Shall we adopt the information about firms in facebook?

The adoption of information in Facebook is a subject of growing interest for both researchers and managers. Nevertheless, research in this area is still sparse and even core issues, such as the kinds of information available and how that information influence business relationships and partnerships, are not yet fully defined. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyse factors that lead consumers to adopt the information about products/brands. Findings show that timeliness, trustworthiness and importance of the SNS are the strongest drivers to information adoption.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A baba

Debreczeni Városi Színház. Péntek, 1901. évi január hó 4-én.Debreceni Egyetem Egyetemi és Nemzeti Könyvtá

Implications of surface noise for the motional coherence of trapped ions

Electric noise from metallic surfaces is a major obstacle towards quantum applications with trapped ions due to motional heating of the ions. Here, we discuss how the same noise source can also lead to pure dephasing of motional quantum states. The mechanism is particularly relevant at small ion-surface distances, thus imposing a new constraint on trap miniaturization. By means of a free induction decay experiment, we measure the dephasing time of the motion of a single ion trapped 50~$\mu$m above a Cu-Al surface. From the dephasing times we extract the integrated noise below the secular frequency of the ion. We find that none of the most commonly discussed surface noise models for ion traps describes both, the observed heating as well as the measured dephasing, satisfactorily. Thus, our measurements provide a benchmark for future models for the electric noise emitted by metallic surfaces.Comment: (5 pages, 4 figures

Effects of energy dependence in the quasiparticle density of states on far-infrared absorption in the pseudogap state

We derive a relationship between the optical conductivity scattering rate 1/\tau(\omega) and the electron-boson spectral function \alpha^2F(\Omega) valid for the case when the electronic density of states, N(\epsilon), cannot be taken as constant in the vicinity of the Fermi level. This relationship turned out to be useful for analyzing the experimental data in the pseudogap state of cuprate superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX4, 1 EPS figure; final version published in PR

Association of mid-infrared solar plages with Calcium K line emissions and magnetic structures

Solar mid-IR observations in the 8-15 micrometer band continuum with moderate angular resolution (18 arcseconds) reveal the presence of bright structures surrounding sunspots. These plage-like features present good association with calcium CaII K1v plages and active region magnetograms. We describe a new optical setup with reflecting mirrors to produce solar images on the focal plane array of uncooled bolometers of a commercial camera preceded by germanium optics. First observations of a sunspot on September 11, 2006 show a mid-IR continuum plage exhibiting spatial distribution closely associated with CaII K1v line plage and magnetogram structures. The mid-IR continuum bright plage is about 140 K hotter than the neighboring photospheric regions, consistent with hot plasma confined by the magnetic spatial structures in and above the active regionComment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by PAS

Advertising and country-of-origin images as sources of brand equity and the moderating role of brand typicality

Purpose: This research has two main purposes: (i) to explore the influence of an individual’s attitude towards advertising and country-of-origin images (brand origin and country of manufacture) on brand equity creation; and (ii) to investigate how brand typicality moderates the effect of brand origin macro image on perceived quality. Design/methodology/approach: The data to test the hypotheses were elicited from a consumer survey in the Greater Lisbon area (305 Portuguese consumers). The product category of smartphones was selected for two main reasons: (i) it has not been extensively analysed in previous studies on the subject of brand equity; (ii) it is a device well-known to Portuguese consumers (particularly in the Greater Lisbon area). Three criteria guided the selection of the brands. The first criterion is to select brands which are well-known to consumers. The second is to choose brands with a distinctive brand origin and a main country of manufacture. The third and final criterion is to consider brands in different positions in the brand ranking. In order to estimate structural path coefficients, R2, Q2, and Bootstrap techniques, the current study employs the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. Findings: The results show that individuals' attitudes towards advertisements have a positive impact on brand equity creation, whereas those towards the country of manufacture do not significantly influence brand equity creation. Attitudes towards brand origin only have a partial influence. Brand typicality, however, exerts a significant direct effect on brand equity dimensions and, hence, does not have a significant moderating effect. Research limitations/implications: The authors suggest analysing the influence of country-of-origin on dimensions of brand equity considering consumer segmentation, types of industry and a range of brands, as well as different levels of consumer involvement with the product category. Several brands with the same country-of-origin should be analysed in order to understand whether the effects on brand equity depend on the product category. Although the current study is a first attempt to combine the potential effect of individuals' attitudes towards advertisements and country-of-origin on creating brand equity, further research should examine additional potential antecedents of brand equity. Finally, cross-cultural studies are recommended. Practical implications: Regarding managerial implications, three main aspects should be taken into consideration. First, creative, original and different advertising strategies are more effective than the country-of-origin in creating brand equity and, consequently, in building loyalty among smartphone consumers. Secondly, consumers do not tend to care about the place, country or region where the smartphone is produced, but the image of the country where the brand originated may be important. Finally, managers should be aware that, at least, in the smartphone sector, the way consumers create favourable associations with the brand and typicality, trust the company and consider it good value for money, are more effective in building brand loyalty than the perceived quality of the product/brand. Social implications: Relating to the interrelationship between country-of-origin and brand equity, the results of the current study prove that the effects of country-of-origin are category specific. Therefore, more studies focused on other contexts of products and brands are still needed to know in more detail how country-of-origin exerts an influence on brand equity dimensions. Even within a product category context, the results can depend on individual brands being analysed. Originality/value: To the knowledge of the authors, this study is the first to investigate the dual (simultaneous) effect of individuals’ attitudes towards advertisements and country-of-origin images on brand equity dimensions. Adding to the originality of the paper, the category of smartphone with respect to brand equity has not been extensively analysed in previous studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Love and respect in the soccer industry

WOS:000427297600234 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio