The purpose of this paper is to examine the joint effects of menu pages (single page vs multiple pages) and assortment organization (benefit- vs attribute-based) on consumers’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the joint effects of menu pages (single page vs multiple pages) and assortment organization (benefit- vs attribute-based) on consumers’ perceptions of variety with large assortments.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 (assortment structure: single page vs multiple pages)×2 (assortment organization: benefit- vs attribute-based) experimental between-subjects design was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results suggest that with a one-page tea menu, participants perceived greater variety with the attribute-based (e.g. black teas, herbal teas, green teas, and oolong teas) menu than with the (e.g. energy-boosting, stress-relief, weight loss, and immune system-improvement) benefit-based menu. Conversely, when the menu was displayed on four pages, participants showed similar perceptions of variety across the two menu types.
Research limitations/implications
In some contexts, 20 menu items may not be considered a large assortment. Also, the authors did not test consumers’ preexisting preferences.
Practical implications
When food service operators offer an extensive benefit-based menu, it is advisable to place the options over multiple pages. If the menu needs to be displayed on a single spatial unit (e.g. a black board, or applications on a tablet or smartphone), practitioners should organize the menu based on attributes rather than benefits.
Originality/value
Although the demand for healthy dining options has led many foodservice operators to apply benefit-based organization to items on their menus, for example, by using terms such as “energy-boosting,” “stress-relief,” “weight-loss,” and “immune system-improvement,” little is known about the effectiveness of such a strategy.
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Bundit Manaskasemsak and Arnon Rungsawang
This paper aims to present a machine learning approach for solving the problem of Web spam detection. Based on an adoption of the ant colony optimization (ACO), three algorithms…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a machine learning approach for solving the problem of Web spam detection. Based on an adoption of the ant colony optimization (ACO), three algorithms are proposed to construct rule-based classifiers to distinguish between non-spam and spam hosts. Moreover, the paper also proposes an adaptive learning technique to enhance the spam detection performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The Trust-ACO algorithm is designed to let an ant start from a non-spam seed, and afterwards, decide to walk through paths in the host graph. Trails (i.e. trust paths) discovered by ants are then interpreted and compiled to non-spam classification rules. Similarly, the Distrust-ACO algorithm is designed to generate spam classification ones. The last Combine-ACO algorithm aims to accumulate rules given from the former algorithms. Moreover, an adaptive learning technique is introduced to let ants walk with longer (or shorter) steps by rewarding them when they find desirable paths or penalizing them otherwise.
Findings
Experiments are conducted on two publicly available WEBSPAM-UK2006 and WEBSPAM-UK2007 datasets. The results show that the proposed algorithms outperform well-known rule-based classification baselines. Especially, the proposed adaptive learning technique helps improving the AUC scores up to 0.899 and 0.784 on the former and the latter datasets, respectively.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study that adopts the ACO learning approach to solve the problem of Web spam detection. In addition, we have improved the traditional ACO by using the adaptive learning technique.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine two research questions: What search engine queries lead users to the Auburn University electronic theses and dissertations (AUETDs…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine two research questions: What search engine queries lead users to the Auburn University electronic theses and dissertations (AUETDs) collection? Do these queries vary for users in different locations and, if so, how?
Design/methodology/approach
Search engine queries used to locate the AUETDs collection were obtained from Google Analytics and were separated into groups based on user location. These queries were assigned to empirically derived categories based on their content.
Findings
Most local users’ queries contained person names, variants for thesis or dissertation, and variants for Auburn University. Over a third were queries for the AUETDs collection, while the remainder were seeking theses and dissertations from specific Auburn researchers. Most out-of-state users’ queries contained title and subject keywords and appeared to be seeking specific research studies. Queries from users located within the state but outside of the local area were intermediate between these groups.
Practical implications
Over two-thirds of visits to the AUETDs collection were made by search engine users which reinforces the importance of having repository content indexed by search engines such as Google. The specificity of their queries indicates that full-text indexing will be more helpful to users than metadata indexing alone.
Originality/value
This is the first detailed analysis of search engine queries used to locate an ETDs collection. It may also be the last, as query content for the major search engines is no longer available from Google Analytics.
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Heejin Lim and David W. Schumann
Brand online social networking (BOSN) is a novel marketing phenomenon in which companies initiate and cultivate relationships with their customers through online social networking…
Abstract
Purpose
Brand online social networking (BOSN) is a novel marketing phenomenon in which companies initiate and cultivate relationships with their customers through online social networking (OSN) sites. Because of its openness to the public, BOSN is distinct from a traditional brand community. This study aims to explore patterns and schemes of individuals’ BOSN based on the sociological schemas noted in Goffman’s dramaturgical approach.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts in-depth personal interviews to uncover the full meaning of BOSN. A total of 21 Facebook brand page participants were interviewed, and the interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim, providing data for analysis. Triangulation was accomplished through examination of informants’ Facebook webpages that presented their own postings. The transcribed data were interpreted using a hermeneutic approach.
Findings
The data analysis based on the dramaturgical lens reveals four key themes: diversity in consumers’ intentionality toward BOSN social connections, their feeling of contamination of the digital self and a desire for autonomy, consumers’ roles as the actors and audiences on a brand’s BOSN stage and backstage experience and consumers’ feeling of intimacy. Findings highlight how individuals’ perceptions of audiences and the social media platform as a stage influence their performance in BOSN conjointly. These findings reveal that individuals participate in BOSN as a means of augmenting their identity.
Originality/value
Findings from this study advance the extant literature addressing online brand communities by exploring a novel form of brand assemblages within the context of social media. Employing a dramaturgical approach, this study identifies the distinct nature of the consumer–brand relationship in the virtual agora of OSN, which is hyperindividualistic in nature and is used to augment a sense of self.
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The current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and dissemination of information on social media platforms by Israeli government organizations and…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study seeks to present and examine the strategies, management and dissemination of information on social media platforms by Israeli government organizations and agencies.
Design/methodology/approach
The article uses the “Case Study” approach, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with directors in charge of the use of social media in government departments.
Findings
The findings indicate that government agencies tend to favor Facebook over other social network platforms, in order to reach the widest possible audience. They do this by adhering to the platform's limitations, such as regularly using sponsored advertising to increase reach and visibility, and also by publishing visual content, such as videos and images, at the expense of text. In addition, the impact of respondents to adopt social media outweighs the use and importance awarded to traditional government websites. A clear preference is evident toward cultivating and strengthening existing information on social media at the expense of further developing official websites.
Originality/value
Findings and conclusions from this type of research can help digital media directors and content editors in government agencies, to improve the quality of their content and improve the accessibility of the information they share online. In addition, the findings of the study strengthen the growing body of knowledge focused on the relationship between government ministries and social media.
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VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It…
Abstract
VINE is produced at least four times a year with the object of providing up‐to‐date news of work being done in the automation of housekeeping processes, principally in the UK. It is produced and substantially written by the Editor who is based at the Polytechnic of Central London and supported by a grant from the British Library Board and opinions expressed in VINE do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the British Library. The subscription for 1985 to VINE is: £24 for UK subscribers, £27 to overseas subscribers (including airmail delivery). Second and subsequent copies to the same address are charged at £25 for UK and £17 for overseas. VINE is available on either paper or microfiche copy and all back issues are available on microfiche.
John McDonagh and Timothy Hayward
The outsourcing of non‐core business activities has recently mushroomed throughout the worldas organisations seek reduced cost and strategic business advantage in an increasingly…
Abstract
The outsourcing of non‐core business activities has recently mushroomed throughout the world as organisations seek reduced cost and strategic business advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace. A component of this overall trend has been a dramatic increase in the extent to which real estate asset management functions of non‐property investment organisations have been taken over by ‘external service providers’. This study is the first in New Zealand to examine current practice and emergent trends and to identify outsourcing issues and problems in detail. Via a survey of 457 organisations, the reasons behind the trend to outsourcing are identified, as are the types of services outsourced; the basis of selection of service providers; the skills and attributes required of real estate professionals; and the success or otherwise of outsourcing experiences.
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Konstantinos Domdouzis, Babak Akhgar, Simon Andrews, Helen Gibson and Laurence Hirsch
A number of crisis situations, such as natural disasters, have affected the planet over the past decade. The outcomes of such disasters are catastrophic for the infrastructures of…
Abstract
Purpose
A number of crisis situations, such as natural disasters, have affected the planet over the past decade. The outcomes of such disasters are catastrophic for the infrastructures of modern societies. Furthermore, after large disasters, societies come face-to-face with important issues, such as the loss of human lives, people who are missing and the increment of the criminality rate. In many occasions, they seem unprepared to face such issues. This paper aims to present an automated social media and crowdsourcing data mining system for the synchronization of the police and law enforcement agencies for the prevention of criminal activities during and post a large crisis situation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper realized qualitative research in the form of a review of the literature. This review focuses on the necessity of using social media and crowdsourcing data mining techniques in combination with advanced Web technologies for the purpose of providing solutions to problems related to criminal activities caused during and after a crisis. The paper presents the ATHENA crisis management system, which uses a number of data mining techniques to collect and analyze crisis-related data from social media for the purpose of crime prevention.
Findings
Conclusions are drawn on the significance of social media and crowdsourcing data mining techniques for the resolution of problems related to large crisis situations with emphasis to the ATHENA system.
Originality/value
The paper shows how the integrated use of social media and data mining algorithms can contribute in the resolution of problems that are developed during and after a large crisis.
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Heidi Gorovitz Robertson and Alan K. Reichert
Many States in America have enacted laws to encourage redevelopment of contaminated urban properties. The laws attempt to do this by addressing one barrier to redevelopment, the…
Abstract
Many States in America have enacted laws to encourage redevelopment of contaminated urban properties. The laws attempt to do this by addressing one barrier to redevelopment, the environmental liability attached to contaminated urban properties. In general, the laws attempt to remove or reduce the significance of that barrier by reducing or eliminating the environmental liability risk attached to these properties. Our hypothesis was that these efforts cannot encourage significant redevelopment because they fail to address non‐environmental barriers to urban redevelopment. To determine whether this legislative focus on environmental liability is misplaced, we conducted a survey of Northeast Ohio businesses which had decided, since the enactment of Ohio’s brownfields law, either to move to a new location, or to expand at an existing location. The survey asked businesses to rank the relative importance to their relocation decision of environmental and non‐environmental factors. The results of the survey show that numerous non‐environmental factors were of equal or greater importance to decision‐makers than the environmental status of the property. Therefore, legislative efforts to encourage redevelopment of contaminated urban properties must be expanded to address non‐environmental barriers to redevelopment
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Kewen Wu, Julita Vassileva, Qinghua Zhu, Hui Fang and Xiaojie Tan
Wiki forms a new model of virtual collaboration. The original wiki is designed to hide content authorship information. Such design may hinder users from being aware of task…
Abstract
Purpose
Wiki forms a new model of virtual collaboration. The original wiki is designed to hide content authorship information. Such design may hinder users from being aware of task conflict, resulting in low-efficient conflict management and decreased group performance. This study aims at increasing users' awareness of task conflict to facilitate wiki-based collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
A visual feedback dialog box is designed to increase users' awareness of task conflict. A survey-based comparative study is conducted by using original wiki and modified wiki (the new design). A total of 301 participants are invited. Structural equation model (SEM) is used to analyze survey data.
Findings
Most users are willing to solve conflict issues, and the dialog box can increase users' awareness of task conflict. Conflict awareness can promote user's participation, gain better conflict resolution and improve group performance. The dialog box can enhance the influence of conflict awareness on user participation and conflict resolution, but reduce the influence of conflict awareness on group performance.
Research limitations/implications
Only undergraduate students are invited, some typical variables are not included. The design needs improvement.
Originality/value
A new wiki tool is designed. The influence of conflict awareness is explored while previous studies largely ignore this variable.