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Developing a Market Segmentation Process Based on the Salient Correlates of Exercise Behaviour
Get PDFStudy Rationale and Purpose: An examination of exercise correlate literature reveals multi-faceted influences on physical activity, with motivation being a primary driver of exercise behaviour. However, this understanding of exercise correlates has not translated into more effective exercise interventions. An area that has received inadequate attention in the exercise domain is market segmentation. The primary goal of this research is to create a market segmentation process that integrates salient exercise correlates to produce a differentiated, clearly outlined, and actionable segment outcome.
Research Approach: Preliminary discussion group interviews confirmed the importance of motivational variables in determining exercise behaviour, as well as highlighting numerous other potential exercise correlates. The differentiated Exercise Motivations Inventory 2 (EMI-2) is selected as the core basis for segmentation, while the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) emerges as an effective means of capturing salient exercise correlates. A preliminary belief elicitation study establishes the modal salient beliefs of the target audience for inclusion in the final survey. The problematic young adult in tertiary education market is targeted and 775 students completed the survey integrating the EMI-2 scale and TPB beliefs, while 480 of these respondents took part in the behavioural follow-up survey four weeks later.
Findings: Two-step cluster analysis reveals a four-segment optimal outcome. The segmentation procedure using the EMI-2 constructs illustrates reasonably strong viability. Differentiation in motivational constructs across segments is pronounced and presents a segment solution that is of practical significance. Segment validity and stability outcomes are reasonably strong, but not without potential issues. Demographic, behavioural, and belief based comparisons between segments are used to enhance understanding and profiling of the segments. Strong support emerges for the profiling worth of gender and recent exercise status. Individual TPB behavioural and normative beliefs also emerge as valuable profiling agents, although control beliefs exhibit minimal differentiation across segments. Summated behavioural, normative, and control belief correlations with exercise behaviour illustrate differences across segments in line with expectations.
Practical and Academic Contributions: The core contribution is the development of a segmentation process that is unique in its integration of salient exercise behaviour correlates. This facilitates focused and customised exercise interventions. The segmentation process also has the capacity to be employed in many behavioural domains. It contributes as the first academic study to use the EMI-2 scale as the basis for segmentation, and to employ elicited TPB beliefs in a segment profiling capacity.
Study Limitations and Future Directions: The segment outcome emerged in a solution that demonstrates weak evidence of cluster structure, necessitating further validation of the segments. Future studies should incorporate formal measures of self-determination to strengthen the theoretical underpinning of the identified segments. The process of segment profiling using salient TPB needs to be repeated in future studies to further validate the approach. Application of the proposed segmentation process in action research is also advisable. Finally, the segmentation process should be tested in other behavioural domains
Advances in the synthesis of ZnO materials for varistor devices
Get PDFZnO based varistors are widely used for overvoltage protection in many electrical and electronic circuits, at
voltages ranging from a few to over a million volts. By careful control of the microstructure, through nanostructuring
by chemical routes, it should be possible to produce varistors with high breakdown voltage (Vc),
as this is proportional to the number of active grain boundaries in the sintered body. This property is
particularly important for the production of the small-sized varistors needed for modern electronic
instruments such as tablet computers and mobile phones. The current review will outline the recent
advances in the chemical processing (e.g. sol–gel, combustion synthesis plasma pyrolysis, micro-emulsion
synthesis and precipitation routes) of varistors from ZnO nanomaterials and the properties of these
materials. Uncontrolled grain growth at higher temperature is highlighted as a major challenge for
obtaining desirable electrical properties for nano-varistors. Various novel sintering techniques such as
step-sintering, spark plasma and microwave sintering methods are expected to deliver a varistor with controlled grain growth and optimum electrical characteristics
A Note on a Family of Generalized Pascal Matrices Defined by Riordan Arrays
Get PDFWe study the properties of a parameterized family of generalized Pascal matrices, defined by Riordan arrays. In particular, we characterize the central elements of these lower triangular matrices, which are analogues of the central binomial coefficients. We then specialize to the value 2 of the parameter, and study the inverse of the matrix in question, and in particular we study the sequences given by the first column and row sums of the inverse matrix. Links to moments and orthogonal polynomials are examined, and Hankel transforms are calculated. We study the effect of the powers of the binomial matrix on the family. Finally we posit a conjecture concerning determinants related to the Christoffel-Darboux bivariate quotients defined by the polynomials whose coefficient arrays are given by the generalized Pascal matrices
Factors determining the optimal architecture of a manufacturing execution system utilised in automated production
Get PDFInformation Technology driven manufacturing has progressively evolved since the
first introduction of computer systems. As the needs of industry become more
demanding, the software used to drive manufacturing must continually advance. In
order to remain competitive, businesses need to keep their costs of production down,
maintain high product quality and also drive maximum efficiencies. Only through
automated manufacturing processes, are businesses able to achieve these goals. High
levels of automation require the implementation of sophisticated Manufacturing
Execution Systems (MES). This research investigates the optimal design elements for
MES, with particular focus on the potential for a web based architecture. Product
comparisons, technological investigations and surveys were employed to elucidate
MES design and potential areas of enhancement. It was found that while a web based
MES could out-perform the traditional client-server model on various aspects, there
are too many security concerns to be viable as a cloud hosted application
Exercise, Weather, Safety, and Public Attitudes: A Qualitative Exploration of Leisure Cyclists’ Views on Cycling for Transport
Get PDFLevels of cycling for transport (CFT) in Ireland are very low—about 2% nationally—and the government has set a target of 10% of all trips to work by bicycle by 2020. The purpose of this study was to explore the complexities of leisure/sport cyclists’ views about CFT. Sixteen leisure/sport cyclists (four women and 12 men; about half cycled for transport) were interviewed about the factors that influenced their decision to cycle somewhere instead of driving and the role of the weather in that decision, whether they considered CFT to be real “exercise,” and the meaning of “safety.” The findings were that the decision to cycle for transport was dominated by practical concerns, and weather concerns added to this organizational burden. For city-dwellers, the key deciding factor was cycling’s efficiency and reliability. Safety concerns centered around negative interactions with drivers and there was a common belief that the general public had very negative attitudes to cycling and cyclists. Finally, most thought that CFT was not “proper” exercise as it would be of insufficient intensity or duration and would take from the time available to do this. These findings show that to promote CFT among leisure/sport cyclists, government and local authorities must improve and highlight the efficiency, safety, and legitimacy of cycling as a transport option. Without this, promotional activities that just focus on the exercise, health, and enjoyment potential of CFT will have little effect
An investigation of teachers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards alcohol and cannabis use among second level pupils and school based prevention
Get PDFThe use of alcohol and drugs among adolescents is of increasing public health and social concern. The normative relationship between young Irish people and harmful substances must be challenged (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Ireland, Changing the Future, 2011). Schools provide the perfect platform for the implementation of health education-prevention initiatives and must be facilitated with effective prevention programs (Fletcher et al., 2010). Irish school-based drug education-prevention is currently provided within the remit of the Social Personal Health Education (SPHE). However the effectiveness of the SPHE programme is often called into question, highlighting a number of issues which will be discussed in detail at a later stage.
This research aimed to investigate teachers’ perspectives in Ireland on their role, and that of the school, in the delivery of school-based alcohol and cannabis education-prevention. The ultimate goal of this research is to make recommendations in order to develop the responsibility of teaching staff within schools to recognize, help and advise pupils who are using or who may be at risk of experimenting with substances such as alcohol and cannabis. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 13 second level schools located in the Southern region of the Republic of Ireland. The questionnaire developed by the research team at the Haute Ecole Pedagogique [HEP], Lausanne, Switzerland, collected a range of data including; demographics, information on the teaching of SPHE and evidence regarding teachers’ participation, attitudes and perceptions of school-based alcohol and cannabis education-prevention.
Over half of participating teachers had never partaken in drug education activities despite majorities within the sample recognizing the importance and expressing their interest in alcohol and cannabis prevention. Teachers levels of satisfaction with their school were positively correlated with attitude toward the teacher and school’s role in alcohol and cannabis education prevention. The need for the implementation of school drug policies, along with training, support and information for all teachers is highlighted in these findings. The need for continued revision of the SPHE programme and development of whole school integrated approaches involving a shared organisation wide approach to pupils substance education-prevention is evident throughout
Student placement service: An exploratory investigation of employer retention and a “Priority Partner” intervention
Get PDFPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors relating to retention of employers on
an undergraduate work placement programme in a third level institution.
Design/methodology/approach – An action research methodology involving problem diagnosis,
intervention planning, action and evaluation is employed. The diagnosis involved a survey of 130
employers that had taken students on placement during the first two years of the placement
programme. The action research also involved workshops with the work placement team and the
making of an intervention with respect to enhancing the placement process through the introduction
of a Priority Partner initiative for 26 of the employers.
Findings – The survey findings reveal differences in the ranking of importance of college selection
criteria by employers, as well the impact of the placement manager’s characteristics on the placement
process. The intervention findings show that the employer retention percentage increased for the
Priority Partners but remained the same for the other employers.
Research limitations/implications – The study reports qualitative findings in the context of a
placement programme in one institution which limits external validity.
Practical implications – Employer retention would seem to be improved with the development
of a customer relations management orientation with employers. The role of the placement manager
is pivotal to enhancing the retention of employers as is the quality and professionalism of the
work placement service.
Originality/value – New empirical data extends the very limited understanding of company
retention on work placement programmes.
Keywords Student work placement, Employers, Action research, Cooperative education, Internship,
Students
Paper type Case stud
Perfidia
Get PDFPerfidia dramatises how the reckless economic and social policies of recent decades in Ireland have equated to a treacherous betrayal of Irish citizens leaving them vulnerable and forsaken. In the play’s title Jimmy Murphy has renamed Ireland and created a play that is bleak and uncompromising in its portrayal of modern Irish society
Towards a Conceptualisation of a Service Innovation Maturity Model
Get PDFFollowing best practice detailed by Jochem et al. (2011), this paper evaluates existing research concerned with the assessment and development of capabilities for effective service innovation in Irish SMEs and proposes a maturity model framework comprising of stages presented in an evolutionary framework that sequentially and incrementally describes the development of capabilities in a logical order. Our service innovation maturity levels range from low to high illustrating the increasing sophistication of the outlined attributes as firms grow and mature capabilities to achieve their service innovation goals.
Due to the research deficit, it is anticipated that the on-going study will make a substantial contribution to both academic knowledge and practice by expanding the service innovation literature and identifying and detailing the specific innovation maturity levels that can be used to enhance service innovativeness. The paper also highlights essential aspects of the discipline which warrant further investigation in the future
Information Compliance and libraries: part 2 - Freedom of Information
Get PDFFreedom of Information (FOI) for librarians
and information workers is considered in
the context of information compliance, legal
obligations and the practical workings of
FOI. This article addresses a second specific
aspect of information compliance – freedom
of information (FOI) and gives some practical
insight into what we need to be aware of and
what we need to know.
Keywords: Freedom of Information, FOI,
Libraries, Ireland; Information compliance,
Ireland, Office of the Information
Commissioner, Ombudsma