Edward T. Lee and Madonna E. Lee
Gray code is a code with the property that there is one and only one bit‐change between any two neighboring numbers. An algorithm for generating gray codes is presented. It turns…
Abstract
Gray code is a code with the property that there is one and only one bit‐change between any two neighboring numbers. An algorithm for generating gray codes is presented. It turns out that there are other codes which have the same characteristics as gray codes. We call this class of codes generalized gray code (GGC). More precisely, a GGC is a code which has both the reflective property and the unit distance property. Algorithms for generating n‐bit GGC from the (n – 1)‐bit GGC are presented with illustrative examples. It is found that the number of n‐bit GGC is equal to 2n times the number of (n – 1)‐bit GGC. GGC generation trees are used to find GGC. Shows that GGC may be used in the two cases: where 1: gray code cannot be used, and as 2: member of the GGC is better suited than the gray code. Deduces that through the use of GGC, we have more choices than using just gray codes, and that we may obtain better results in terms of fan‐in, fan‐out, propagation delays, power consumption, or other related constraints in designing digital systems. The results obtained in this paper may also have useful applications in implementing special logic functions such as fuzzy threshold functions or fuzzy symmetric functions.
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Larry S. Lowe and Kevin McCrohan
This paper examines the gray market for consumer products, with a particular emphasis on the reasons for gray market growth, the distinct channels of distribution for gray market…
Abstract
This paper examines the gray market for consumer products, with a particular emphasis on the reasons for gray market growth, the distinct channels of distribution for gray market products, and the means by which the gray markets may be terminated. Secondary emphasis is provided on the factors that lead to gray market emergence and on the impact of exchange rates on gray markets. A major conclusion of the analysis is that gray markets for consumer products will continue to grow as manufacturers benefit from gray markets. This growth will be associated with products manufactured and distributed within the national market rather than imported products which fueled the gray market growth of the previous five years.
Xiuchen Wang, Zhe Liu, Zhong Zhou, Qing He and Haoxian Zeng
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new indicator-gray porosity that can objectively evaluate real porosities of electromagnetic shielding (EMS) fabric based on computer…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a new indicator-gray porosity that can objectively evaluate real porosities of electromagnetic shielding (EMS) fabric based on computer image analysis, which aims to address current porosity evaluation by tightness.
Design/methodology/approach
A method for the fabric image acquisition is determined and a gray digital model is established. The porosity membership region of true porosity is judged according to the total gray wave. A bi-directional judgment method based on horizontal and vertical single gray waves is proposed to automatically identify the gray porosity in the porosity membership region. After experiments, the differences between the gray porosity indicator and the tightness indicator are analyzed, the influence of the gray porosity on the shielding effectiveness (SE) is discussed, and the advantages of the gray porosity indicator are detailed.
Findings
Results show that the proposed indicator can accurately represent the real porosity size of the EMS fabric without pre-acquiring the structure parameters of the fabric, which provides a reference for the study of the electromagnetic characteristic of the EMS fabric.
Originality/value
The gray porosity presented in this paper is a new method to objectively evaluate real porosities of the EMS fabric, and can be applied to the research and evaluation of the electromagnetic characteristic for the EMS fabric.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of parallel importation on brand equity in high and low product involvement arrangements.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of parallel importation on brand equity in high and low product involvement arrangements.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 × 2 (authorized goods/gray‐marketed goods)×(high involvement/low involvement) between‐subjects experimental design is utilized; consumer electronics and ballpoint pens are examined.
Findings
The results of this empirical study show that source channel (authorized goods versus gray goods) has a significant impact on brand equity; among the five brand equity dimensions, consumers are most concerned about the difference in “perceived quality” between gray goods and authorized goods; given the levels of stimuli, sourcing channel stimuli are found to have more powerful effects than product involvement on consumer evaluations of brand equity.
Practical implications
Marketing implications of the study are as follows. For authorized agents: they could emphasize the “perceived quality” of their products in order to prevent market “squatting” from gray marketers. For manufacturers: authorized goods have a stronger effect on brand equity than gray goods; therefore, manufacturers could adapt the contents and packaging of their products to match consumption behavior in each different country to achieve the purpose of market segmentation and to prevent the products from being diverted. For gray marketers: they should not only emphasize the lower prices of their products, but also highlight their brand knowledge and the brand recognition and provide a valid and sensitive reflection of the brand's standing to their customers.
Originality/value
The most notable finding from this study may be that given the levels of stimuli, sourcing channel stimuli were found to have more powerful effects than product involvement on consumer evaluations of brand equity.
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From well before the mid-19th up to the mid-20th century those scholars who read and commented on The Essential Principles of the Wealth of Nations, including Marx and Seligman…
Abstract
From well before the mid-19th up to the mid-20th century those scholars who read and commented on The Essential Principles of the Wealth of Nations, including Marx and Seligman, seem to have been unaware of the very name of its author. Since then it has become accepted knowledge (again) that the work was written by one John Gray. Beyond the name, however, biographical details about Gray have remained extremely sparse until the present day. If one were to use a measure of obscurity, something which perhaps is appropriate in a work devoted to ‘neglected economists’, then one may use the fact that neither the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (old or new editions), nor the Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (any edition), nor any other biographical dictionaries devote an entry to Gray. The modern authors who discuss his economic writings contend themselves with the statement that ‘little biographical information is available about Gray’ (Delmas & Demals, 1995, p. 119, n. 5).1 This is unfortunate because at least some knowledge about the personal background and career of an author is often useful in arriving at a better understanding of his or her ideas. This, as will become clear shortly, is the case too for John Gray.
Manouchehr Omidvari, Seyyed Morteza Abootorabi and Hossein Mehrno
The statistical report published by the Iranian Social Security Organization in 2012 showed that, of all industries, the construction industry is associated with the highest…
Abstract
Purpose
The statistical report published by the Iranian Social Security Organization in 2012 showed that, of all industries, the construction industry is associated with the highest number of work-related accidents. Furthermore, as this sector contains a large human workforce, identification of the factors contributing to the occurrence of such accidents is vital. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Furthermore, as this sector contains a large human workforce, identification of the factors contributing to the occurrence of such accidents is vital. In the present study, such factors were initially identified, after which the most important of these, managerial factors, were selected. Subsequently, the identification of the causes of the managerial factors was carried out with the use of the fault tree analysis (FTA) method and application of OR and AND entries.
Findings
Since it is difficult to determine the probability of occurrence of events in this industry with certainty, and because gray numbers (numbers of which the exact value is unknown, and which represent uncertain information) have a strong relationship with human expressions, the probability of occurrence of the main undesired events was also evaluated using the gray numbers as input entries, in addition to ranking the probability of occurrence of intermediate events.
Originality/value
The findings revealed that FTA using gray numbers is a useful and effective tool in risk assessment.
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Baohua Yang, Junming Jiang and Jinshuai Zhao
The purpose of this study is to construct a gray relational model based on information diffusion to avoid rank reversal when the available decision information is insufficient, or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to construct a gray relational model based on information diffusion to avoid rank reversal when the available decision information is insufficient, or the decision objects vary.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering that the sample dependence of the ideal sequence selection in gray relational decision-making is based on case sampling, which causes the phenomenon of rank reversal, this study designs an ideal point diffusion method based on the development trend and distribution skewness of the sample information. In this method, a gray relational model for sample classification is constructed using a virtual-ideal sequence. Subsequently, an optimization model is established to obtain the criteria weights and classification radius values that minimize the deviation between the comprehensive relational degree of the classification object and the critical value.
Findings
The rank-reversal problem in gray relational models could drive decision-makers away from using this method. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed gray relational model based on information diffusion and virtual-ideal sequencing can effectively avoid rank reversal. The method is applied to classify 31 brownfield redevelopment projects based on available interval gray information. The case analysis verifies the rationality and feasibility of the model.
Originality/value
This study proposes a robust method for ideal point choice when the decision information is limited or dynamic. This method can reduce the influence of ideal sequence changes in gray relational models on decision-making results considerably better than other approaches.
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Irvine Clarke and Margaret Owens
Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global…
Abstract
Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global planning efforts. With the recent changes in federal court precedent and the landmark 1998 L’Anza Supreme Court decision, the legal rights associated with trademarked products in gray markets have forever changed. Therefore, the authors review the current status of regulatory and judicial decisions affecting gray marketing activities to provide a practical framework for marketing managers. Legal and nonlegal suggestions, for the protection of trademarks in gray market competition, are offered.
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Jane Boyd Thomas and Cara Lee Okleshen Peters
A dynamic retailing format is emerging in metropolitan cities across the USA: the underground mall (UGM). The UGM is a place of trade where a cluster of socially networked buyers…
Abstract
Purpose
A dynamic retailing format is emerging in metropolitan cities across the USA: the underground mall (UGM). The UGM is a place of trade where a cluster of socially networked buyers (i.e. potential customers) and sellers (i.e. retailers) meet face‐to‐face in a private setting (i.e. in the seller's garage or in a neighborhood clubhouse) for the purpose of trade. This study seeks to detail how this unique retailing format operates and examines factors influencing consumption within this gray market.
Design/methodology/approach
Two theories were utilized in developing a framework for data collection: gray markets and market embeddedness. Data were collected via in‐depth interviews with 16 UGM shoppers. The data were analyzed and interpreted according to the protocol for phenomenology.
Findings
A combination of diverse retailing and socialization benefits drives the gray market of the UGM. Retailing benefits include a wide variety of vendors and products, unique items, convenience, a personalized shopping experience, and a comfortable shopping context. Socialization benefits include strengthening interpersonal relationships and building connections within one's community.
Research limitations/implications
This study makes an important contribution to the gray marketing literature. The findings illustrate that a combination of diverse retailing and socialization benefits, not price, drives this particular gray market.
Originality/value
This research is original to the gray market, market embeddedness, and retailing literatures within the field of marketing. The findings of this study suggest that consumer motives for shopping in the gray market of the UGM are more hedonic than utilitarian in nature.
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Yali Lu, Cyril R.H. Foropon, Dandan Wang and Shuaishuai Xu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of different gray markets’ structures on both supply chain decisions and associated profits.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of different gray markets’ structures on both supply chain decisions and associated profits.
Design/methodology/approach
Within the context of gray markets, using game theory approach in this paper, supply chains have been considered as assets of manufacturers, distributors and speculators, within which manufacturers sell products to distinctive markets either directly or through authorized distributors, while speculators buy products from a lower price market and then sell them in a higher price market. Our study has examined different decision variables within such a framework.
Findings
Considering a situation where one manufacturer sells its products either directly in one market (Market 1) or through its authorized distributor (Market 2), due to different products prices in both markets, results have shown that, when market elasticity is less than its critical value, a speculator can sell a gray market product arbitrage in market 2, whereas when the market elasticity is greater than its critical value, a speculator can sell a gray market product arbitrage in market 1. In addition, manufacturers—as leaders of Stackelberg game—are always the most profitable stakeholders within a gray market supply chain.
Practical implications
In this study, equilibrium results for each market have been obtained, optimal results have been compared, and accordingly, valuable insights have been developed. Such results would help managers to take better managerial decisions, as well as strategizing policies in gray markets.
Originality/value
In this paper, we have considered a gray market where both distributors and speculators exist and act as parallel channels. To the best of our knowledge, the extant literature focuses either on distributors or speculators, but never concurrently on both. In fact, the coexistence of one distributor and one speculator in a gray market will impact their own decisions, as well as both decisions and profits of other stakeholders, and hence, will exert an impact on the manufacturer side.