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Mobile marketing: exploring the new wave of innovation in marketing
Get PDFAs the use of mobile devices among Irish consumers proliferates and becomes ever more\ud
integrated within their lifestyles, it is important for Irish managers to understand how they\ud
can effectively integrate Mobile Marketing into their overall marketing strategy. The\ud
objective of this research was to explore the current use of mobile marketing by Irish\ud
businesses and to investigate consumer attitudes towards mobile marketing. This process\ud
included a thorough review of Mobile Marketing theory, its application, use and attitudes\ud
towards it in order to develop an effective research approach. In-depth interviews, focus\ud
groups and online surveys were designed, developed and conducted with managers and\ud
consumers and their findings were comprehensively analysed.\ud
The findings identify that managers are largely unclear about how they should use Mobile\ud
Marketing. There is a lack of structure within organisations in terms of a Mobile Marketing\ud
strategy for implementation into the overall marketing strategy. There appears to be very\ud
little consumer engagement or interactivity taking place over the mobile medium. Thus\ud
consumers have grown to feel generally negative towards Mobile Marketing. The outcome\ud
of these findings is presented in the form of a set of guidelines for managers which make a\ud
contribution to the literature and to practitioners by encouraging the more considered and\ud
strategic use of MM. These guidelines are subject to further testing and refinement
Towards shifted NMF for improved monaural separation
Get PDFThe ability of Non-negative Matrix Factorisation (NMF) to decompose magnitude spectrogram into meaningful entities has found use in many audio applications. NMF can be used to factorise audio spectrogram of a music signal into parts based frequency basis functions which typically corresponds to notes and chords in music. However, these pitched basis functions needed to be clustered to their respective sources. Many clustering algorithms have been proposed to group these basis functions. Recently, Shifted Non-negative Matrix Factorisation (SNMF) based methods have been used to reconstruct individual sound sources. Clustering of basis functions using SNMF uses a Constant Q Transform (CQT) of the frequency basis functions. Here, we argue that incorporating the CQT into the SNMF model can be used to better the separation quality of individual sources. An algorithm is presented to estimate sound sources and is an improvement to the existing techniques. Results are compared to show the improvement
The quantification of wind turbulence by means of the fourier dimension
Get PDFSignal Processing within the frequency domain has long been associated with electrical engineering as a means to quantify the characteristics of voltage/current waveforms. Historically, wind speed data (speed/direction) have been captured and stored as statistical markers within a time series description. This form of storage, while cumbersome, is applicable in wind regimes that are relatively laminar. In urban environments, where the associated topographies and building morphologies are heterogeneous, wind speeds are highly turbulent and chaotic. In such environments and with particular reference to wind energy, time series statistics are of limited use, unless the generic probability distribution function (PDF) is also considered. Furthermore, the industry standard metric that quantifies the turbulent component of wind speed, Turbulence Intensity (TI), is computationally cumbersome and resource intensive. An alternative model to quantify turbulence is proposed here. This paper will describe how Fourier dimension modelling (Df), through linkage with the Weibull probability density function, can quantify turbulence in a more efficient manner. This model could potentially be developed to facilitate urban wind power prediction and is relevant to the planning and development considerations within the built environment
Syndactyly in pigs: a review of previous research and the presentation of eight archaeological specimens
Get PDFThis paper reviews evidence for the rare condition of porcine syndactyly. It describes eight\ud
archaeological examples from Britain, Northern Ireland and France. Syndactyly refers to the\ud
partial or complete fusion of two or more adjacent phalanges on the medio-lateral border. The\ud
degree and character of fusion is variable but phalanges frequently unite to create a single\ud
skeletal element. This condition has been identified by veterinarians, zoologists and\ud
naturalists in individuals and populations in a range of species but in spite of substantial\ud
research on the condition in humans and to a lesser extent cattle, it remains relatively poorly\ud
understood in other mammals. Syndactyly is generally agreed to be primarily congenital in\ud
origin, although factors affecting its incidence remain far from fully understood. In light of\ud
the general paucity of discussion of specific conditions of animal palaeopathology, this paper\ud
presents analysis of these newly discovered syndactyle pig specimens, offers a review of\ud
research with particular reference to pigs and discusses the aetiology of the condition
Applying pedagogical approaches to enhance learning: linking self-regulated and skill-based learning with support from moodle extensions
Get PDFThis paper provides an overview of the linkage of two pedagogical approaches; Skills-based Learning and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) supported by software. In linking these approaches, adaptive skills-based learning tools based on a psycho-pedagogical competence model, were assigned to a cyclic SRL process-model. The INNOVRET project provides the underlying framework in which this new model will be tested. Software components for Moodle (the learning management system of choice) were specifically tailored to suit the needs of the project’s targeted audience (i.e. heat pump installers). The entire system/model will be critically analysed in this paper
Implications of lymphocyte anergy to glycolipids in multiple sclerosis (MS): iNKT cells may mediate the MS infectious trigger
Get PDFImmunogenic lipids may play key roles in host defenses against infection and in generating autoimmune inflammation and organ-specific damage. In multiple sclerosis (MS) there are unequivocal autoimmune features and vulnerability to aggravation or induction by microbial or viral infection. We have found glycolipid-driven anergy of circulating lymphocytes in MS indicating that this immune response is affected in MS and the robust effects of iNKT activation with potent cellular and cytokine activities emphasizes its potential importance. Diverse glycolipids including the endogenous myelin acetylated-galactosylceramides (AcGalCer) can drive activation that could be critical to the inflammatory demyelination in the central nervous system and clinical consequences. The iNKT cells and their invariant or iTCR (Vα24Jα18Vβ11) constitute an innate defense−a discrete immune arm that is separate from peptide-driven acquired immune responses. This offers new possibilities for insight including a likelihood that the pattern recognition of exogenous microbial and myelin immunogens can overlap and cross-react especially in an inflammatory milieu
Invariant natural killer T-cell anergy to endogenous myelin acetyl-glycolipids in multiple sclerosis
Get PDFObjective: To extend our studies on the glycolipid-reactive invariant Natural Killer T-cell (iNKT-cell) function in multiple sclerosis (MS), we investigated the stimulatory activities of two myelin-derived glycolipids which are poly-acetylated derivatives of β-galactosylceramide, designated PA-GC and FMC-7 (fast migrating cerebroside-7). Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from MS patients or healthy control subjects were stimulated with PA-GC, FMC-7 or α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer). In cell expansion studies, the frequencies of iNKT-cells were analysed before and after glycolipid stimulation by flow cytometry. Analysis of cytokines in culture supernatants was performed using Th1/Th2 multiplexing and flow cytometry. \ud
Results: In healthy subjects, the myelin-derived glycolipids significantly expanded iNKT-cells in a similar way to α-GalCer and induced significant increases of Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines in peripheral blood cultures. In marked contrast, MS patients failed to respond to either of the myelin-derived acetylated glycolipids or to α-GalCer stimulation indicating an anergic response.\ud
Conclusions: We propose that myelin-derived glycolipids stimulate iNKT-cell responses in vivo and that regulation or inhibition of this response may determine the immune response or disease onset in the CNS
Global intentions: towards the establishment of an export framework for small and medium sized Irish businesses contemplating exporting.
No full textThe global marketplace represents an attractive, yet enigmatic, environment for small\ud
to medium enterprises (SMEs) seeking to expand their scope o f operations towards a\ud
larger scale position. In Ireland, the robust foundations o f a proud and self-sustaining\ud
national economic framework have being built upon attracting foreign direct\ud
investment. As foreign firms have deftly entered into this marketplace, however,\ud
small businesses are finding their accessibility to economic resources being mitigated\ud
and encroached upon. For this reason, the global market is becoming a tangible\ud
alternative, providing conduits for not only building a global brand, but for\ud
developing new inroads to untapped consumers throughout key markets. In order to\ud
support domestic commerce and to provide a foundation for encouraging development\ud
amongst Irish small businesses, agencies such as Enterprise Ireland (El) and the Irish\ud
Exporters Association (IE) have generated online informational resources that not\ud
only challenge SMEs to self-assess, but to consider a range o f forces, factors, and\ud
challenges within the export initiative itself. Yet in spite o f the surface level value o f\ud
these resources, the primary objective o f these agencies is to encourage the exporting\ud
process, neglecting many of the unique and organisational hurdles that are likely to\ud
confront the SME in their expansionary efforts. These hurdles include unachievable\ud
corporate expectations, inadequate financial analysis, shortage o f relevant data to\ud
conduct market analysis and failure to outline a strategic vision that is conductive to\ud
market performance and sustainable business outcomes. The current study reveals a\ud
variety o f pitfalls facing SMEs in both the intendant exporters approach and the\ud
support services ranging from market analysis to resource limitations to human\ud
resource challenges to a lack o f strategic partnerships.\ud
The research findings demonstrate that there is willingness by Irish SMEs to pursue\ud
the export option; however they outline a lack o f resources and agency support and a\ud
lack o f sufficient information and market data to enable robust preparation and indepth\ud
market analysis.\ud
The research findings demonstrated an acceptance from support agencies that there is\ud
a need for more specific focus on the internationalisation o f SMEs and that one\ud
MSc in Marketing Dissertation, 2012\ud
1\ud
Global Intentions Denis Haran\ud
export support agency drawing on best practice from all current agencies would be\ud
appropriate.\ud
A critical model o f SME analysis is prescribed, focusing on both internal and external\ud
forces in the export decision making process. Ultimately this study reveals that\ud
although Irish SMEs are self-sustaining and committed to an internally-driven\ud
foundation o f export-seeking behaviour, they must leverage a more diverse spectrum\ud
o f informational, predictive, and risk-adverse resources in order to actualise\ud
sustainable successes in the international community.\ud
The research finds that in order to mitigate uncertainty in the export process SMEs\ud
should be empowered through knowledge and informational resources. The models\ud
and lists currently provided do not ask many o f the difficult questions that confront\ud
SMEs.\ud
The research proposes three recommendations focused on risk mitigation and core\ud
business limitations namely ask meaningful and critical questions, identify partners\ud
and actively pursue, test the waters and explore opportunities. The research goes\ud
further and proposes a model o f effective exporting support services that has being\ud
derived from the analysis o f academic research in the field as well as feedback from a\ud
comprehensive study o f relevant literature. This incorporates six core dimensions of\ud
effective supports namely corporate expectations, financial factors, market analysis,\ud
strategic partnerships, marketing/consumer demand and strategic vision.\ud
These dimensions must be critically evaluated by the SMEs and essentially must be\ud
supported through relevant and effective government and agency supports
Sustainable management of tourist attractions in Ireland : the development of a generic sustainable management checklist
Get PDFThis thesis centres on the analysis of the sustainable management of visitor attractions in Ireland and the development of a tool to aid attraction managers to becoming sustainable tourism businesses. Attractions can be the focal point of a destination and it is important that they are sustainably managed to maintain future business. Fáilte Ireland has written an overview of the attractions sector in Ireland and discussed how they would drive best practice in the sector. However, there have still not been any sustainable management guidelines from Fáilte Ireland for tourist attractions in Ireland.\ud
The principal aims of this research was to assess tourism attractions in terms of water, energy, waste/recycling, monitoring, training, transportation, biodiversity, social/cultural sustainable management and economic sustainable management. A sustainable management checklist was then developed to aid attraction managers to sustainability within their attractions, thus saving money and the environment.\ud
Findings from this research concluded that tourism attractions in Ireland are not sustainably managed and there are no guidelines, training or funding in place to support these attraction managers in the transition to sustainability. Managers of attractions are not aware or knowledgeable enough in the area of sustainability. Education and training from bodies such as Fáilte Ireland, the EPA or local county councils, is paramount for these managers if they are to sustain and carry a viable and profitable business into the future, while helping to protect the environment.\ud
If tourism is to stimulate the economy in Ireland and provide jobs for generations to come, then tourism attractions must be developed sustainably. Cost savings are imperative for attractions in this economic climate. Once environmental action is in place, attractions can apply for certification with the hope of achieving an eco label, thus strengthening their competitive stance in the tourism destination
Low carbon housing refurbishment challenges in Ireland : a discussion
Get PDFThere are a great many variants which need to be considered prior to undertaking a building’s\ud
refurbishment, including: cost of refurbishment and the pay-back time, effects to health and\ud
the environment in respect to materials employed, annual fuel economy and cost of\ud
maintenance; aesthetics and functionality, comfort levels associated with heating, cooling,\ud
sound and air quality and then the longevity of the building fabric and improvements. (Brager,\ud
1996)\ud
A building in its environment forms part of a complex technological, ecological, social and\ud
esthetical system in the built environment; where sub systems which stem from these\ud
interdependencies influence the total efficiency performance. (Kaklauskas et al., 2005)\ud
There is no single solution to studying the challenges of low carbon housing refurbishment in\ud
Ireland; the discussion to these challenges is entrenched in broader aspects which have far\ud
reaching influence; such as: energy inputs needed to produce a product, the environmental\ud
impact associated with product choice, the informed management of material choices, the\ud
balance between economic development and the environment such as poverty and other social\ud
economic aspects, the question of land and resource management including the legalistic\ud
rights to these decisions, the optimisation and use of smart technologies both in the wider\ud
distribution sense as well as in local deployment of renewable energy integration; it became\ud
apparent that a holistic approach was needed to establish a solid discussion on this topic and\ud
therefore included but is not exclusive to the opening chapters on Embodied Carbon in\ud
Construction and Sustainability.\ud
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This research therefore explores the rationale to refurbishment prior to the challenges and\ud
exposes the necessary underlying influences, barriers and enablers, such as life cycle\ud
assessment, the impact of building materials, tools to calculate and manage informed choices,\ud
sustainable development models including the question of biomass in a modem society, low\ud
carbon opportunities and the natural impetus of community involvement in a sustainable and\ud
harmonised network, and then the outlook and arguments for refurbishment as part of\ud
Ireland’s response to meeting the Kyoto Agreement and the 2020 GHG emission levels\ud
through decision making models and other tools which currently present