From brand experience to happiness: exploring the impacts on brand loyalty and price premium

Since the advent of the 21st century, the overemphasis on the utilitarian aspects of products has shifted the interest to the hedonic facets of consumption (Pine & Gilmore, 2011). Experience marketing presents a new approach to address this shift and to achieve long and lasting competitive advantages (Gentile, Spiller & Noci, 2007) and loyalty (Smilansky, 2009). Despite the increasing number and quality of articles addressing brand experience, this research area remains underdeveloped and not as well-established as other marketing constructs, such as consumer attitudes, consumer satisfaction and brand equity (Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2013). More recently, happiness has received attention from marketers, and studies examining happiness in consumer research have also begun to appear (Schmitt, Brakus & Zarantonello, 2015; Bhattacharjee & Mogilner, 2014; Schmitt, 2012; Bettingen & Luedicke, 2009). Further, in a world where social concerns are garnering more insistence, it is argued that brands should contribute to consumers’ happiness through experiences (Schmitt, Brakus & Zarantonello, 2014). The main aim of this study is to model the relationship between brand experience dimensions (sensory, emotional, relational and cognitive) on the one hand and happiness on the other hand through the three orientations to happiness (pleasure, meaning, and engagement) (Peterson, Park & Seligman, 2005), and to examine the influence of happiness on brand loyalty and price premium. Therefore, the current research represents a meeting point between brand experience and happiness—two unique areas in marketing and psychology that are being afforded more importance nowadays (Brakus, Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2012; Carter & Gilovich, 2010; Brakus, Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2009; Peterson, Park & Seligman, 2005). Figure 1 displays the conceptual framework and the suggested hypotheses of the study

Refugee women business mentors: new evidence for women’s empowerment.

With over 27.1 million refugees displaced globally across national borders as a result of protracted crises, conflict, and danger, resettlement in host nations remains challenging. One approach for empowering refugee women in their host nations is to enhance their economic participation through entrepreneurship. We contribute to the growing research on refugee women's entrepreneurship by focusing on refugee women entrepreneurs as mentors to other refugee women and exploring the impact of mentoring upon the empowerment of refugee women business mentors. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of being a mentor on the empowerment of refugee women entrepreneurs settled in the United Kingdom. As such, the research question asks to what extent does being a mentor influence the empowerment of refugee women entrepreneurs. The qualitative study involved six refugee women business mentors who co-designed and led an entrepreneurship training programme for refugee women in the United Kingdom and charted their empowerment journeys through four potential empowerment junctures within the mentoring process. First, the refugee woman as a mentee, then as a member of a mentoring group, thirdly as a facilitator in the mentoring process, and finally as a reflective agent. Our contribution to the women's entrepreneurship discipline lies in our finding that refugee women's engagement as mentors enhanced their empowerment in ways that their entrepreneurship alone cannot

A Multiple Dependent State Repetitive Sampling Plan Based on Performance Index for Lifetime Data with Type II Censoring

In this paper, a multiple dependent state repetitive (MDSR) sampling plan based on the lifetime performance index C-L is proposed for lifetime data with type II censoring when the lifetime of a product follows the exponential distribution or Weibull distribution. The optimal parameters of the proposed plan are determined by minimizing the average sample number while satisfying the producer's risk and consumer's risk at corresponding quality levels. Besides, the performance of the proposed plan is compared with that of the existing lifetime sampling plan in terms of the average sample number and operating characteristic curve. Two illustrative examples are given for the demonstration of the proposed plan.11Ysciescopu

Effects of ecological innovation, governance structure, and social development on the adoption of sustainable reporting in the global tourism industry

This study analyzes the effects of institutional factors on adopting sustainability reporting in the worldwide tourism industry. Initially, it compiled the data on the organizational environment, including environment, social and governance performance, and sector-level macroeconomic control variables such as economic growth, exports, and tourism receipts from 2001 to 2019. For empirical estimations, it applies multiple panel estimators; pooled ordinary least square (OLS), fixed effect, and random effects model, while dynamic Generalized Method of Moments is applied to address endogeneity issues in panel data. The results report that environmental, social, and governance indicators are essential for sustainable tourism. Mainly, ecological and social circumstances are more prominent than others. Further, ecological innovation is considered essential for sustainability in this sector. This research suggests an innovative theoretical approach that exposes the importance of sustainability reporting in the tourism industry. It also provides the guideline to the regulators that they should expand their focus on the regulations of sustainability reporting on the tourism industry

Evaluation of the Electronic Clinical Dementia Rating for dementia screening

IMPORTANCE: The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) is a well-validated instrument widely used to detect and stage dementia due to Alzheimer disease. The digital Electronic Clinical Dementia Rating (eCDR) can be remotely self-administered and automatically scored, with potential to facilitate efficient dementia screening and staging. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of the eCDR with the CDR and other in-clinic assessments for screening older adults for cognitive impairment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multisite, cross-sectional study used baseline data from a longitudinal, observational study from 2020 to 2023, including up to 3 years of follow-up. Participants were enrolled from 3 Alzheimer Disease Research Centers and the Brain Health Registry. Participants (aged ≥55 years, with a study partner, and no acute or unstable major medical conditions) were recruited during in-clinic visits or by automated emails. EXPOSURES: Participants completed the Uniform Data Set Version 3 (UDS; including the CDR) in supervised clinical research settings, and then completed the eCDR remotely, online and unsupervised, using their own device. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcomes were eCDR scores (item; categorical box and global; continuous box and global), CDR scores (item; categorical box and global), and UDS assessment scores. Associations were evaluated using linear and logistic regressions. RESULTS: A total of 3565 participants were contacted, and 288 were enrolled. Among 173 participants with item-level data (mean [SD] age, 70.84 [7.65] years; 76 women [43.9%]), eCDR to CDR concordance was 90% or higher for 33 items (63%) and 70% to 89% for 13 items (25%). Box (domain) level concordance ranged from 80% (memory) to 99% (personal care). The global score concordance rate was 81%. κ statistics were fair to moderate. Among 206 participants with box and global scores (mean [SD] age, 71.34 [7.68] years; 95 women [46.1%]), eCDR continuous global score was associated with CDR global (categorical) score with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.70-0.87). Correlations between eCDR and in-clinic UDS assessments were similar to those between CDR sum of box scores and the same in-clinic assessments. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that the eCDR is valid and has potential use for screening and assessment of older adults for cognitive and functional decline related to Alzheimer disease. Instrument optimization and validation in diverse cohorts in remote settings are crucial for evaluating scalability and eCDR utility in clinical research, trials, and health care settings

Oxidation Pond for Municipal Wastewater Treatment

This literature review examines process, design, and cost issues related to using oxidation ponds for wastewater treatment. Many of the topics have applications at either full scale or in isolation for laboratory analysis. Oxidation ponds have many advantages. The oxidation pond treatment process is natural, because it uses microorganisms such as bacteria and algae. This makes the method of treatment cost-effective in terms of its construction, maintenance, and energy requirements. Oxidation ponds are also productive, because it generates effluent that can be used for other applications. Finally, oxidation ponds can be considered a sustainable method for treatment of wastewater