Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2011 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
The out-of-shelf problem is among the most important retail problems. This work employs two different classification algorithms, C4.5 and na�¨ive Bayes, in order to build a mechanism that makes decisions about whether a product is available on a retail store shelf or not. Following the same classification methods and feature spaces, we examined the classification performance of the algorithms in four different retail chains and utilized ROC curves and the area under curve measure to compare the predictive accuracy. Based on the results obtained for the different retail chains, we identified certain approaches for the development and introduction of such a mechanism in different retail contexts....
While previous research on fast food access and purchasing has not found evidence of an association, these studies have had methodological problems including aggregation error, lack of specificity between the exposures and outcomes, and lack of adjustment for potential confounding. In this paper we attempt to address these methodological problems using data from the Victorian Lifestyle and Neighbourhood Environments Study (VicLANES) - a cross-sectional multilevel study conducted within metropolitan Melbourne, Australia in 2003.\nThe VicLANES data used in this analysis included 2547 participants from 49 census collector districts in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. The outcome of interest was the total frequency of fast food purchased for consumption at home within the previous month (never, monthly and weekly) from five major fast food chains (Red Rooster, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hungry Jacks and Pizza Hut). Three measures of fast food access were created: density and variety, defined as the number of fast food restaurants and the number of different fast food chains within 3 kilometres of road network distance respectively, and proximity defined as the road network distance to the closest fast food restaurant.Multilevel multinomial models were used to estimate the associations between fast food restaurant access and purchasing with never purchased as the reference category. Models were adjusted for confounders including determinants of demand (attitudes and tastes that influence food purchasing decisions) as well as individual and area socio-economic characteristics.\nPurchasing fast food on a monthly basis was related to the variety of fast food restaurants (odds ratio 1.13; 95% confidence interval 1.02 - 1.25) after adjusting for individual and area characteristics. Density and proximity were not found to be significant predictors of fast food purchasing after adjustment for individual socio-economic predictors.\nAlthough we found an independent association between fast food purchasing and access to a wider variety of fast food restaurant, density and proximity were not significant predictors. The methods used in our study are an advance on previous analyses....
In many sectors, freedom in capital flow has allowed optimization of investment returns through choosing sites that providethe best value for money. These returns, however, can be compromised in countries where corruption is prevalent. We assessed where the best value for money might be obtained for investment in threatened species that occur at a single site, when taking into account corruption. We found that the influence of corruption on potential investment decisions was outweighed by the likely value for money in terms of pricing parity. Nevertheless global conservation is likely to get best\nreturns in terms of threatened species security by investing in ââ?¬Ë?ââ?¬Ë?honestââ?¬â?¢Ã¢â?¬â?¢ countries than in corrupt ones, particularly those\nwith a high cost of living....
A group of consumers of private hospital services and their carers collaborated with staff of a Melbourne private hospital and with industry representatives to develop a consumer-driven performance report on cardiac services. During the development process participating consumers identified situational and structural barriers to their right to be informed of costs, to choice and to quality care. Their growing appreciation of these barriers led them to a different perspective on performance reporting, which resulted in their redirecting the project. The consumer participants\r\nno longer wanted a performance report that provided comparative quantitative data. Instead they designed a report that outlined the structures, systems and processes the hospital had in place to address the quality and safety of services provided. In addition, consumer participants developed a decision support tool for consumers to use in navigating the private health care sector. The journey of these consumers in creating a consumer driven performance report for a private hospital service may assist those responsible for governance of Australia's health system in choosing appropriate strategies and mechanisms to enhance private hospital accountability. The situational and institutional industry barriers to choice, information and quality identified by these consumers need to be addressed before public performance reporting for private hospitals is introduced in Australia....
In this paper, we focus on digital content markets (DCMs), which have typically been seen as an offspring of technological and business innovations. However, recent trends indicate that these two perspectives are not enough when attempting to understand how DCMs actually work. Technology is obviously a prerequisite for business innovations, which in turn provide new possibilities for consumers. Nevertheless, consumer behaviour is not only a result of technological and business innovations, but by itself a crucial factor of DCMs. In this paper, we attempt to clarify the general view of DCMs by carrying out a literature study that is based on the above mentioned three perspectives: technology, business and consumer behaviour. As a result of our study, we present critical issues for both doing further research and improving the ways of trading and distributing digital content. Especially, we highlight the crucial role of\nsocietal transformations for the development of DCMs....
This research belongs to the field of the analysis of the consequences of congruence between brand personality and self-image. The consequences taken into account in this study are consumer�s satisfaction and loyalty. We will present a literature review on the study of impact of the congruence between brand personality and self-image on the four dependant variables considered in this research: Satisfaction, attitude,\npreference and behavioural intentions....
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