Probabilistic Analysis of Temporal and Sequential Aspects of Activities of Daily Living for Abnormal Behaviour Detection

This paper presents a probabilistic approach for the identification of abnormal behaviour in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) from dense sensor data collected from 30 participants. The ADLs considered are related to preparing and drinking (i) tea, and (ii) coffee. Abnormal behaviour identified in the context of these activities can be an indicator of a progressive health problem or the occurrence of a hazardous incident. The approach presented considers the temporal and sequential aspects of the actions that are part of each ADL and that vary between participants. The average and standard deviation for the duration and number of steps of each activity are calculated to define the average time and steps and a range within which a behaviour could be considered as normal for each stage and activity. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) is used to obtain the probabilities of abnormal behaviours related to the early and late completion of activities and stages within an activity in terms of time and steps. Analysis shows that CDF can provide precise and reliable results regarding the presence of abnormal behaviour in stages and activities that last over a minute or consist of many steps. Finally, this approach could be used to train machine learning algorithms for abnormal behaviour detection.status: publishe

Domains of Influence: Exploring Negative Sentiment in Social Media

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the manner in which companies mitigate negative sentiment in social media and to map the forces that may lead to pre-emptive strategies. Design/methodology/approach Case studies were drawn from the retail fashion industry using data collected from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with practitioners and a netnographic examination of company artefacts and social media conversations. Findings The findings identify five principal domains of influence upon which the firms based their approach to social media negativity. The authors suggest that these domains can be fundamentally categorised as either relational domains built on human exchanges or transformational domains rooted in less tangible elements of corporate culture and operational practices that can have a significant impact upon a brand’s socially mediated exchanges. Practical implications The research provides guidance based on empirical observation of effective strategies utilised by firms, emphasising robust systems integration, a holistic management ethos, and leveraging of third-party alliances. Originality/value Bringing together disparate cross-disciplinary elements, the research contributes to knowledge by highlighting opportunities for the development of a proactive rather than reactive approach to online brand negativity and deepens the understanding of applied brand management techniques adopted to address negative social media encounters. The authors provide a series of contemporary and empirically grounded recommendations for practitioners that offer substantive insights

Managing the Paradox of Growth in Brand Communities Through Social Media

The commercial benefits of online brand communities are an important focus for marketers seeking deeper engagement with increasingly elusive consumers. Managing participation in these socially bound brand conversations challenges practitioners to balance authenticity towards the community against corporate goals. This is important as social media proliferation affords communities the capacity to reach a scale well beyond their offline equivalents and to operate independently of brands. While research has identified the important elements of engagement in brand communities, less is known about how strategies required to maximise relationships in these circumstances must change with growth. Using a case study approach, we examine how a rapidly growing firm and its community have managed the challenges of a maturing relationship. We find that, in time, the community becomes self-sustaining, and a new set of marketing management strategies is required to move engagement to the next level

Managing the Paradox of Growth in Brand Communities Through Social Media

The commercial benefits of online brand communities are an important focus for marketers seeking deeper engagement with increasingly elusive consumers. Managing participation in these socially bound brand conversations challenges practitioners to balance authenticity towards the community against corporate goals. This is important as social media proliferation affords communities the capacity to reach a scale well beyond their offline equivalents and to operate independently of brands. While research has identified the important elements of engagement in brand communities, less is known about how strategies required to maximise relationships in these circumstances must change with growth. Using a case study approach, we examine how a rapidly growing firm and its community have managed the challenges of a maturing relationship. We find that, in time, the community becomes self-sustaining, and a new set of marketing management strategies is required to move engagement to the next level

Brand Response to Consumer Backlash in Social Media: A Typology

The use of social media by consumers to admonish firms for their conduct has become increasingly common. Such backlash can take many forms and often occurs rapidly, spreads widely and is highly visible. The potential damage to brands can be severe if these situations are not dealt with effectively. To date, the issue has been examined relatively superficially in a range of disciplines without specific regard to the management of consumer-brand relationships in online environments. Our research examines the nature of company reactions to social media backlash and conceptualises a typology that categorises reputational damage and effective response. We present four typical reactionary scenarios and conclude that insufficient research exists in this domain proportionate to the level of consumer-brand social media discourse to the peril of practitioners operating via these channel

Shut Up and Take My Money: Engaging Facebook Communities to Build the Brand Narrative

Social media is revolutionizing the way firms manage their brands. A broad variety of platforms provide businesses an opportunity to engage in bidirectional dialogue with their customers, the effect of which is to enhance the brand/consumer relationship. This paper contends that virtual brand communities of the type that form through social media have an important role to play in the development of a brand’s personality. Using a case study approach we demonstrate how one firm has adopted Facebook to provide their brand community with a voice which contributes to the development of the brand narrative. We find that by using well-crafted content the firm elicits the support of their community and that this interaction contributes to the development of the brand ethos

Probabilistic Analysis of Abnormal Behaviour Detection in Activities of Daily Living

This paper presents a probabilistic approach for the identification of abnormal behaviour in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) from sensor data collected from 30 participants. The ADLs considered are: (i) preparing and drinking tea, and (ii) preparing and drinking coffee. Abnormal behaviour identified in the context of these activities can be an indicator of a progressive health problem or the occurrence of a hazardous incident. The approach presented considers the temporal aspect of the sequences of actions that are part of each ADL and that vary between participants. The average and standard deviation for the durations of each action were calculated to define an average time and a range in which a behaviour could be considered as normal for each stage and activity. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) was used to obtain the probabilities of abnormal behaviours related to the early and late completion of activities and stages within an activity. The data analysis show that CDF can provide accurate and reliable results regarding the presence of abnormal behaviour in stages and activities that last over a minute. Finally, this approach could be used to train machine learning algorithms for the abnormal behaviour detection

Merging sport and drinking cultures through social media

The sport-alcohol-social media triumvirate presents a significant emerging issue in the fight against alcohol-related harm. This report identifies and explores how alcohol brands are using social media to connect sport’s identity, culture and camaraderie with alcohol consumption. It also reveals the main strategies undertaken by alcohol companies to achieve interaction and social activation with consumers. Purpose While considerable research has explored the public health implications of traditional alcohol advertising and sponsorship in sport, less is known about how alcohol brands interact with consumers through social media. The aim of this research was to identify and evaluate the sport-linked social media strategies employed by alcohol brands engaged in sport sponsorship. These findings provide initial data to shape discussion around harm reduction as well as recommendations for future research in relation to understanding how these strategies influence consumer attitudes and behaviours. Method This study explored sport-linked alcohol communication appearing on the most frequently used social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. ‘Sport-linked alcohol communication’ was considered to be any marketing communication text which referenced a specific sport or sporting organisation in its message content, or any image depicting an alcohol-related product or brand in a sport context. The focus was primarily on the major alcohol brands sponsoring the Australian Football League (AFL), the National Rugby League (NRL), and Australian Cricket during the latter part of 2013 and throughout much of 2014. The study was conducted during the active seasons of each sport, paying particular attention to the associated marketing and promotional activity during key events such as finals. The unit of analysis comprised the content of the relevant social network sites and the coding units were individual posts and images. A content analysis was used to elicit themes and images from the online text. In total six beer brands, eight wine brands and three spirit brands were considered to be involved in sport sponsorship across the sports considered, although not all of these brands engaged in social media activities to leverage their association

A defection analysis of lapsed season ticket holders : a consumer and organizational study

This paper reports on a four-stage study that investigated the motivations and future intentions of recently lapsed members (season-ticket holders) of professional sports organizations, and the marketing responses of those organizations to the issue of customer retention. Survey responses from over 1,000 recently lapsed members across five large sporting clubs were collected. A further study on one club was then conducted to compare attitudes and demographics of lapsed members to those who renewed. The responses suggests that although these lapsed members report that they joined to financially support and feel more involved with the club, they let their membership lapse primarily due to an inability to attend games. Despite joining for intangible, altruistic reasons, it seems that if these members could not get to games, they believed that the membership was not worth maintaining. These members were satisfied with the membership; however, measures of overall level of satisfaction had only a weak positive relationship with the likelihood of members rejoining in the future. These sport organizations were greatly concerned by lapsed members but have only ad hoc relationship marketing strategies in place to either prevent members lapsing or renew lapsed members.<br /

Exploring the progressive use of performance enhancing substances by high-performance athletes

Background: Given implications associated with the use of performance-enhancing substances (PESs), stakeholders must remain informed about usage precipitants and anticipate conditions signaling athlete vulnerability to hazardous exposures. Objectives: To gain deeper qualitative insight into high-level athlete PES usage; explore the variables leading them to escalate their PES use regimens; reveal PES experiences during their careers and, unlike other studies, not to focus exclusively on “doping” as measured by the use of WADA-banned substances. Methods: A macro life course–based framework from which the data could emerge through a thematic coding analysis was utilized. Sixteen narrative life course histories of recently retired high-performance athletes report on the factors impelling their escalation in PES use, including for some, the first use of banned PES. Results: Informant reports, thematically coded, reveal performance maximization urgency to be a central factor in escalating PES use, driven by four variables: Requirements, Opportunities, Influencers and Outcomes. These variables each comprise two key components that stimulate an urgency ecosystem affecting an athlete’s proximity to an escalation threshold. Conclusions/Importance: Such a comprehensive investigation of PES use precipitants has not previously been undertaken. Advances in PES use were instantiated by a substantive, sometimes radical and often sudden increase in urgency to improve performance related to output requirements, specific demands, knowledge and access, timing windows, the competitive landscape, loyalty to coaches, efficiency expectations and likelihood of detection. This study informs incremental models of doping, the use of which is encouraged in order to analyze life course narratives to better understand athlete behaviors