322 research outputs found
Neural correlates for price involvement in purchase decisions with regards to fast-moving-consumer-goods
Some customers are loyal to their favorite brands, others easily switch between them. A new technique is available to assess differences in brand related behavior. We assume that price and brand-conscious participants show nearly the same activations in emotionally associated brain areas. Price-conscious participants also show an activation of cognitive associated regions. We employed functional magnet resonance imaging during a preference judgment task for fast mov-ing consumer goods. We discuss the results with differences in product and price specific in-volvement and advance that involvement of price-conscious participants is higher because of a higher price interest.internet Neuro market research, Involvement, Price Interest, Reward Circuitry
Neural correlates for price involvement in purchase decisions with regards to fast-moving-consumer-goods
Some customers are loyal to their favorite brands, others easily switch between them. A new technique is available to assess differences in brand related behavior. We assume that price and brand-conscious participants show nearly the same activations in emotionally associated brain areas. Price-conscious participants also show an activation of cognitive associated regions. We employed functional magnet resonance imaging during a preference judgment task for fast mov-ing consumer goods. We discuss the results with differences in product and price specific in-volvement and advance that involvement of price-conscious participants is higher because of a higher price interest
Complementary algorithms for graphs and percolation
A pair of complementary algorithms are presented. One of the pair is a fast
method for connecting graphs with an edge. The other is a fast method for
removing edges from a graph. Both algorithms employ the same tree based graph
representation and so, in concert, can arbitrarily modify any graph. Since the
clusters of a percolation model may be described as simple connected graphs, an
efficient Monte Carlo scheme can be constructed that uses the algorithms to
sweep the occupation probability back and forth between two turning points.
This approach concentrates computational sampling time within a region of
interest. A high precision value of pc = 0.59274603(9) was thus obtained, by
Mersenne twister, for the two dimensional square site percolation threshold.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, poster version presented at statphys23 (2007
Approximating the Minimum Equivalent Digraph
The MEG (minimum equivalent graph) problem is, given a directed graph, to
find a small subset of the edges that maintains all reachability relations
between nodes. The problem is NP-hard. This paper gives an approximation
algorithm with performance guarantee of pi^2/6 ~ 1.64. The algorithm and its
analysis are based on the simple idea of contracting long cycles. (This result
is strengthened slightly in ``On strongly connected digraphs with bounded cycle
length'' (1996).) The analysis applies directly to 2-Exchange, a simple ``local
improvement'' algorithm, showing that its performance guarantee is 1.75.Comment: conference version in ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms
(1994
Pseudorandom Number Generators and the Square Site Percolation Threshold
A select collection of pseudorandom number generators is applied to a Monte
Carlo study of the two dimensional square site percolation model. A generator
suitable for high precision calculations is identified from an application
specific test of randomness. After extended computation and analysis, an
ostensibly reliable value of pc = 0.59274598(4) is obtained for the percolation
threshold.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Bayesian Evidence and Model Selection
In this paper we review the concepts of Bayesian evidence and Bayes factors,
also known as log odds ratios, and their application to model selection. The
theory is presented along with a discussion of analytic, approximate and
numerical techniques. Specific attention is paid to the Laplace approximation,
variational Bayes, importance sampling, thermodynamic integration, and nested
sampling and its recent variants. Analogies to statistical physics, from which
many of these techniques originate, are discussed in order to provide readers
with deeper insights that may lead to new techniques. The utility of Bayesian
model testing in the domain sciences is demonstrated by presenting four
specific practical examples considered within the context of signal processing
in the areas of signal detection, sensor characterization, scientific model
selection and molecular force characterization.Comment: Arxiv version consists of 58 pages and 9 figures. Features theory,
numerical methods and four application
Induction Heating in Underwater Wet WeldingâThermal Input, Microstructure and Diffusible Hydrogen Content
Hydrogen-assisted cracking is a major challenge in underwater wet welding of high-strength steels with a carbon equivalent larger than 0.4 wt%. In dry welding processes, post-weld heat treatment can reduce the hardness in the heat-affected zone while simultaneously lowering the diffusible hydrogen concentration in the weldment. However, common heat treatments known from atmospheric welding under dry conditions are non-applicable in the wet environment. Induction heating could make a difference since the heat is generated directly in the workpiece. In the present study, the thermal input by using a commercial induction heating system under water was characterized first. Then, the effect of an additional induction heating was examined with respect to the resulting microstructure of weldments on structural steels with different strength and composition. Moreover, the diffusible hydrogen content in weld metal was analyzed by the carrier gas hot extraction method. Post-weld induction heating could reduce the diffusible hydrogen content by â34% in 30 m simulated water depth
Random Numbers from Astronomical Imaging
This article describes a method to turn astronomical imaging into a random
number generator by using the positions of incident cosmic rays and hot pixels
to generate bit streams. We subject the resultant bit streams to a battery of
standard benchmark statistical tests for randomness and show that these bit
streams are statistically the same as a perfect random bit stream. Strategies
for improving and building upon this method are outlined.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
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