Long Term Sales Forecasts of Innovations - An Empirical Study of the Consumer Electronic Market

This paper empirically examines models of replacement sales for six electronic consumer durables – TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Digital Cameras, personal and notebook computers – using data from a large survey of 8077 German households. A new replacement model is developed that fits the empirical "lifetables" better than existing models. This said, fitting to replacement sales data was not substantially improved as these fits are not particularly sensitive to mis-specification of the shape of the underlying distribution. Since many product innovations can be targeted at replacement rather than first purchase buyers – this improved understanding of replacement behaviour helps entrepreneurs identify new opportunities

Essays on diffusion and repeat sales of consumer durables: a study of the consumer electronics market

Although repeat purchases dominate overall sales of consumer durables, diffusion of innovations research has paid them far less attention than new product adoptions. A large survey of 8,077 households allowed a detailed investigation of the differences between households in terms of their repeat purchase behavior of durables. Asymmetric effects were investigated using competing hazard models and showed that consumer innovativeness has a strong impact on discretionary replacements. A modified gamma distribution was introduced into aggregate sales modeling to account for differences between forced and discretionary replacement distributions. Insights from both the household purchasing analysis and aggregate sales modeling were integrated to develop a refined model of the product life cycle (PLC). The findings will help companies to better understand drivers of repeat purchases, to segment households in a more insightful way and to forecast repeat sales of durable goods more accurately

Serviço social, desenvolvimento sustentável e soberania alimentar

Questões relacionadas com o desenvolvimento sustentável surgem como tema central na sociedade contemporânea, constituem parte integrante do tecido social e destacam-se cada vez mais em serviço social. Assim, partindo da análise de algumas dinâmicas contemporâneas, identificam-se várias "terias sustentáveis" no serviço social. Para efeitos de claridade teórica analisa-se pormenorizadamente o conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável proliferado pela ONU (Organização das Nações Unidas) e agências especializadas. Tal é feito com o intuito de definir convergências e tensões entre o Serviço Social e o desenvolvimento sustentável. Após esta conceptualização, evidencia-se a necessidade de reconstruir a problemática e entender o conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável numa lógica de "baixopara-cima", aqui evidenciado como associado aos movimentos da sociedade civil, nomeadamente, a La Vía Campesina. O método de investigação utilizado foi um estudo exploratório, via método indutivo. A técnica de recolha de dados é a documentação indireta (documental) e direta (trabalho de campo, observação participante e uma entrevista semiestruturada). Em última instância, de modo a incorporar o enquadramento proposto pela La Vía Campesina no serviço social, traçam-se alguns planos de ação profissional.Questions related to sustainable development are a central issue in our society, they constitute an integral part of our social tissue and are becoming a central concern to Social Work. Through this study some of the main "sustainable theories" in Social Work are identified and, in order to provide for conceptual clarity, this investigation considers accurately the concept of sustainable development proliferate by the United Nations and special agencies. At this regard it is expected to theorize convergences and tensions between Social Work and sustainable development. Upon this last conceptualization, the present work underlines the necessity to redefine sustainable development, this time, viewed "from down-to-top", build by social movements, namely La Vía Campesina. The research method used was an explanatory study, that was conducted via inductive strategy. Data collection was brought trough indirect documentation (documental analysis) and by direct observation (field work, participant-observation and a semi-structed interview). Ultimately, the possibility for the incorporation of La Vía Campesina's framework in social work is emphasized and some strategies are designed

The Measurement of Emotional Intelligence: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Researchers and Practitioners

Emotional Intelligence (EI) emerged in the 1990s as an ability based construct analogous to general Intelligence. However, over the past 3 decades two further, conceptually distinct forms of EI have emerged (often termed “trait EI” and “mixed model EI”) along with a large number of psychometric tools designed to measure these forms. Currently more than 30 different widely-used measures of EI have been developed. Although there is some clarity within the EI field regarding the types of EI and their respective measures, those external to the field are faced with a seemingly complex EI literature, overlapping terminology, and multiple published measures. In this paper we seek to provide guidance to researchers and practitioners seeking to utilize EI in their work. We first provide an overview of the different conceptualizations of EI. We then provide a set of recommendations for practitioners and researchers regarding the most appropriate measures of EI for a range of different purposes. We provide guidance both on how to select and use different measures of EI. We conclude with a comprehensive review of the major measures of EI in terms of factor structure, reliability, and validity

How do patients actually experience and use art in hospitals?:The significance of interaction. A user-oriented experimental case study.

This article aims to understand patient wellbeing and satisfaction and to qualify the current guidelines for the application of art in hospitals. Employing anthropological methods, we focus on the interactional aspects of art in health interventions. A user-oriented study ranked 20 paintings, followed by an experiment using paintings in the dayroom of five medical wards. Fieldwork was done over a two-week period. During the first week, dayrooms were configured without the presence of art and in the second week were configured with the artworks. Semi-structured interviews, observation, participant observation and informal conversation were carried out and were informed by thermal cameras, which monitored the usage, patient occupation and flow in two of the dayrooms. The study shows that art contributes to creating an environment and atmosphere where patients can feel safe, socialize, maintain a connection to the world outside the hospital and support their identity. We conclude that the presence of visual art in hospitals contributes to health outcomes by improving patient satisfaction as an extended form of health care. The article draws attention to further research perspectives and methods associated with the development of art in hospitals

In-house consultation to support professionals’ responses to child abuse and neglect:Determinants of professionals’ use and the association with guideline adherence

This study examined the presence and strengths of determinants associated with consultation of an in-house expert on child abuse and neglect (CAN) by preventive child health care professionals who suspect CAN. This study also assessed the relationship between in-house CAN expert consultation and professionals’ performance of six recommended activities described in a national guideline on preventing CAN for preventive child health care professionals. A total of 154 professionals met the study’s inclusion criteria. They filled in a questionnaire that measured in-house consultation practices and twelve determinants associated with the professional, the in-house expert, and the organizational context. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Almost half of the participants (46.8%) reported to consult the in-house expert in (almost) all of their suspected CAN cases. Professionals who reported better recollection of consulting the in-house expert (i.e. not forgetting to consult the expert) (p = .001), who were more familiar with consultation (p = .002), who had more positive attitudes and beliefs about consultation (p = .011) and who reported being more susceptible to the behavior (p = .001) and expectations/opinions (p = .025) of colleagues regarding in-house expert consultation were more likely to consult the in-house expert. Furthermore, in-house expert consultation was positively associated with two of six key guideline activities: consulting the regional child protection service and monitoring whether support was provided to families. The implications of these results for improving professionals’ responses to CAN are discussed

Program comprehension for domain-specific languages

In the past, we have been looking for program comprehension tools that are able to interconnect operational and behavioral views, aiming at aiding the software analyst to relate problem and program domains in order to reach a full understanding of software systems. In this paper we are concerned with Program Comprehension issues applied to Domain Specific Languages (DSLs). We are now willing to understand how techniques and tools for the comprehension of traditional programming languages fit in the understanding of DSLs. Being the language tailored for the description of problems in a specific domain, we believe that specific visualizations (at a higher abstraction level, closer to the problem level) could and should be defined to enhance the comprehension of the descriptions in that particular domain.GRICE

Synthesis, bottom up assembly and thermoelectric properties of Sb-doped PbS nanocrystal building blocks

The precise engineering of thermoelectric materials using nanocrystals as their building blocks has proven to be an excellent strategy to increase energy conversion efficiency. Here we present a synthetic route to produce Sb-doped PbS colloidal nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are then consolidated into nanocrystalline PbS:Sb using spark plasma sintering. We demonstrate that the introduction of Sb significantly influences the size, geometry, crystal lattice and especially the carrier concentration of PbS. The increase of charge carrier concentration achieved with the introduction of Sb translates into an increase of the electrical and thermal conductivities and a decrease of the Seebeck coefficient. Overall, PbS:Sb nanomaterial were characterized by two-fold higher thermoelectric figures of merit than undoped PbS

Inflammation modulates intercellular adhesion and mechanotransduction in human epidermis via ROCK2

Aberrant mechanotransduction and compromised epithelial barrier function are associated with numerous human pathologies including inflammatory skin disorders. However, the cytoskeletal mechanisms regulating inflammatory responses in the epidermis are not well understood. Here we addressed this question by inducing a psoriatic phenotype in human keratinocytes and reconstructed human epidermis using a cytokine stimulation model. We show that the inflammation upregulates the Rho-myosin II pathway and destabilizes adherens junctions (AJs) promoting YAP nuclear entry. The integrity of cell-cell adhesion but not the myosin II contractilityper seis the determinative factor for the YAP regulation in epidermal keratinocytes. The inflammation-induced disruption of AJs, increased paracellular permeability, and YAP nuclear translocation are regulated by ROCK2, independently from myosin II activation. Using a specific inhibitor KD025, we show that ROCK2 executes its effects via cytoskeletal and transcription-dependent mechanisms to shape the inflammatory response in the epidermis