignancies by oncolytic virotherapy could proceed by different mechanisms - e.g. tumor cell specific oncolysis, destruction of the tumor vasculature or an anti-tumoral immunological response. In this study, we analyzed the contribution of these factors to elucidate the responsible mechanism for regression of human breast tumor xenografts upon colonization with an attenuated vaccinia virus (VACV).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Breast tumor xenografts were analyzed 6 weeks post VACV infection (p.i.; regression phase) by immunohistochemistry and mouse-specific expression arrays. Viral-mediated oncolysis was determined by tumor growth analysis combined with microscopic studies of intratumoral virus distribution. The tumor vasculature was morphologically characterized by diameter and density measurements and vessel functionality was analyzed by lectin perfusion and extravasation studies. Immunological aspects of viral-mediated tumor regression were studied in either immune-deficient mouse strains (T-, B-, NK-cell-deficient) or upon cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression (MHCII⁺-cell depletion) in nude mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Late stage VACV-infected breast tumors showed extensive necrosis, which was highly specific to cancer cells. The tumor vasculature in infected tumor areas remained functional and the endothelial cells were not infected. However, viral colonization triggers hyperpermeability and dilatation of the tumor vessels, which resembled the activated endothelium in wounded tissue. Moreover, we demonstrated an increased expression of genes involved in leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in VACV-infected tumors, which orchestrate perivascular inflammatory cell infiltration. The immunohistochemical analysis of infected tumors displayed intense infiltration of MHCII-positive cells and colocalization of tumor vessels with MHCII⁺/CD31⁺vascular leukocytes. However, GI-101A tumor growth analysis upon VACV-infection in either immunosuppressed nude mice (MHCII⁺-cell depleted) or in immune-deficient mouse strains (T-, B-, NK-cell-deficient) revealed that neither MHCII-positive immune cells nor T-, B-, or NK cells contributed significantly to VACV-mediated tumor regression. In contrast, tumors of immunosuppressed mice showed enhanced viral spreading and tumor necrosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, these results indicate that VACV-mediated oncolysis is the primary mechanism of tumor shrinkage in the late regression phase. Neither the destruction of the tumor vasculature nor the massive VACV-mediated intratumoral inflammation was a prerequisite for tumor regression. We propose that approaches to enhance viral replication and spread within the tumor microenvironment should improve therapeutical outcome.</p

First measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters using neutrinos and antineutrinos by NOvA

The NOvA experiment has seen a 4.4σ signal of ν̄e appearance in a 2 GeV ν̄μ beam at a distance of 810 km. Using 12.33×1020 protons on target delivered to the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beamline, the experiment recorded 27 ν̄μ→ν̄e candidates with a background of 10.3 and 102 ν̄μ→ν̄μ candidates. This new antineutrino data are combined with neutrino data to measure the parameters |Δm322|=2.48-0.06+0.11×10-3 eV2/c4 and sin2θ23 in the ranges from (0.53-0.60) and (0.45-0.48) in the normal neutrino mass hierarchy. The data exclude most values near δCP=π/2 for the inverted mass hierarchy by more than 3σ and favor the normal neutrino mass hierarchy by 1.9σ and θ23 values in the upper octant by 1.6σ

New constraints on oscillation parameters from Ve appearance and Vu disappearance in the NOvA experiment

For full abstract please refer to Official URL link”, or if there is a document attached which contains the abstract, “For full abstract please refer to attached documen

Search for multimessenger signals in NOvA coincident with LIGO/Virgo detections

Using the NOvA neutrino detectors, a broad search has been performed for any signal coincident with 28 gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration between September 2015 and July 2019. For all of these events, NOvA is sensitive to possible arrival of neutrinos and cosmic rays of GeV and higher energies. For five (seven) events in the NOvA Far (Near) Detector, timely public alerts from the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration allowed recording of MeV-scale events. No signal candidates were found

Search for multimessenger signals in NOvA coincident with LIGO/Virgo detections

Using the NOvA neutrino detectors, a broad search has been performed for any signal coincident with 28 gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration between September 2015 and July 2019. For all of these events, NOvA is sensitive to possible arrival of neutrinos and cosmic rays of GeV and higher energies. For five (seven) events in the NOvA Far (Near) Detector, timely public alerts from the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration allowed recording of MeV-scale events. No signal candidates were found

Supernova neutrino detection in NOvA

The NOvA long-baseline neutrino experiment uses a pair of large, segmented, liquid-scintillator calorimeters to study neutrino oscillations, using GeV-scale neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. These detectors are also sensitive to the flux of neutrinos which are emitted during a core-collapse supernova through inverse beta decay interactions on carbon at energies of O(10 MeV). This signature provides a means to study the dominant mode of energy release for a core-collapse supernova occurring in our galaxy. We describe the data-driven software trigger system developed and employed by the NOvA experiment to identify and record neutrino data from nearby galactic supernovae. This technique has been used by NOvA to self-trigger on potential core-collapse supernovae in our galaxy, with an estimated sensitivity reaching out to 10 kpc distance while achieving a detection efficiency of 23% to 49% for supernovae from progenitor stars with masses of 9.6 M_⊙ to 27 M_⊙, respectively