Too old to choose? the effects of age and age related constructs on consumer decision making

Aging of societies is a major challenge to academic research as well as to management. The unstoppable trend of an aging society in most western societies offers opportunities and challenges at the same time. This paper sheds light on the impact of age as well as age-related constructs on relevant consumer attitudes and behavior. More precisely, the empirical study, conducted in the market for cars, examining the relationships between four distinct age constructs and assesses the impact of these age constructs on information gathering, a consumer's evoked set, and on brand loyalty

FLEdge: Benchmarking Federated Machine Learning Applications in Edge Computing Systems

Federated Machine Learning (FL) has received considerable attention in recent years. FL benchmarks are predominantly explored in either simulated systems or data center environments, neglecting the setups of real-world systems, which are often closely linked to edge computing. We close this research gap by introducing FLEdge, a benchmark targeting FL workloads in edge computing systems. We systematically study hardware heterogeneity, energy efficiency during training, and the effect of various differential privacy levels on training in FL systems. To make this benchmark applicable to real-world scenarios, we evaluate the impact of client dropouts on state-of-the-art FL strategies with failure rates as high as 50%. FLEdge provides new insights, such as that training state-of-the-art FL workloads on older GPU-accelerated embedded devices is up to 3x more energy efficient than on modern server-grade GPUs.Comment: Preprint. Under Revie

Internet für Jung und Alt

Das Internet ist aus vielen Bereichen unseres täglichen Lebens kaum mehr wegzudenken. Menschen jeder Generation nutzen das Internet. Vor allem die Anzahl der älteren NutzerInnen nimmt ständig zu. Die Frage die sich dabei aufdrängt ist: Gibt es Unterschiede wozu und warum Personen verschiedenen Alters das Internet verwenden? Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist, Unterschiede in zwei Altersgruppen von InternetnutzerInnen zu untersuchen. 347 Personen zwischen 55 und 91 Jahren wurden mit 372 Personen zwischen 17 und 30 Jahren verglichen. Die beiden Stichproben wurden im Rahmen von zwei Online-Untersuchungen erhoben. Die TeilnehmerInnen wurden zu Ihrer Internetnutzung, Lebensqualität und den psychischen Bedürfnissen befragt. Die Lebensqualität wurde mit dem WHOQOL-BREF und die psychischen Bedürfnis nach Autonomie, Kompetenz und Verbundenheit mit der Basic Psychological Needs Scale von Deci und Ryan (2000) erhoben. Die Berechnungen der Unterschiede wurden mit Kruskal-Wallis-Tests, U-Tests nach Mann und Whitney sowie Chi-Quadrat-Tests durchgeführt. Für die Zusammenhangsberechnungen wurden Korrelationen nach Spearman herangezogen. Es ergaben sich signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Altersgruppen bezüglich der Häufigkeit von Internetnutzung und Nutzungsdauer pro Internetsitzung. Weiters konnten Unterschiede bezüglich der Lebensqualität und in den Bedürfnissen zwischen den Altersgruppen beschrieben werden. Es bestehen nur geringe Zusammenhänge zwischen Internet-Aktivitäten und den Bedürfnisskalen sowie Internet-Aktivitäten und Lebensqualität. In beiden Altersgruppen wird die Frage, ob die Nutzung des Internets die eigene Lebensqualität verbessert, positiv beantwortet

Preparation of Free-Surface Hyperbolic Water Vortices

Free surface vortices are present in industry in flow regulation, energy dissipation, and energy generation. Although investigated extensively, detailed experimental data regarding free surface vortices are lacking, particularly regarding the turbulence at the interface. The present paper reports on a special type of free surface vortex first proposed by Walter Schauberger in the 1960s that has an oxygen volumetric mass transfer coefficient exceeding the value of similar systems. This special type of vortex forms in a hyperbolic funnel. Different stable regimes can be stabilized with different hydraulic characteristics. Other advantages of this technology are its energy efficiency, simple design, and scalability. The flow in this hyperbolic funnel is characterized by strong turbulence and an increased surface area of the air-water interface. The local pressure strongly varies along the surface, resulting in a pronounced wavey air-water boundary layer. Due to the helical flow, these perturbations move inward, pulling the boundary layer with them. The resultant pressure gradient draws a certain air volume into the water vortex. The construction of the basic hyperbolic funnel setup and operational examples, including high-speed visualization for three different stable regimes, are presented in this work.</p

Der Einfluss von Preiserhöhungen auf Konsumenteneinstellungen:Eine Experimentelle Studie

Unternehmen neigen vor allem in gesättigten Märkten zum mengenorientierten Preiswett-bewerb und setzen Preissenkungen vorzugsweise zur Profilierung ein, wodurch die Preiskriege und der Verdrängungswettbewerb weiterhin zunehmen. Preis- und Wertschöpfungsspielräume werden trotz der hohen Gewinnpotenziale bislang von Unternehmen nicht hinreichend ausgenutzt, da negative Reaktionen von Seiten der Konsumenten befürchtet werden. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es das Ziel dieses Beitrags, zu untersuchen, wie ein Preisanstieg durch geeignete kommunikationspolitische Maßnahmen begleitet werden kann, um eine negative Beeinflussung der wahrgenommenen Preisfairness zu minimieren

The impact of unhealthy food sponsorship vs. pro-health sponsorship models on young adults' food preferences: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Unhealthy foods are promoted heavily, through food company sponsorship of elite sport, resulting in extensive exposure among young adults who are avid sport spectators. This study explores the effects of sponsorship of an elite sporting event by: (A) non-food brands (control), (B) unhealthy food brands, (C) healthier food brands, or (D) an obesity prevention public health campaign on young adults' brand awareness, attitudes, image perceptions, event-sponsor fit perceptions, and preference for food sponsors' products. Methods: A between-subjects web-based experiment was conducted, consisting of four sponsorship conditions (A through D) featuring three product categories within each condition. Australian adults (N = 1132) aged 18-24 years were recruited via a national online panel. Participants viewed promotional videos and news stories about an upcoming international, multi-sport event (with sponsor content edited to reflect each condition), completed a distractor task, and then answered questions assessing the response variables. Regression analyses were conducted to test for differences by sponsorship condition on the respective outcome measures. Results: Compared to the control condition, unhealthy food sponsorship promoted higher awareness of, and more favourable attitudes towards, unhealthy food sponsor brands. Unhealthy food sponsorship also led to greater perceived event-sponsor fit and transfer of perceptions of the sporting event to the unhealthy food sponsor brands, relative to the control group. Exposure to sponsorship for healthier foods produced similar sponsorship effects for healthier food sponsor brands, as well as prompting a significant increase in the proportion of young adults showing a preference for these products. Obesity prevention campaign sponsorship promoted higher campaign awareness and perceived event-sponsor fit, but did not impact food attitudes or preference for unhealthy versus healthier foods. Conclusion: Findings suggest that restricting elite sport sponsorship to healthier food brands that meet set nutritional criteria could help promote healthier eating among young adults. Sporting organisations should be encouraged to seek sponsorship from companies who produce healthier food brands and government-funded social marketing campaigns. Clinical trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) registration number ACTRN12618000368235. Retrospectively registered 12 March 2018