A Taxonomy of Web Site Traversal Patterns and Structures

As electronic commerce grows rapidly and web sites proliferate, the issue of web site design becomes increaasingly important. A significant aspect of web side design is the set of choices for traversing from one web site page to another and the ramifiations that these choices have for establishing the overall flow patterns throughout the web site. This study establishes a taxonomy of web site traversal patterns and structures which will allow the organized study of the navigational aspects of web site design. It also points out the ramifications of key structures. Finally, it describes how the use of traversal patterns and structures can achieve web sites that range from loose to tight control of the end user\u27s experience in visiting the web site

Information Technology as the Enabler of One-to-One Marketing

Until recently, one-to-one marketing, the ability to sell targeted goods to an individual based on their known or perceived needs, was not possible for most product types on a mass basis.. Indeed, marketing practice in recent years centered around segmented marketing, in which people are treated as members of groups with similar interests and marketing is done at the group level. However, recent advances in information technology, including the Internet and its World Wide Web, database management systems, computer graphics, and electronic mail, as well as increased processor speeds, now permit one-to-one marketing on a mass basis over the Web. This tutorial explains the concept of one-to-one marketing, including how companies can aspire to move in this direction. It outlines a set of one-to-one marketing practices on the Web and explain how advances in information technology made these practices possible

Forced Rayleigh Scattering Studies of Tracer Diffusion in a Nematic Liquid Crystal: The Relevance of Complementary Gratings

We have employed forced Rayleigh scattering (FRS) to study the diffusion of an azo tracer molecule (methyl red) through a nematic liquid crystal (5CB). This system was first investigated in an important study by Hara et al. (Japan. J. Appl. Phys. 23, 1420 [1984]). Since that time, it has become clear that the presence of complementary ground-state and photoproduct FRS gratings can result in nonexponential profiles, and that complementary-grating effects are significant even when "minor" deviations from exponential decay are observed. We have investigated the methyl red/5CB system in order to evaluate the possible effects of complementary gratings. In the isotropic phase, we find that the presence of complementary gratings results in a nonmonotonic FRS signal, which significantly changes the values inferred for the isotropic diffusion coefficients. As a result, the previously reported discontinuity at the nematic/isotropic transition temperature (TNI) is not present in the new data. On the other hand, in the nematic phase, the new experiments largely confirm the previous observations of single-exponential FRS decay and the non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the nematic diffusion coefficients close to TNI. Finally, we have also observed that the decrease in the diffusion anisotropy with increasing temperature can be correlated with the 5CB nematic order parameter S(T) over the full nematic temperature range.Comment: Accepted in the Journal of Chemical Physics; to appear February 200

Near-field iron and carbon chemistry of non-buoyant hydrothermal plume particles, Southern East Pacific Rise 15°S

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Chemistry 201 (2018): 183-197, doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2018.01.011.Iron (Fe)-poor surface waters limit phytoplankton growth and their ability to remove carbon (C) from the atmosphere and surface ocean. Over the past few decades, research has focused on constraining the global Fe cycle and its impacts on the global C cycle. Hydrothermal vents have become a highly debated potential source of Fe to the surface ocean. Two main mechanisms for transport of Fe over long distances have been proposed: Fe-bearing nanoparticles and organic C complexation with Fe in the dissolved (dFe) and particulate (pFe) pools. However, the ubiquity and importance of these processes is unknown at present, and very few vents have been investigated for Fe-Corg interactions or the transport of such materials away from the vent. Here we describe the near-field contributions (first ~100 km from ridge) of pFe and Corg to the Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) plume, one of the largest known hydrothermal plume features in the global ocean. Plume particles (> 0.2 μm) were collected as part of the U.S. GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect cruise (GP16) by in-situ filtration. Sediment cores were also collected to investigate the properties of settling particles. In this study, X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was used in two complementary X-ray synchrotron approaches, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and X-ray microprobe, to investigate the Fe and C speciation of particles within the near-field non-buoyant SEPR plume. When used in concert, STXM and X-ray microprobe provide fine-scale and representative information on particle morphology, elemental co-location, and chemical speciation. Bulk chemistry depth profiles for particulate Corg (POC), particulate manganese (pMn), and pFe indicated that the source of these materials to the non-buoyant plume is hydrothermal in origin. The plume particles at stations within the first ~100 km down-stream of the ridge were composites of mineral (oxidized Fe) and biological materials (organic C, Corg). Iron chemistry in the plume and in the core-top suspended sediment fluff layer were both dominated by Fe(III) phases, such as Fe(III) oxyhydroxides and Fe(III) phyllosilicates. Particulate sulfur (pS) was a rare component of our plume and sediment samples. When pS was detected, it was in the form of an Fe sulfide mineral phase, composing ≤ 0.4% of the Fe on a per atom basis. The resuspended sediment fluff layer contained a mixture of inorganic (coccolith fragments) and Corg bearing (lipid-rich biofilm-like) materials. The particle morphology and co-location of C and Fe in the sediment was different from that in plume particles. This indicates that if the Fe-Corg composite particles settle rapidly to the sediments, then they experience strong alteration during settling and/or within the sediments. Overall, our observations indicate that the particles within the first ~ 100 km of the laterally advected plume are S-depleted, Fe(III)-Corg composites indicative of a chemically oxidizing plume with strong biological modification. These findings confirm that the Fe-Corg relationships observed for non-buoyant plume particles within ~ 100 m of the vent site are representative of particles within this region of the non-buoyant plume (~100 km). These findings also point to dynamic alteration of Fe-Corg bearing particles during transport and settling. The specific biogeochemical processes at play, and the implications for nutrient cycling in the ocean are currently unknown and represent an area of future investigation

Consumer Acceptance of Virtual Stores: A Theoretical Model and Critical Success Factors for Virtual Stores

Virtual stores provide great efficiency in the retail value chain, and their existence has tremendously paved the way for the diffusion of electronic commerce. Understanding the determinants of consumer acceptance of virtual stores will provide important theoretical contributions to the area of business-to-consumer (B-to-C) electronic commerce and lead to the development of more effective and meaningful strategies for virtual stores. By expanding the Technology Acceptance Model and the Innovation Diffusion Theory, this study aims to provide an integral theoretical paradigm that can successfully support a wide array of technical, business, and consumer issues involved in online retailing. The results from a Web-based survey of 253 online consumers indicate that the proposed theoretical model is able to explain and predict consumer acceptance of virtual stores substantially well. The resulting theoretical model explains a large portion of the factors that lead to a user\u27s behavioral intention to use and actual use of a virtual store. In addition to providing new theoretical grounds for studying the virtual store phenomenon, this article also supplies virtual stores with a number of operative critical success factors to remain competitive in the volatile electronic marketplace. © 2004, Authors. All rights reserved

Enticing online consumers: An extended technology acceptance perspective

The business-to-consumer aspect of electronic commerce (EC) is the most visible business use of the World Wide Web (WWW). A virtual store allows companies to provide product information and offer direct sales to their customers through an electronic channel. The fundamental problem motivating this study is that: in order for a virtual store to compete effectively with both physical stores and other online retailers, there is an urgent need to understand the factors that entice consumers to use it. This research attempted to provide both theoretical and empirical analyses to explain consumers\u27 use of a virtual store and its antecedents. By applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT), this research took an extended perspective to examine consumer behavior in the virtual store context. The data from a survey of online consumers was used empirically to test the proposed research model. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to evaluate the causal model. The implication of the work to both researchers and practitioners is discussed. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

The profit impact of revenue heterogeneity and assortativity in the presence of negative word-of-mouth

This study explores the adverse effects of customer disappointment after adoption accompanied by spreading negative word-of-mouth on firm profits. The study examines the effects of heterogeneity and assortativity of customer revenue on the profit impact of negative word-of-mouth that is initiated by three groups of consumers—revenue leaders, social hubs, and experts. The authors explore these effects using an agent-based simulation modeling approach and an in-depth computational experiment with empirical input data regarding social connectivity from 10 consumer social networks. The results indicate that negative word-of-mouth is more damaging in markets where there is a higher degree of heterogeneity. Moreover, assortativity may significantly affect the profit impact of disappointments, but this effect depends on the initial percentage of disappointed adopters. The study also finds an interaction between heterogeneity and assortativity, such that the effect of heterogeneity increases as assortativity increases up to a moderate level of assortativity, then the effect of heterogeneity on profits remains relatively constant. The implications from these results suggest that marketing managers should consider the heterogeneity and assortativity characteristics of their customer revenue streams to (a) better manage the adverse profit impacts of customer disappointments and negative word-of-mouth; (b) design more effective customer loyalty programs; and (c) more efficiently manage their customer equity portfolios

Enhancing Mainframe Simulations via Microcomputers: Designing Decision Support Systems

Given the proliferation of business workstation microcomputers for managers, the authors discuss the need for familiarizing students with the use of decision support systems (DSS) to make business decisions. In addition, combining a DSS with the mainframe business simulation is suggested to enhance the pedagogical effectiveness of the simulation method. The authors describe a current application of this approach whereby continual simulation play across semesters affords each team a unique starting point and generates a rich history base. Teams are required to learn and use Lotus 1-2-3 as a custom-made DSS to analyze the history file and develop their marketing strategy. This approach affords the benefits of realism, relevance, computer literacy, flexibility, and opportunity for refinement. Suggestions for future simulation enhancements include providing teams with the ability to decide when to make decisions and the addition of an expert system as a strategic advisor

Retail store layout characteristics as a mechanism for enhancing customer relationships in a retail website environment

As retailers move into the realm of designing website environments, three critical elements of commerce, content and community must be addressed in order to build and facilitate customer relationships. Yet, as often happens with the internet, the enthusiasm generated by future technology overshadows reality. Many retailers have not yet achieved the basics of customer retention, loyalty, and intimacy in the online world as they have in the brick and mortar setting. In this paper, the authors explore the use of established and successful store layout and design characteristics as applied to a retailer’s website environment. The utilisation of these characteristics in terms of building stronger customer relationships through the elements of commerce, content, and community in a web page environment is addressed. © 2004 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd