In Mobile We Trust: How Mobile Reviews Can Overcome Consumer Distrust of User-Generated Reviews

In the context of user-generated content (UGC), mobile devices have made it easier for consumers to review products and services in a timely manner. In practice, some UGC sites differentiate between reviews posted from mobile versus non-mobile devices. For example, TripAdvisor uses a “via mobile” label to denote reviews from mobile devices. However, the extent to which such information impacts consumers is unknown. To address this gap, the authors use data from TripAdvisor and five experiments to examine how mobile impacts consumers’ perceptions of UGC reviews and their purchase intentions. They find that knowing that a review was posted from a mobile device leads consumers to perceive the review as more accurate, and, importantly, have higher purchase intentions. Interestingly, consumers assume that mobile reviews are more accurate due to the belief that writing reviews via mobile requires more effort and equate effort with the reviewer being more trustworthy. These effects are greater among skeptical consumers, implying that labeling of mobile reviews is a practice that can help overcome latent consumer distrust in UGC

When posting aspirational products in social media lowers interest in luxury: relationships between self-concept, social signaling, and ownership

Consumers often use luxury products to signal their aspirational selves. In social media, consumers can publicly affiliate with such products and brands virtually without having to physically own them. This research demonstrates how social media can enable consumers to engage with aspirational products in ways that facilitate social signaling of ideal (as opposed to actual) self-concepts, and instill a sense of psychological ownership for the posted-about products. Ironically, as a consequence of this, consumers’ interest in luxury goods, indicated by wanting to purchase them or to visit high-end retailers, decreases. The authors find this with correlational data and five experiments. Further, this reduction in interest in actually owning luxury goods after posting about aspirational products in social media is found to arise only when the social media-based product affiliation is public and posting instill a strong sense of psychological ownership for the products

Cholesterol Overload: Contact Sites to the Rescue!

Delivery of low-density lipoprotein-derived cholesterol to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is essential for cholesterol homeostasis, yet the mechanism of this transport has largely remained elusive. Two recent reports shed some light on this process, uncovering a role for Niemann Pick type-C1 protein (NPC1) in the formation of membrane contact sites (MCS) between late endosomes (LE)/lysosomes (Lys) and the ER. Both studies identified a loss of MCS in cells lacking functional NPC1, where cholesterol accumulates in late endocytic organelles. Remarkably, and taking different approaches, both studies have made a striking observation that expansion of LE/Lys-ER MCS can rescue the cholesterol accumulation phenotype in NPC1 mutant or deficient cells. In both cases, the cholesterol was shown to be transported to the ER, demonstrating the importance of ER-LE/Lys contact sites in the direct transport of low-density lipoprotein-derived cholesterol to the ER

Development of a Fault Tolerant Actuation System- Modelling and Validation

It is generally accepted that incorporating so-called ‘smart’ control and monitoring technologies can improve the reliability and availability of industrial systems. ‘Smart’ control can be defined as making full use of all the measured, inferred and a priori information that is available from a system. In general terms, the idea is that system level knowledge can be developed and used to check sensors for problems, to detect and identify faults as they develop and, where appropriate, to re-configure the controller(s) to accommodate plant or sensor faults until repair can be effected. To-date success, in terms of real industrial applications of the more advanced techniques, has been limited. Hence, demonstrators are needed. The work described in this paper is part of an on going project aimed at demonstrating these “smart” concepts on a Stewart-Gough platform comprising six pneumatic actuators. To-date the research has focussed on specifying the demonstrator system and developing and validating models of the pneumatic system. This is probably the most important step in designing a fault tolerant actuation system – as the model is the foundation of the other algorithms

Model-based fault detection and control design – applied to a pneumatic Stewart-Gough platform

This paper discusses research carried-out on the development and validation of a model-based fault detection and isolation (FDI) system for a pneumatically actuated Stewart platform arrangement. The FDI scheme is based on combining parity-equation and Kalman filter based techniques. The parity and Kalman filter equations are formulated and used to generate residuals that, in turn, are analysed to determine whether faults are present in the system. Details of the design process are given and the experimental results are compared. The results demonstrate that both approaches when combined can successfully detect and isolate and in some cases accommodate faults associated with the sensors, actuators (servo-valves and piping) and the pneumatic system itself. The work is part of a BAE SYSTEMS’ sponsored project to demonstrate advanced control and diagnosis concepts on an industrial application

Comparison of two model based residual generation schemes for the purpose of fault detection and isolation applied to a pneumatic actuation system

This paper discusses research carried-out on the development and validation (on a real plant) of a parity-equation and Kalman filter based fault detection and isolation (FDI) system for a pneumatic actuator. The parity and Kalman filter equations are formulated and used to generate residuals that, in turn, are analysed to determine whether faults are present in the system. Details of the design process are given and the experimental results are compared. The results demonstrate that both approaches can successfully detect and isolate faults associated with the sensors, actuators (servo-valves and piping) and the pneumatic cylinder itself. The work is part of a BAE SYSTEMS sponsored project to demonstrate advanced control and diagnosis concepts on an industrial application

Application of fault detection and isolation to a pneumatic actuation system

This paper discusses research carried-out on the development and validation (on real plant) of a parity-equation based fault detection and isolation (FDI) system for a pneumatic actuator. A mechanistic model of the system is developed and validated in order to derive suitable parity equations for the pneumatic actuation system. The parity equations are then formulated and used to generate residuals that, in turn, are analysed to determine whether faults are present in the system. Details of the design process are given and the experimental results demonstrate that the approach can successfully detect and isolate faults associated with the sensors, actuators (servo-valves and piping) and the pneumatic cylinder itself. The work is part of a BAE SYSTEMS’ sponsored project to demonstrate advanced control and diagnosis concepts on a Stewart-Gough platform

Added value of IP-10 as a read-out of <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</em>:Specific immunity in young children

We have explored the added value of interferon-γ (IFNγ)–inducible protein 10 as a read-out of Mycobacterium tuberculosis–specific immunity in young Indian children, where the sensitivity of the IFNγ release assays for tuberculosis is poor. Reduced frequency of indeterminate results and an increased sensitivity for tuberculosis suggest a potential for fewer missed cases with a combined IFNγ/inducible protein 10 read-out in a 4th generation IFNγ release assays