Gives a general definition of the concept of marketing with the end of Tunbergen's division of the elements which form an economy. Provides an additional definition – “marketing…
Abstract
Gives a general definition of the concept of marketing with the end of Tunbergen's division of the elements which form an economy. Provides an additional definition – “marketing in a limited sense”. Determines to what degree marketing in a limited sence has been developed. Considers some classification models developed during the last 15 years.
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Sa Xiao, Xuyang Chen, Yuankai Lu, Jinhua Ye and Haibin Wu
Imitation learning is a powerful tool for planning the trajectory of robotic end-effectors in Cartesian space. Present methods can adapt the trajectory to the obstacle; however…
Abstract
Purpose
Imitation learning is a powerful tool for planning the trajectory of robotic end-effectors in Cartesian space. Present methods can adapt the trajectory to the obstacle; however, the solutions may not always satisfy users, whereas it is hard for a nonexpert user to teach the robot to avoid obstacles in time as he/she wishes through demonstrations. This paper aims to address the above problem by proposing an approach that combines human supervision with the kernelized movement primitives (KMP) model.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach first extracts the reference database used to train KMP from demonstrations by using Gaussian mixture model and Gaussian mixture regression. Subsequently, KMP is used to modulate the trajectory of robotic end-effectors in real time based on feedback from its interaction with humans to avoid obstacles, which benefits from a novel reference database update strategy. The user can test different obstacle avoidance trajectories in the current task until a satisfactory solution is found.
Findings
Experiments performed with the KUKA cobot for obstacle avoidance show that this approach can adapt the trajectories of the robotic end-effector to the user’s wishes in real time, including trajectories that the robot has already passed and has not yet passed. Simulation comparisons also show that it exhibits better performance than KMP with the original reference database update strategy.
Originality/value
An interactive learning approach based on KMP is proposed and verified, which not only enables users to plan the trajectory of robotic end-effectors for obstacle avoidance more conveniently and efficiently but also provides an effective idea for accomplishing interactive learning tasks under constraints.
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Jiutong Luo, Pui-Sze Yeung and Hui Li
The longitudinal impact of media multitasking on the development of executive function has been understudied, as most of the existing studies are cross-sectional. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The longitudinal impact of media multitasking on the development of executive function has been understudied, as most of the existing studies are cross-sectional. This longitudinal study addresses this research gap and uses multiple measures, i.e. behavioral and self-reported, to explore the impact of media multitasking on the executive function of Chinese adolescents.
Design/methodology/approach
This study followed 99 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.41, SD = 1.10; 42 boys and 57 girls) for one year using both behavioral (2-back, Stroop Color and Number-letter tasks) and self-reported (questionnaire) measures. The adolescents were categorized as either heavy/high media multitaskers (HMMs; 19 boys and 29 girls) or light/low media multitaskers (LMMs; 23 boys and 28 girls). They were tested at baseline, 6 months later and 12 months later.
Findings
The results indicated that the accuracy scores for all cognitive tasks differed with age, but the switch-cost in the shifting task and the self-reported measures of executive function did not. And there were consistent differences between the HMMs and LMMs in the self-reported measures and 2-back accuracy. However, the interaction effect was found only in shifting ability, indicating a decline in the LMMs' self-reported problematic shifting behavior in daily life.
Originality/value
This study used behavioral and self-reported measures to confirm the longitudinal impact of media multitasking on executive function. The impact of media multitasking on executive function is more apparent in daily-life behavior than in cognitive task performance.
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Ricardo Sellers‐Rubio and Francisco J. Más‐Ruiz
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the influence of inventory investment, wage levels, and age of the firm on retailer technical efficiency.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the influence of inventory investment, wage levels, and age of the firm on retailer technical efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is based on the estimation of a stochastic parametric function. To estimate technical efficiency the output supermarket chain sales volume is used, calculated by isolating the retailer price effect on sales revenue.
Findings
The empirical analyses applied to panel data show that inventory investment and wage level have a positive impact on technical efficiency.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of the study include the generalisation of the conclusions to the entire sector, which must be done with due care, since only one of the players in the distribution channel (supermarket chains) has been analysed.
Practical implications
First, the estimation of the efficiency of the different supermarket chains helps the management of producers, since they can identify efficient supermarket chains, which is important for vertical relationships in the distribution channel. Second, the analysis of the determinant factors of efficiency for different chains may be used as external benchmarking.
Originality/value
The focus of the paper is on developing a useful methodology for managers, determining some of the sources of retail efficiency gains. The paper develops and tests a composite set of hypotheses, analysing the influence of some managerially controlled factors on technical efficiency.
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Ricardo Sellers‐Rubio and Francisco Mas‐Ruiz
To estimate the economic efficiency of supermarket chains in the Spanish retailing industry.
Abstract
Purpose
To estimate the economic efficiency of supermarket chains in the Spanish retailing industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology applied is based on the non‐parametric technique of data envelopment analysis. The empirical application is carried out on a sample of 100 supermarket chains between 1995 and 2001.
Findings
The results reveal high levels of economic inefficiency in the Spanish retailing sector.
Research limitations/implications
The generalisation of the conclusions of the study to the whole sector should be made with caution, given the fact that only one of the players in the channel of distribution has been analysed.
Practical implications
Efficiency analysis facilitates the management of the intermediaries themselves at a horizontal level, allowing the realisation of “benchmarking” analysis. Producers can also identify the efficient retailers, what could be useful for vertical relationships in the channel.
Originality/value
For the first time, this study analyses the economic efficiency of the intermediaries in the Spanish retailing sector.
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Elizabeth Tricomi and Samantha DePasque
Performance feedback about whether responses are correct or incorrect provides valuable information to help guide learning. Although feedback itself has no extrinsic value, it can…
Abstract
Performance feedback about whether responses are correct or incorrect provides valuable information to help guide learning. Although feedback itself has no extrinsic value, it can produce subjective feelings similar to “rewards” and “punishments.” Therefore, feedback can play both an informative and a motivational role. Over the past decade, researchers have identified a neural circuit that processes reward value and promotes reinforcement learning, involving target regions of dopaminergic input (e.g., striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex). Importantly, this circuit is engaged by performance feedback even in the absence of reward. Recent research suggests that feedback-related brain activity can be modulated by motivational context, such as whether feedback reflects goal achievement, whether learners are oriented toward the informative versus evaluative aspect of feedback, and whether individual learners are motivated to perform well relative to their peers. This body of research suggests that the brain responds flexibly to feedback, based on the learner’s goals.
Ricardo Sellers‐Rubio and Francisco Mas‐Ruiz
This paper seeks to estimate total productivity change in retailing firms and to decompose it into efficiency change and technical change (TC) (i.e. the consequence of innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to estimate total productivity change in retailing firms and to decompose it into efficiency change and technical change (TC) (i.e. the consequence of innovation and adoption of new technologies).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts the efficient approach using the Malmquist productivity index for a sample of 96 supermarket chains operating in Spain between 1995 and 2003.
Findings
The results show a slight increase in average annual productivity among the firms analysed.
Research limitations/implications
The generalisation of the conclusions of the study to the whole sector should be made with caution, because only one of the players in the distribution channel has been analysed.
Practical implications
It is shown that the main component of productivity change is TC. This result means that new ICTs have the capacity to alter the productive structures of retail firms, favouring their productivity.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is based on the application of the Malmquist index to evaluate productivity in the service sector.