A Comparison of Information Technology Mediated Customer Services Between the U.S. and China

Information technology mediated customer service is a reality of the 21st century. More and more companies have moved their customer services from in store and in person to online through computer or mobile devices. Using 442 responses collected from one USA university (234 responses) and two Chinese universities (208 responses), the study investigates customer preferences over two service delivery models (either in store or online) on five types of purchasing (retail, eating-out, banking, travel and entertainment) and their perception difference in customer service quality between those two delivery models in the U.S. and China. The results show that the majority of the U.S. and Chinese students prefer in-store and in person for eating out and prefer computer/mobile devices for ordering tickets for travel and entertainment. In addition, more than half of the U.S. students prefer in person services for retail and banking, and this number reduces to 40% for Chinese students. In most customer service quality measurements, the results also show that Chinese students give higher ratings for ordering through a computer/mobile device than ordering in store, indicating ordering through computer/mobile devices has become more acceptable in China and has been perceived as having better customer services quality than in-store ordering

Henri Temianka (Concert Programs)

This collection contains material pertaining to the life, career, and activities of Henri Temianka, violin virtuoso, conductor, music teacher, and author. Materials include correspondence, concert programs and flyers, music scores, photographs, and books.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/temianka_ephemera/1017/thumbnail.jp

Therapy with Mental Health Providers: A Study of Self-Stigma and Help Seeking Behaviors

We live in a society where stigma against people with mental illness exists. To make matters more complicated, our society devalues people who ask for help, labeling them as unstable or insecure. Those who do ask for help often face the most stigma related discrimination within the health care setting. In fact, some studies have shown that mental health providers frequently judge people chronic mental illness negatively. As a result, many people with mental illness chose to not seek help. For mental health providers, therapy is often seen as a desirable learning experience at the beginning of their careers, to work through personal issues that may interfere with doing work in the field and grow professionally. Yet, there is little research on providers seeking therapy at other stages in their careers. The idea that therapy is both valued by some as an educational experience and devalued by society raises questions about how mental health providers internalize these contradictory beliefs throughout their careers. This study asked mental health providers about their experiences with therapy and to complete the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale created by Dr. David Vogel (2006) to further explore the relationship between self-stigma and therapy for mental health providers

Water quality benefits of wetlands under historic and potential future climate in the Sprague River watershed, Oregon

2013 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.An understanding of potential climate-induced changes in stream sediment and nutrient fluxes is important for the long-term success of regulatory programs such as the Total Maximum Daily Load and sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. Such changes are still not well characterized, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, although shifts in stream flow associated with warming temperatures have already been observed in the region. Conservation practices such as wetland restoration are often regarded as important in watershed-scale management of water quality. However, the potential of wetland gains or losses to alter future stream water quality conditions has received relatively little study. The primary goal of this research is to assess the basin-scale regulation of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus provided by variable wetland extent under current climate and potential mid-21st century climate. Specific objectives of the study are (1) to evaluate the effects of present-day wetlands on stream water quality under current climate; (2) to identify direction and magnitude of potential changes in stream flow, sediment, and nutrient loads under present-day wetlands and potential future climate; and (3) to determine how wetland gain or loss might exacerbate or ameliorate climate-induced changes in future water quality. These objectives are investigated with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model in the Sprague River watershed in southern Oregon, United States, which has been historically snowmelt dominated and where elevated nutrient loads in the 20th century have contributed to decline of fish species downstream. Results suggest that present-day wetlands under current climate may result in substantially lower nitrogen and phosphorus loads at the Sprague River watershed outlet. SWAT simulations forced with precipitation and temperature from six General Circulation Model (GCM) derived climate projections for 2030-2059 suggest uncertainty in magnitude and direction of both precipitation and stream flow changes on an average annual and monthly basis. Under present-day wetland extent, long-term average annual runoff for 2030-2059 decreased by 4% under one projection relative to a baseline period of 1954-2005, but increased by 6-31% under other projections. However, change in future annual runoff was statistically different from baseline for only two of six climate projections. Late spring and summer stream flow was lower in all simulations but significantly different from baseline in only some cases; for simulations driven with wetter future climate projections average monthly flow increased significantly from approximately October through March, and peak average monthly flow increased from 3-36% but timing did not alter. A simulation driven with a drier future climate projection showed decreases in average flow for most months, but was not significantly different from baseline. Simulated average annual sediment and nutrient loads generally tracked flow seasonality and decreased by 6% (sediment), 8% (TN) and 11% (TP) under one projection, but increased from 7-52% (sediment), 4-37% (TN) and 1-38% (TP) under other projections. Findings suggest that nutrient loads at the Sprague River outlet under future climate and scenarios of wetland change could vary significantly from baseline, or could be similar to the historic period. However, a threshold of wetland loss may exist beyond which large increases in nutrient loads could occur, and wetland gain might do little to ameliorate climate impacts to stream water quality in the Sprague River watershed

Flight deck engine advisor

The focus of this project is on alerting pilots to impending events in such a way as to provide the additional time required for the crew to make critical decisions concerning non-normal operations. The project addresses pilots' need for support in diagnosis and trend monitoring of faults as they affect decisions that must be made within the context of the current flight. Monitoring and diagnostic modules developed under the NASA Faultfinder program were restructured and enhanced using input data from an engine model and real engine fault data. Fault scenarios were prepared to support knowledge base development activities on the MONITAUR and DRAPhyS modules of Faultfinder. An analysis of the information requirements for fault management was included in each scenario. A conceptual framework was developed for systematic evaluation of the impact of context variables on pilot action alternatives as a function of event/fault combinations

Spurious symptom reduction in fault monitoring

Previous work accomplished on NASA's Faultfinder concept suggested that the concept was jeopardized by spurious symptoms generated in the monitoring phase. The purpose of the present research was to investigate methods of reducing the generation of spurious symptoms during in-flight engine monitoring. Two approaches for reducing spurious symptoms were investigated. A knowledge base of rules was constructed to filter known spurious symptoms and a neural net was developed to improve the expectation values used in the monitoring process. Both approaches were effective in reducing spurious symptoms individually. However, the best results were obtained using a hybrid system combining the neural net capability to improve expectation values with the rule-based logic filter

Business visualization: More I effective management tools for observation, dynamic measurement and control

Increased global competition and continual pressure to produce more work with fewer resources has become the hallmark of the 1990s. Businesses are taking steps to meet these new challenges by downsizing for better control, using networks (Valovic, 1992) and data communications for rapid response, and purchasing personal tools such as word processing programs, spreadsheets, graphics and desktop publishing programs for an increase of manager productivity. But are these steps sufficient? In order to be more profitable in today\u27s fast-paced and ever-changing environment, business managers at the strategic, tactical and operational levels must be able to visualize their operating data in a dynamic way. Business Visualization (BV) can be defined as the process of using computer based information systems to put business transactions and performance into a dynamic visible form that is readily understood by users (Marcus and van Dam, 1991). Our proposal is that business transactions and performance can and should be measured in a continuous rather than discrete manner