Investigating Customers' Experiences with Their Financial Services Customer Education Programs as It Impacts Customer Loyalty to the Financial Firm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Islam, Kaliym A.

2017-01-01

The problem addressed in this study was that customer education programs are intended to strengthen customer loyalty; however, research on the effects of customer education on customer loyalty remains insufficient. This phenomenological study investigated how the lived experiences of customers' participating in financial services' customer…

ASP, Art and Science of Practice: Educating Military Operations Research Practitioners

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-01

the ships are relatively slow. This is a multiple traveling salesman problem with moving customers, where the Navy may consume a gallon of fuel to...Defense, in a unique relationship that ensures NPS students and faculty are focused on critical and important problems facing the military. Our students...integrate graduate education with a commitment to solving real military problems , and our programs have already been documented in the open literature

The Customer Is Always Right: What the Business World Can Teach Us about Problem Patrons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Rebecca

2002-01-01

Discussion of problem patrons in libraries focuses on how businesses handle customer complaints, namely regarding them as opportunities to improve customer service and satisfaction. Suggests libraries need to provide channels for patrons to make complaints, follow up on them, and train staff to deal with user dissatisfaction. (Author/LRW)

Dual-scan technique for the customization of zirconia computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing frameworks.

PubMed

Andreiuolo, Rafael Ferrone; Sabrosa, Carlos Eduardo; Dias, Katia Regina H Cervantes

2013-09-01

The use of bi-layered all-ceramic crowns has continuously grown since the introduction of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) zirconia cores. Unfortunately, despite the outstanding mechanical properties of zirconia, problems related to porcelain cracking or chipping remain. One of the reasons for this is that ceramic copings are usually milled to uniform thicknesses of 0.3-0.6 mm around the whole tooth preparation. This may not provide uniform thickness or appropriate support for the veneering porcelain. To prevent these problems, the dual-scan technique demonstrates an alternative that allows the restorative team to customize zirconia CAD/CAM frameworks with adequate porcelain thickness and support in a simple manner.

Integrated production and distribution scheduling problems related to fixed delivery departure dates and weights of late orders.

PubMed

Li, Shanlin; Li, Maoqin

2015-01-01

We consider an integrated production and distribution scheduling problem faced by a typical make-to-order manufacturer which relies on a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for finished product delivery to customers. In the beginning of a planning horizon, the manufacturer has received a set of orders to be processed on a single production line. Completed orders are delivered to customers by a finite number of vehicles provided by the 3PL company which follows a fixed daily or weekly shipping schedule such that the vehicles have fixed departure dates which are not part of the decisions. The problem is to find a feasible schedule that minimizes one of the following objective functions when processing times and weights are oppositely ordered: (1) the total weight of late orders and (2) the number of vehicles used subject to the condition that the total weight of late orders is minimum. We show that both problems are solvable in polynomial time.

Integrated Production and Distribution Scheduling Problems Related to Fixed Delivery Departure Dates and Weights of Late Orders

PubMed Central

Li, Shanlin; Li, Maoqin

2015-01-01

We consider an integrated production and distribution scheduling problem faced by a typical make-to-order manufacturer which relies on a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for finished product delivery to customers. In the beginning of a planning horizon, the manufacturer has received a set of orders to be processed on a single production line. Completed orders are delivered to customers by a finite number of vehicles provided by the 3PL company which follows a fixed daily or weekly shipping schedule such that the vehicles have fixed departure dates which are not part of the decisions. The problem is to find a feasible schedule that minimizes one of the following objective functions when processing times and weights are oppositely ordered: (1) the total weight of late orders and (2) the number of vehicles used subject to the condition that the total weight of late orders is minimum. We show that both problems are solvable in polynomial time. PMID:25785285

Outcomes study of a customer relations educational program in dialysis practice.

PubMed

Schmidt, Jill

2006-01-01

In the fall of 2003, a customer relations staff educational program was instituted for use throughout Renal Care Group. After 1 year and 4 months, an outcomes study was implemented to evaluate and revise the program. The program is taught by the dialysis social worker to the rest of the dialysis health-care team to increase customer relations skills with the patients, their families, and dialysis coworkers. Today, more than ever, patients are seeking better quality health care not only in technical skills but also in compassionate care. Pretest and posttest scores from each training session indicated the necessity of this training and knowledge gained. Through a survey of instructors, strengths of the program were identified, as well as were areas that needed revision. In addition to providing helpful information, some of the main strengths of the program indicated by instructors were team building and problem solving. Revisions consisted primarily of shortening the modules and simplifying the program's use.

Lessons learned from KSC processing on STS science, applications, and commercial payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, W. E.; Ragusa, J. M.

1984-01-01

The present investigation is concerned with an evaluation of the lessons learned in connection with the flights of the Shuttle orbiters Columbia, Challenger, and Discovery. A description is provided of several general and specific lessons related to the processing of free-flying and attached payloads. John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), as the prime launch and landing site, is responsible for managing all payload-to-payload, payload-to-simulated orbiter, and payload-to-orbiter operations. For each payload, a KSC Launch Site Support Manager (LSSM) is named as the primary point of contact for the customer. Attention is given to aspects of planning interaction, payload types, and problems of ground processing. The discussed lessons are partly related to the value of early contact between customers and KSC representatives, the primary point of contact, the launch site support plan, and the importance of customer participation.

Analysis of the single-vehicle cyclic inventory routing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghezzaf, El-Houssaine; Zhong, Yiqing; Raa, Birger; Mateo, Manel

2012-11-01

The single-vehicle cyclic inventory routing problem (SV-CIRP) consists of a repetitive distribution of a product from a single depot to a selected subset of customers. For each customer, selected for replenishments, the supplier collects a corresponding fixed reward. The objective is to determine the subset of customers to replenish, the quantity of the product to be delivered to each and to design the vehicle route so that the resulting profit (difference between the total reward and the total logistical cost) is maximised while preventing stockouts at each of the selected customers. This problem appears often as a sub-problem in many logistical problems. In this article, the SV-CIRP is formulated as a mixed-integer program with a nonlinear objective function. After a thorough analysis of the structure of the problem and its features, an exact algorithm for its solution is proposed. This exact algorithm requires only solutions of linear mixed-integer programs. Values of a savings-based heuristic for this problem are compared to the optimal values obtained for a set of some test problems. In general, the gap may get as large as 25%, which justifies the effort to continue exploring and developing exact and approximation algorithms for the SV-CIRP.

Generic Entity Resolution in Relational Databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidló, Csaba István

Entity Resolution (ER) covers the problem of identifying distinct representations of real-world entities in heterogeneous databases. We consider the generic formulation of ER problems (GER) with exact outcome. In practice, input data usually resides in relational databases and can grow to huge volumes. Yet, typical solutions described in the literature employ standalone memory resident algorithms. In this paper we utilize facilities of standard, unmodified relational database management systems (RDBMS) to enhance the efficiency of GER algorithms. We study and revise the problem formulation, and propose practical and efficient algorithms optimized for RDBMS external memory processing. We outline a real-world scenario and demonstrate the advantage of algorithms by performing experiments on insurance customer data.

Decoding Problem Gamblers' Signals: A Decision Model for Casino Enterprises.

PubMed

Ifrim, Sandra

2015-12-01

The aim of the present study is to offer a validated decision model for casino enterprises. The model enables those users to perform early detection of problem gamblers and fulfill their ethical duty of social cost minimization. To this end, the interpretation of casino customers' nonverbal communication is understood as a signal-processing problem. Indicators of problem gambling recommended by Delfabbro et al. (Identifying problem gamblers in gambling venues: final report, 2007) are combined with Viterbi algorithm into an interdisciplinary model that helps decoding signals emitted by casino customers. Model output consists of a historical path of mental states and cumulated social costs associated with a particular client. Groups of problem and non-problem gamblers were simulated to investigate the model's diagnostic capability and its cost minimization ability. Each group consisted of 26 subjects and was subsequently enlarged to 100 subjects. In approximately 95% of the cases, mental states were correctly decoded for problem gamblers. Statistical analysis using planned contrasts revealed that the model is relatively robust to the suppression of signals performed by casino clientele facing gambling problems as well as to misjudgments made by staff regarding the clients' mental states. Only if the last mentioned source of error occurs in a very pronounced manner, i.e. judgment is extremely faulty, cumulated social costs might be distorted.

Finite Optimal Stopping Problems: The Seller's Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmati, Mehdi; Smith, J. Cole

2011-01-01

We consider a version of an optimal stopping problem, in which a customer is presented with a finite set of items, one by one. The customer is aware of the number of items in the finite set and the minimum and maximum possible value of each item, and must purchase exactly one item. When an item is presented to the customer, she or he observes its…

Meta-expert system for cargo container screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alberts, David S.

1994-02-01

This paper reports upon improvements and extensions of rule-based expert systems and related technologies in the context of their application to the cargo container screening problem. These innovations have been incorporated into a system built for and deployed by U.S. Customs with funding provided by the DCI's Counter Narcotics Committee. Given the serious nature of the drug smuggling threat and the low probability of intercept, the ability to target the extremely limited inspectional resources available to U.S. Customs is a prerequisite for success in fighting the `Drug War.'

An experimental investigation of justice-based service recovery on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and word-of-mouth intentions.

PubMed

Shapiro, Terri; Nieman-Gonder, Jennifer M; Andreoli, Nicole A; Trimarco-Beta, Darlene

2006-12-01

Service recovery is related to many important organizational outcomes such as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability. Within the theoretical framework of organizational justice, an experiment using a simulated "live" service failure was used to assess the effects of justice-based service-recovery strategies on customer satisfaction, loyalty, positive word-of-mouth intentions, and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Analysis indicated that strategies including interactional justice, distributive justice, and a combination of these were equally effective in maintaining customer satisfaction, loyalty, and positive word of mouth, and minimizing negative word of mouth after a service failure. No support for the service recovery paradox, that is, increased satisfaction following service failure and recovery compared to never having a problem, was found. Satisfaction and loyalty for those in the failure conditions were equal to, although not higher than, in the no-failure control condition. Practical implications for organizational practices are discussed.

Human factors involvement in bringing the power of AI to a heterogeneous user population

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czerwinski, Mary; Nguyen, Trung

1994-01-01

The Human Factors involvement in developing COMPAQ QuickSolve, an electronic problem-solving and information system for Compaq's line of networked printers, is described. Empowering customers with expert system technology so they could solve advanced networked printer problems on their own was a major goal in designing this system. This process would minimize customer down-time, reduce the number of phone calls to the Compaq Customer Support Center, improve customer satisfaction, and, most importantly, differentiate Compaq printers in the marketplace by providing the best, and most technologically advanced, customer support. This represents a re-engineering of Compaq's customer support strategy and implementation. In its first generation system, SMART, the objective was to provide expert knowledge to Compaq's help desk operation to more quickly and correctly answer customer questions and problems. QuickSolve is a second generation system in that customer support is put directly in the hands of the consumers. As a result, the design of QuickSolve presented a number of challenging issues. Because the produce would be used by a diverse and heterogeneous set of users, a significant amount of human factors research and analysis was required while designing and implementing the system. Research that shaped the organization and design of the expert system component as well.

Results of the Software Process Improvement Efforts of the Early Adopters in NAVAIR 4.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-01

and customer satisfaction. AIRSpeed utilizes a structured, problem solving methodology called DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control...widely used in business. DMAIC leads project teams through the logical steps from problem definition to problem resolution. Each phase has a specific set...costs and improving productivity and customer satisfaction. AIRSpeed utilizes the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) structured problem

Two phase genetic algorithm for vehicle routing and scheduling problem with cross-docking and time windows considering customer satisfaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baniamerian, Ali; Bashiri, Mahdi; Zabihi, Fahime

2018-03-01

Cross-docking is a new warehousing policy in logistics which is widely used all over the world and attracts many researchers attention to study about in last decade. In the literature, economic aspects has been often studied, while one of the most significant factors for being successful in the competitive global market is improving quality of customer servicing and focusing on customer satisfaction. In this paper, we introduce a vehicle routing and scheduling problem with cross-docking and time windows in a three-echelon supply chain that considers customer satisfaction. A set of homogeneous vehicles collect products from suppliers and after consolidation process in the cross-dock, immediately deliver them to customers. A mixed integer linear programming model is presented for this problem to minimize transportation cost and early/tardy deliveries with scheduling of inbound and outbound vehicles to increase customer satisfaction. A two phase genetic algorithm (GA) is developed for the problem. For investigating the performance of the algorithm, it was compared with exact and lower bound solutions in small and large-size instances, respectively. Results show that there are at least 86.6% customer satisfaction by the proposed method, whereas customer satisfaction in the classical model is at most 33.3%. Numerical examples results show that the proposed two phase algorithm could achieve optimal solutions in small-size instances. Also in large-size instances, the proposed two phase algorithm could achieve better solutions with less gap from the lower bound in less computational time in comparison with the classic GA.

Influencing behavioral change by customer engagement amongst youth

PubMed Central

Singh, Sonal

2011-01-01

It is widely accepted that many social and health problems have underlying behavioral causes. Because these problems are rooted in human behavior, solutions to deal with them also lie in human behavior. This paper examines ways of integrating customer engagement in social programs to influence and initiate behavior change effectively with a special focus on youth. This work followed a theoretical deduction by use of a literature review. Social marketing places emphasis on behavior change, and one of the key challenges for social marketers is to ensure a perceived value for customers in taking up and maintaining positive behavior. If perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and values influence behavior, then the central focus should be on the youth. Integrating youth is a prerequisite for effective social marketing programs and ultimately behavioral change. This approach will pave the way for effective brand positioning and brand loyalty in social marketing which has been lacking and requires more attention from researchers and policymakers. This paper outlines theoretical developments in social marketing that will increase the effectiveness of social marketing programs overall. Existing social marketing literature typically focuses on social marketing interventions and behavioral change. This paper uses customer engagement within a social marketing context so that social marketing programs are perceived as brands to which youth can relate. PMID:24600281

Influencing behavioral change by customer engagement amongst youth.

PubMed

Singh, Sonal

2011-01-01

It is widely accepted that many social and health problems have underlying behavioral causes. Because these problems are rooted in human behavior, solutions to deal with them also lie in human behavior. This paper examines ways of integrating customer engagement in social programs to influence and initiate behavior change effectively with a special focus on youth. This work followed a theoretical deduction by use of a literature review. Social marketing places emphasis on behavior change, and one of the key challenges for social marketers is to ensure a perceived value for customers in taking up and maintaining positive behavior. If perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and values influence behavior, then the central focus should be on the youth. Integrating youth is a prerequisite for effective social marketing programs and ultimately behavioral change. This approach will pave the way for effective brand positioning and brand loyalty in social marketing which has been lacking and requires more attention from researchers and policymakers. This paper outlines theoretical developments in social marketing that will increase the effectiveness of social marketing programs overall. Existing social marketing literature typically focuses on social marketing interventions and behavioral change. This paper uses customer engagement within a social marketing context so that social marketing programs are perceived as brands to which youth can relate.

On Profit-Maximizing Pricing for the Highway and Tollbooth Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elbassioni, Khaled; Raman, Rajiv; Ray, Saurabh; Sitters, René

In the tollbooth problem on trees, we are given a tree T= (V,E) with n edges, and a set of m customers, each of whom is interested in purchasing a path on the graph. Each customer has a fixed budget, and the objective is to price the edges of T such that the total revenue made by selling the paths to the customers that can afford them is maximized. An important special case of this problem, known as the highway problem, is when T is restricted to be a line. For the tollbooth problem, we present an O(logn)-approximation, improving on the current best O(logm)-approximation. We also study a special case of the tollbooth problem, when all the paths that customers are interested in purchasing go towards a fixed root of T. In this case, we present an algorithm that returns a (1 - ɛ)-approximation, for any ɛ> 0, and runs in quasi-polynomial time. On the other hand, we rule out the existence of an FPTAS by showing that even for the line case, the problem is strongly NP-hard. Finally, we show that in the discount model, when we allow some items to be priced below zero to improve the overall profit, the problem becomes even APX-hard.

Approximation Algorithms for the Highway Problem under the Coupon Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamane, Ryoso; Itoh, Toshiya; Tomita, Kouhei

When a store sells items to customers, the store wishes to decide the prices of items to maximize its profit. Intuitively, if the store sells the items with low (resp. high) prices, the customers buy more (resp. less) items, which provides less profit to the store. So it would be hard for the store to decide the prices of items. Assume that the store has a set V of n items and there is a set E of m customers who wish to buy the items, and also assume that each item i ∈ V has the production cost di and each customer ej ∈ E has the valuation vj on the bundle ej ⊆ V of items. When the store sells an item i ∈ V at the price ri, the profit for the item i is pi = ri - di. The goal of the store is to decide the price of each item to maximize its total profit. We refer to this maximization problem as the item pricing problem. In most of the previous works, the item pricing problem was considered under the assumption that pi ≥ 0 for each i ∈ V, however, Balcan, et al. [In Proc. of WINE, LNCS 4858, 2007] introduced the notion of “loss-leader, ” and showed that the seller can get more total profit in the case that pi < 0 is allowed than in the case that pi < 0 is not allowed. In this paper, we consider the line highway problem (in which each customer is interested in an interval on the line of the items) and the cycle highway problem (in which each customer is interested in an interval on the cycle of the items), and show approximation algorithms for the line highway problem and the cycle highway problem in which the smallest valuation is s and the largest valuation is l (this is called an [s, l]-valuation setting) or all valuations are identical (this is called a single valuation setting).

A Customized Attention-Based Long Short-Term Memory Network for Distant Supervised Relation Extraction.

PubMed

He, Dengchao; Zhang, Hongjun; Hao, Wenning; Zhang, Rui; Cheng, Kai

2017-07-01

Distant supervision, a widely applied approach in the field of relation extraction can automatically generate large amounts of labeled training corpus with minimal manual effort. However, the labeled training corpus may have many false-positive data, which would hurt the performance of relation extraction. Moreover, in traditional feature-based distant supervised approaches, extraction models adopt human design features with natural language processing. It may also cause poor performance. To address these two shortcomings, we propose a customized attention-based long short-term memory network. Our approach adopts word-level attention to achieve better data representation for relation extraction without manually designed features to perform distant supervision instead of fully supervised relation extraction, and it utilizes instance-level attention to tackle the problem of false-positive data. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach is effective and achieves better performance than traditional methods.

Health-Related Quality of Life among Nonprescription Medicine Customers in Malaysia.

PubMed

Shafie, Asrul Akmal; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Mohamad Yahaya, Abdul Haniff

2013-05-01

To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among nonprescription medicine customers in Malaysia and the factors that affect it. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among pharmacy customers in 59 randomly selected community pharmacies in Malaysia. The self-administered questionnaire included the EuroQoL five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire, the EuroQol visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), nonprescription medicines purchase, and demographic questions. Data were analyzed by using the multivariate analysis of variance and multiple logistic regressions. A total of 2729 customers enrolled in this study, with a mean EQ-5D questionnaire score of 0.92±0.15 and a mean EQ-VAS score of 69.92±24.80. Compared with the Malaysian adult population, nonprescription medicine customers have a lower mean EQ-5D questionnaire score (t =-4.49, P<0.01) and EQ-VAS score (t =-25.87, P<0.01). We found that pain/discomfort (25.6%) and anxiety/depression (13.7%) were the major HRQOL problems. Locality, age, ethnicity, household income per month, type of occupation, and type of nonprescription medicine purchased were associated with health status of nonprescription medicine customers (F 22,5286 = 2.555; Wilks' lambda = 0.979; P< 0.01). The HRQOL of nonprescription medicine customers is lower than that of the general Malaysian population. Lower health status was independently associated with older age, living in rural areas, having low income and education level, and purchasing blood and blood-forming medicines from community pharmacy. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determining rules for closing customer service centers: A public utility company's fuzzy decision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dekorvin, Andre; Shipley, Margaret F.; Lea, Robert N.

1992-01-01

In the present work, we consider the general problem of knowledge acquisition under uncertainty. Simply stated, the problem reduces to the following: how can we capture the knowledge of an expert when the expert is unable to clearly formulate how he or she arrives at a decision? A commonly used method is to learn by examples. We observe how the expert solves specific cases and from this infer some rules by which the decision may have been made. Unique to our work is the fuzzy set representation of the conditions or attributes upon which the expert may possibly base his fuzzy decision. From our examples, we infer certain and possible fuzzy rules for closing a customer service center and illustrate the importance of having the decision closely relate to the conditions under consideration.

The Relative Merits of PBL (Problem-Based Learning) in University Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Steve

2012-01-01

In Australia, academic workloads are increasing, and university funding is decreasing. Academics and university managers are engaging in risk adverse behavior and tending to focus on customer satisfaction and student retention, potentially at the expense of academic standards. Conventional approaches to pedagogy minimize adverse student feedback,…

International Counseling Students in Turkey and Their Training Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilhan, Tahsin; Korkut-Owen, Fidan; Furr, Susan; Parikh, Sejal

2012-01-01

This study examines the perceptions and experiences of international counseling students (ICSs) in university training programs in Turkey. A majority of participants reported they had adjusted positively, but did experience problems related to language, food, and customs. Participants largely also thought that the training in Turkey met their…

Research on the precise positioning of customers in large data environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Xu; He, Lili

2018-04-01

Customer positioning has always been a problem that enterprises focus on. In this paper, FCM clustering algorithm is used to cluster customer groups. However, due to the traditional FCM clustering algorithm, which is susceptible to the influence of the initial clustering center and easy to fall into the local optimal problem, the short board of FCM is solved by the gray optimization algorithm (GWO) to achieve efficient and accurate handling of a large number of retailer data.

A heuristic approach to handle capacitated facility location problem evaluated using clustering internal evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutanto, G. R.; Kim, S.; Kim, D.; Sutanto, H.

2018-03-01

One of the problems in dealing with capacitated facility location problem (CFLP) is occurred because of the difference between the capacity numbers of facilities and the number of customers that needs to be served. A facility with small capacity may result in uncovered customers. These customers need to be re-allocated to another facility that still has available capacity. Therefore, an approach is proposed to handle CFLP by using k-means clustering algorithm to handle customers’ allocation. And then, if customers’ re-allocation is needed, is decided by the overall average distance between customers and the facilities. This new approach is benchmarked to the existing approach by Liao and Guo which also use k-means clustering algorithm as a base idea to decide the facilities location and customers’ allocation. Both of these approaches are benchmarked by using three clustering evaluation methods with connectedness, compactness, and separations factors.

APOM-project: managing change to the customer in community pharmacy practice.

PubMed

Mobach, M P; van der Werf, J; Tromp, T F

1999-10-01

In 1994, a Ph.D.-study started regarding pharmacy, organization and management (APOM) in the Netherlands. This article describes the final phase of the study in community pharmacy practice: managerial problems in change to the customer and the difference between supported pharmacy managers and independent ones. It appeared that pharmacy managers experienced problems with the formulation and use of aims, norms, and measurements. Although many organizations operating in the pharmaceutical sector are a good source for new ideas, they lack to have the proper support for these problems. The difference between supported and independent pharmacy managers was minimal in the change to the customer. Pharmacy managers are in need of micro-instrumentalization: aims, norms, and monitor instruments for customer activities applicable at their own pharmacy. Moreover, pharmacy managers will have to learn how to deal with the tension between money and care in order to improve the 'grip' on their organization.

A new customer service partnership for hospitals and physicians.

PubMed

Sanford, Kathleen D

2011-12-01

To promote better customer service, clinical and finance leaders should work as partners to: Make customer service as important a goal as clinical quality. Educate staff on better communication with patients and families. Perform a root-cause analysis to identify problem trends.

Academic Librarians and Publishers: Customers versus Producers or Partners in the Planning of Electronic Publishing?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Karen

1988-01-01

Proposes that academic librarians and publishers should view themselves as partners rather than adversaries. Following a discussion of premises, problems, and attitudes related to librarian-publisher cooperation, several areas for joint development are suggested: new products and services; CD-ROM; electronic document delivery; scholarly book…

UNDERSTANDING THE PUERTO RICAN AND HIS FAMILY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

THOMAS MARIE, SISTER

AN UNDERSTANDING OF TRADITIONAL PUERTO RICAN FAMILY CUSTOMS AND BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUERTO RICAN AND OTHER LIFE STYLES SHOULD HELP PROFESSIONAL WORKERS SOLVE THE PROBLEMS CREATED BY MIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. THE CULTURE OF THE PUERTO RICAN CAN BE DESCRIBED IN RELATION TO THREE CONCEPTS--DIGNIDAD (SELF-ESTEEM OR SELF-WORTH), RESPETO…

Tips on the Care and Adjustment of Vietnamese and Other Asian Children in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Helen M.

This handbook provides information related to the physical, emotional, and language problems that may face newly adopted Vietnamese or Korean children and their adoptive parents. Cultural differences among Vietnamese, Korean, and American families in such areas as diet, sleeping customs, clothing, child care, communication, toilet habits, and…

Improving Beta Test Evaluation Response Rates: A Meta-Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russ-Eft, Darlene; Preskill, Hallie

2005-01-01

This study presents a meta-evaluation of a beta-test of a customer service training program. The initial evaluation showed a low response rate. Therefore, the meta-evaluation focused on issues related to the conduct of the initial evaluation and reasons for nonresponse. The meta-evaluation identified solutions to the nonresponse problem as related…

AFMC Customer Satisfaction Study at the Air Logistics Centers

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

research was guided by a previous Graduate Research Project (GRP) effort, which sought to determine how customer relationship management ( CRM ...and effectively. To accomplish this, AFMC is implementing Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ) as one of its initiatives. Problem Statement...for improvement. More than fifty-one percent of the participants were not aware that Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ) was a transformation

Software Engineering Improvement Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

In performance of this task order, bd Systems personnel provided support to the Flight Software Branch and the Software Working Group through multiple tasks related to software engineering improvement and to activities of the independent Technical Authority (iTA) Discipline Technical Warrant Holder (DTWH) for software engineering. To ensure that the products, comments, and recommendations complied with customer requirements and the statement of work, bd Systems personnel maintained close coordination with the customer. These personnel performed work in areas such as update of agency requirements and directives database, software effort estimation, software problem reports, a web-based process asset library, miscellaneous documentation review, software system requirements, issue tracking software survey, systems engineering NPR, and project-related reviews. This report contains a summary of the work performed and the accomplishments in each of these areas.

Ergonomics improvements of the visual inspection process in a printed circuit assembly factory.

PubMed

Yeow, Paul H P; Sen, Rabindra Nath

2004-01-01

An ergonomics improvement study was conducted on the visual inspection process of a printed circuit assembly (PCA) factory. The process was studied through subjective assessment and direct observation. Three problems were identified: operators' eye problems, insufficient time for inspection and ineffective visual inspection. These problems caused a huge yearly rejection cost of US 298,240 dollars, poor quality, customer dissatisfaction and poor occupational health and safety. Ergonomics interventions were made to rectify the problems: reduced usage of a magnifying glass, the use of less glaring inspection templates, inspection of only electrically non-tested components and introduction of a visual inspection sequence. The interventions produced savings in rejection cost, reduced operators' eye strain, headaches and watery eyes, lowered the defect percentage at customers' sites and increased the factory's productivity and customer satisfaction.

Expert system prototype developments for NASA-KSC business and engineering applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragusa, James M.; Gonzalez, Avelino J.

1988-01-01

Prototype expert systems developed for a variety of NASA projects in the business/management and engineering domains are discussed. Business-related problems addressed include an assistant for simulating launch vehicle processing, a plan advisor for the acquisition of automated data processing equipment, and an expert system for the identification of customer requirements. Engineering problems treated include an expert system for detecting potential ignition sources in LOX and gaseous-oxygen transportation systems and an expert system for hazardous-gas detection.

Do it right this time: the role of employee service recovery performance in customer-perceived justice and customer loyalty after service failures.

PubMed

Liao, Hui

2007-03-01

Integrating justice and customer service literatures, this research examines the role of customer service employees' behaviors of handling customer complaints, or service recovery performance (SRP), in conveying a just image of service organizations and achieving desirable customer outcomes. Results from a field study and a laboratory study demonstrate that the dimensions of SRP--making an apology, problem solving, being courteous, and prompt handling--positively influenced customer satisfaction and then customer repurchase intent through the mediation of customer-perceived justice. In addition, service failure severity and repeated failures reduced the positive impact of some dimensions of SRP on customer satisfaction, and customer-perceived justice again mediated these moderated effects. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

Artificial Intelligence Techniques for the Berth Allocation and Container Stacking Problems in Container Terminals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salido, Miguel A.; Rodriguez-Molins, Mario; Barber, Federico

The Container Stacking Problem and the Berth Allocation Problem are two important problems in maritime container terminal's management which are clearly related. Terminal operators normally demand all containers to be loaded into an incoming vessel should be ready and easily accessible in the terminal before vessel's arrival. Similarly, customers (i.e., vessel owners) expect prompt berthing of their vessels upon arrival. In this paper, we present an artificial intelligence based-integrated system to relate these problems. Firstly, we develop a metaheuristic algorithm for berth allocation which generates an optimized order of vessel to be served according to existing berth constraints. Secondly, we develop a domain-oriented heuristic planner for calculating the number of reshuffles needed to allocate containers in the appropriate place for a given berth ordering of vessels. By combining these optimized solutions, terminal operators can be assisted to decide the most appropriated solution in each particular case.

Suppressing emotion and engaging with complaining customers at work related to experience of depression and anxiety symptoms: a nationwide cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Yoon, Jin-Ha; Kang, Mo-Yeol; Jeung, Dayee; Chang, Sei-Jin

2017-06-08

Our aim was to investigate the relationship between suppressing emotion and engaging with complaining customers at work and experience of depression and anxiety symptoms. We used nationally representative data from the Korean Working Condition Survey with 15,669 paid customer service workers. Job characteristics of "Engaging with Complaints", "Suppressing Emotion", experience of depression and anxiety symptoms were measured by self-reported questionnaires. Gender specific odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression after controlling for age, income, education level, job satisfaction, and working hours per week. The results showed that people who were 'Always Engaging with Complaints' (OR: 3.81, 95% CI: 1.83-7.96 for male, OR: 3.98, 95% CI: 2.07-7.66 for female) and 'Always Suppressing Emotion' (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.33-4.08 for male, OR: 2.83, 95% CI: 1.67-4.77 for female) were more likely to experience depression and anxiety symptoms compared to those 'Rarely Engaging with Complaints' and 'Rarely Suppressing Emotion', respectively. Additionally, there was an interactive relationship between those job characteristics. Our nationwide study demonstrates that mental health problems are incrementally related to how much service workers must engage with complaining customers and suppressing emotion at work.

The design of optimal electric power demand management contracts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fahrioglu, Murat

1999-11-01

Our society derives a quantifiable benefit from electric power. In particular, forced outages or blackouts have enormous consequences on society, one of which is loss of economic surplus. Electric utilities try to provide reliable supply of electric power to their customers. Maximum customer benefit derives from minimum cost and sufficient supply availability. Customers willing to share in "availability risk" can derive further benefit by participating in controlled outage programs. Specifically, whenever utilities foresee dangerous loading patterns, there is a need for a rapid reduction in demand either system-wide or at specific locations. The utility needs to get relief in order to solve its problems quickly and efficiently. This relief can come from customers who agree to curtail their loads upon request in exchange for an incentive fee. This thesis shows how utilities can get efficient load relief while maximizing their economic benefit. This work also shows how estimated customer cost functions can be calibrated, using existing utility data, to help in designing efficient demand management contracts. In order to design such contracts, optimal mechanism design is adopted from "Game Theory" and applied to the interaction between a utility and its customers. The idea behind mechanism design is to design an incentive structure that encourages customers to sign up for the right contract and reveal their true value of power. If a utility has demand management contracts with customers at critical locations, most operational problems can be solved efficiently. This thesis illustrates how locational attributes of customers incorporated into demand management contract design can have a significant impact in solving system problems. This kind of demand management contracts can also be used by an Independent System Operator (ISO). During times of congestion a loss of economic surplus occurs. When the market is too slow or cannot help relieve congestion, demand management can help solve the problem. Another tool the ISO requires for security purposes is reserves. Even though demand management contracts may not be a good substitute for spinning reserves, they are adequate to augment or replace supplemental and backup reserves.

Improved Approximation Algorithms for Item Pricing with Bounded Degree and Valuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamane, Ryoso; Itoh, Toshiya

When a store sells items to customers, the store wishes to decide the prices of the items to maximize its profit. If the store sells the items with low (resp. high) prices, the customers buy more (resp. less) items, which provides less profit to the store. It would be hard for the store to decide the prices of items. Assume that a store has a set V of n items and there is a set C of m customers who wish to buy those items. The goal of the store is to decide the price of each item to maximize its profit. We refer to this maximization problem as an item pricing problem. We classify the item pricing problems according to how many items the store can sell or how the customers valuate the items. If the store can sell every item i with unlimited (resp. limited) amount, we refer to this as unlimited supply (resp. limited supply). We say that the item pricing problem is single-minded if each customer j∈C wishes to buy a set ej⊆V of items and assigns valuation w(ej)≥0. For the single-minded item pricing problems (in unlimited supply), Balcan and Blum regarded them as weighted k-hypergraphs and gave several approximation algorithms. In this paper, we focus on the (pseudo) degree of k-hypergraphs and the valuation ratio, i. e., the ratio between the smallest and the largest valuations. Then for the single-minded item pricing problems (in unlimited supply), we show improved approximation algorithms (for k-hypergraphs, general graphs, bipartite graphs, etc.) with respect to the maximum (pseudo) degree and the valuation ratio.

A vigorous approach to customer service.

PubMed

Pollock, E K

1993-01-01

PPG Industries, Inc. is the world's largest supplier of automotive original coatings. Its business-to-business customers require individualized service based on specific requirements. The company has solidified these relationships by establishing satellite supply facilities, applying the quality process to problem solving, and providing a variety of outlets for customer feedback.

A Knowledge Navigation Method for the Domain of Customers' Services of Mobile Communication Corporations in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jiangning; Wang, Xiaohuan

Rapidly increasing amount of mobile phone users and types of services leads to a great accumulation of complaining information. How to use this information to enhance the quality of customers' services is a big issue at present. To handle this kind of problem, the paper presents an approach to construct a domain knowledge map for navigating the explicit and tacit knowledge in two ways: building the Topic Map-based explicit knowledge navigation model, which includes domain TM construction, a semantic topic expansion algorithm and VSM-based similarity calculation; building Social Network Analysis-based tacit knowledge navigation model, which includes a multi-relational expert navigation algorithm and the criterions to evaluate the performance of expert networks. In doing so, both the customer managers and operators in call centers can find the appropriate knowledge and experts quickly and exactly. The experimental results show that the above method is very powerful for knowledge navigation.

Trade-Offs, Biases, and Uncertainty in Project Planning and Execution: A Problem-Based Simulation Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Daniels, Dwight E.; Smith-Daniels, Vicki L.

2008-01-01

The ability to plan and execute projects is a fundamental skill required among managers and business school graduates. In the opening phase of a project, the project team makes decisions about the relative priority of project time, cost, and performance objectives, oftentimes without complete information about customer and stakeholder…

Customer service providers' attitudes relating to customer service and customer satisfaction in the customer-server exchange.

PubMed

Susskind, Alex M; Kacmar, K Michele; Borchgrevink, Carl P

2003-02-01

The authors proposed and tested a model describing the relationship between customer service providers' perceptions and attitudes toward their service-related duties and their customers' perceptions of satisfaction with their service experiences. Results indicated that the perception of having standards for service delivery in an organization is strongly related to line-level employees' perceptions of support from coworkers and supervisors. Perceived support from coworkers was significantly related to service providers' customer orientation, whereas perceived support from supervisors showed a weaker relationship to a customer orientation. Ultimately, service providers' customer orientation was strongly related to customers' satisfaction with service. Finally, a set of post hoc analyses indicated that coworker and supervisory support explained a greater proportion of incremental variance in the model than did perceived organizational support alone.

Estimating problem drinking among community pharmacy customers: what did pharmacists think of the method?

PubMed

Sheridan, Janie; Smart, Ros; McCormick, Ross

2010-10-01

Community pharmacists have successfully been involved in brief interventions in many areas of health, and also provide services to substance misusers. There has been recent interest in community pharmacists providing screening and brief interventions (SBI) to problem drinkers. The aim of this study was to develop a method for measuring prevalence of risky drinking among community pharmacy customers and to explore acceptability of this method to participating pharmacists. Forty-three pharmacies (from 80 randomly selected) in New Zealand agreed to participate in data collection. On a set, single, randomly allocated day during one week, pharmacies handed out questionnaires about alcohol consumption, and views on pharmacists providing SBI, to their customers. At the end of the data collection period semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out with participating pharmacists. Pharmacists were generally positive about the way the study was carried out, the support and materials they were provided with, and the ease of the data collection process. They reported few problems with customers and the majority of pharmacists would participate again. The method developed successfully collected data from customers and was acceptable to participating pharmacists. This method can be adapted to collecting data on prevalence of other behaviours or medical conditions and assessing customer views on services. © 2010 The Authors. IJPP © 2010 Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

Bookmakers and a Duty of Care: Customers' Views in England.

PubMed

Brooks, Graham; Sparrow, Paul

2016-06-01

This paper focuses on customers' views on the extent that bookmakers and individuals are responsible for a duty of care. 72 participants from seven bookmakers in one city in England were interviewed that illustrates customers expect bookmakers to take 'reasonable steps' to avoid exploiting all customers. However, the customers' views recorded in this paper illustrate a range of views on what a duty of care should actually comprise with differences of opinion on the level of bookmakers and individuals level of responsibility, dealing with intoxicated customers, illegal gambling, prevention of excessive and problem gambling and self-exclusion.

Spark innovation through empathic design.

PubMed

Leonard, D; Rayport, J F

1997-01-01

Companies are used to bringing in customers to participate in focus groups, usability laboratories, and market research surveys in order to help in the development of new products and services. And for improving products that customers know well, those tools are highly sophisticated. For example, knowledgeable customers are adept at identifying the specific scent of leather they expect in a luxury vehicle or at helping to tune the sound of a motorcycle engine to just the timbre that evokes feelings of power. But to go beyond improvements to the familiar, companies need to identify and meet needs that customers may not yet recognize. To accomplish that task, a set of techniques called empathic design can help. Rather than bring the customers to the company, empathic design calls for company representatives to watch customers using products and services in the context of their own environments. By doing so, managers can often identify unexpected uses for their products, just as the product manager of a cooking oil did when he observed a neighbor spraying the oil on the blades of a lawn mower to reduce grass buildup. They can also uncover problems that customers don't mention in surveys, as the president of Nissan Design did when he watched a couple struggling to remove the backseat of a competitor's minivan in order to transport a couch. The five-step process Dorothy Leonard and Jeffrey Rayport describe in detail is a relatively low-cost, low-risk way to identify customer needs, and it has the potential to redirect a company's existing technological capabilities toward entirely new businesses.

Safety of non-prescription medicines: knowledge and attitudes of Italian pharmacy customers.

PubMed

Cuzzolin, Laura; Benoni, Giuseppina

2010-02-01

A survey was designed to investigate customers attitudes and knowledge toward non-prescription medicines taken on a self-medication basis but not devoid of risks. Community pharmacies in Italy. Forty-four pharmacies participated in the project. On the basis of an anonymous questionnaire, face-to-face interviews were made to customers buying a non-prescription medicine over a 2-month period. The questionnaire included information about socio-demographic characteristics of the interviewed subjects and 18 items designed to elicit information about the kind of medicine purchased and reason of use, general product knowledge in relation to quality and risks, attitudes toward this kind of drugs, concurrent prescription drug use and the quality of relationship with the pharmacist. During the study period, 613 interviews were collected. The most frequently non-prescription medicines purchased by customers were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol and medicines for gastrointestinal problems. The most of interviewees referred to read carefully the package inserts or to ask information to pharmacists. Moreover, they reported to consider non-prescription medicines easy to manage and to be used only for minor ailments and for short periods. 55.3% of customers reported to have been taking at least a prescription drug, mostly antihypertensives or other cardiovascular medicines, in association with non-prescription medicines. In this situation, interviewees often did not inform pharmacists about chronic therapies. Our interviews demonstrate that, in general, Italian customers have a cautious approach toward non-prescription medicines and are informed on their use. However, in case of a long-term use, interviewees underestimate risks related to possible physiological/pathological changes in their organism or to interactions with other drugs.

Parthiv Kurup | NREL

Science.gov Websites

generation Focus on CSP, and projects in Wind, Geothermal and Hydropower Business Development e.g. customer interaction, solution of key Customer problems, scope development of projects and helping the

Rethinking Customer Service Training: A Curricular Solution to a Familiar Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epps, Sharon K.; Kidd, Judith; Negro, Toni; Sayles, Sheridan L.

2016-01-01

High-quality customer service is an important aim of the library experience. Its importance is evidenced by attention given to the topic in scholarly literature and academic conference proceedings. This article describes the challenging process of creating and delivering a blended customer service training curriculum to all library staff working…

A revisit to the requirements methodologies for services provided by the Office of Space Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishkind, Stanley; Harris, Richard N.; Pfeiffer, William A.

1996-01-01

The methodologies of the NASA requirements processing system, originally designed to enhance NASA's customer interface and response time, are reviewed. The response of NASA to the problems associated with the system is presented, and it is shown what was done to facilitate the process and to improve customer relations. The requirements generation system (RGS), a computer-supported client-server system, adopted by NASA is presented. The RGS system is configurable on a per-mission basis and can be structured to allow levels of requirements. The details provided concerning the RGS include the recommended configuration, information on becoming an RGS user and network connectivity worksheets for computer users.

Evaluation of customer satisfaction level of different projects.

PubMed

Das, Nandini; Samanta, Niladri

2005-01-01

Customer satisfaction as the key element for success in business is a major concern for any industry. In this paper we propose a customer satisfaction index using principal component analysis for a software solution company. This index was used as an input to the marketing division to identify their potential customers from their past experience. Since this is a very common problem for any industry, the same approach can be used in similar situations.

[Work-related stress and mental health - can work lead to mental disorders?

PubMed

Ptáček, Radek; Vňuková, Martina; Raboch, Jiří

2017-01-01

In the past two decades, special attention was paid to mental health issues. The available literature suggests, for example, the relationship between the workload and mental discomfort and the occurrence of myocardial infarction. This article focuses mainly on the issue of work-related stress and its impact on mental health. In this context, it must be acknowledged that possible psychological problems due to work are not only employees problem. These difficulties can significantly affect performance - and thus they should be the concern of the employer, but also of customers, clients and patients who come into contact with the worker who might develop some mental problems, due to the nature of his work and working conditions. This article provides an overview of the various factors affecting the mental health of employees. These are, for example, work demands, working hours and workplace relations. In conclusion, it brings results of Czech study examining job stress among working population.

Customer emotion regulation in the service interactions: its relationship to employee ingratiation, satisfaction and loyalty intentions.

PubMed

Medler-Liraz, Hana; Yagil, Dana

2013-01-01

Many studies have explored emotional regulation on the part of service employees, and its antecedents. However, customers' emotional regulation in general, and how it is affected by service employee behavior in particular, have received only scant attention. The present article explores a model suggesting that service employees' ingratiatory behavior relates to customer emotion regulation strategies, which in turn are related to customer satisfaction and loyalty. The model was tested with 131 service employee-customer dyads. The results show that service employee ingratiation was positively related to customers' deep acting but not related to surface acting. Customers' deep acting was positively related to their satisfaction. A positive relationship was found between customer satisfaction and loyalty.

A green vehicle routing problem with customer satisfaction criteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afshar-Bakeshloo, M.; Mehrabi, A.; Safari, H.; Maleki, M.; Jolai, F.

2016-12-01

This paper develops an MILP model, named Satisfactory-Green Vehicle Routing Problem. It consists of routing a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles in order to serve a set of customers within predefined time windows. In this model in addition to the traditional objective of the VRP, both the pollution and customers' satisfaction have been taken into account. Meanwhile, the introduced model prepares an effective dashboard for decision-makers that determines appropriate routes, the best mixed fleet, speed and idle time of vehicles. Additionally, some new factors evaluate the greening of each decision based on three criteria. This model applies piecewise linear functions (PLFs) to linearize a nonlinear fuzzy interval for incorporating customers' satisfaction into other linear objectives. We have presented a mixed integer linear programming formulation for the S-GVRP. This model enriches managerial insights by providing trade-offs between customers' satisfaction, total costs and emission levels. Finally, we have provided a numerical study for showing the applicability of the model.

Integration of QFD, AHP, and LPP methods in supplier development problems under uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shad, Zahra; Roghanian, Emad; Mojibian, Fatemeh

2014-04-01

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a customer-driven approach, widely used to develop or process new product to maximize customer satisfaction. Last researches used linear physical programming (LPP) procedure to optimize QFD; however, QFD issue involved uncertainties, or fuzziness, which requires taking them into account for more realistic study. In this paper, a set of fuzzy data is used to address linguistic values parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers. Proposed integrated approach including analytic hierarchy process (AHP), QFD, and LPP to maximize overall customer satisfaction under uncertain conditions and apply them in the supplier development problem. The fuzzy AHP approach is adopted as a powerful method to obtain the relationship between the customer requirements and engineering characteristics (ECs) to construct house of quality in QFD method. LPP is used to obtain the optimal achievement level of the ECs and subsequently the customer satisfaction level under different degrees of uncertainty. The effectiveness of proposed method will be illustrated by an example.

Application of text mining for customer evaluations in commercial banking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jing; Du, Xiaojiang; Hao, Pengpeng; Wang, Yanbo J.

2015-07-01

Nowadays customer attrition is increasingly serious in commercial banks. To combat this problem roundly, mining customer evaluation texts is as important as mining customer structured data. In order to extract hidden information from customer evaluations, Textual Feature Selection, Classification and Association Rule Mining are necessary techniques. This paper presents all three techniques by using Chinese Word Segmentation, C5.0 and Apriori, and a set of experiments were run based on a collection of real textual data that includes 823 customer evaluations taken from a Chinese commercial bank. Results, consequent solutions, some advice for the commercial bank are given in this paper.

Statistics of the Kolkata Paise Restaurant problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Asim; Chatterjee, Arnab; Mitra, Manipushpak; Chakrabarti, Bikas K.

2010-07-01

We study the dynamics of a few stochastic learning strategies for the 'Kolkata Paise Restaurant' problem, where N agents choose among N equally priced but differently ranked restaurants every evening, such that each agent tries to get dinner in the best restaurant (with each restaurant serving only one customer and the rest of the customers arriving there going without dinner that evening). We consider the learning strategies to be similar for all the agents, and assume that each follows the same probabilistic or stochastic strategy dependent on information about past successes in the game. We show that some 'naive' strategies lead to much better utilization of services than some relatively 'smarter' strategies. We also show that a service utilization fraction as high as 0.80 can result for a stochastic strategy, where each agent sticks to his past choice (independent of success achieved or not, with probability decreasing inversely in the past crowd size). The numerical results for the utilization fraction of the services in some limiting cases are analytically examined.

Suppressing emotion and engaging with complaining customers at work related to experience of depression and anxiety symptoms: a nationwide cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

YOON, Jin-Ha; KANG, Mo-Yeol; JEUNG, Dayee; CHANG, Sei-Jin

2017-01-01

Our aim was to investigate the relationship between suppressing emotion and engaging with complaining customers at work and experience of depression and anxiety symptoms. We used nationally representative data from the Korean Working Condition Survey with 15,669 paid customer service workers. Job characteristics of “Engaging with Complaints”, “Suppressing Emotion”, experience of depression and anxiety symptoms were measured by self-reported questionnaires. Gender specific odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression after controlling for age, income, education level, job satisfaction, and working hours per week. The results showed that people who were ‘Always Engaging with Complaints’ (OR: 3.81, 95% CI: 1.83–7.96 for male, OR: 3.98, 95% CI: 2.07–7.66 for female) and ‘Always Suppressing Emotion’ (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.33–4.08 for male, OR: 2.83, 95% CI: 1.67–4.77 for female) were more likely to experience depression and anxiety symptoms compared to those ‘Rarely Engaging with Complaints’ and ‘Rarely Suppressing Emotion’, respectively. Additionally, there was an interactive relationship between those job characteristics. Our nationwide study demonstrates that mental health problems are incrementally related to how much service workers must engage with complaining customers and suppressing emotion at work. PMID:28216516

Kolkata Paise Restaurant Problem and the Cyclically Fair Norm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Priyodorshi; Mitra, Manipushpak; Mukherjee, Conan

In this paper we revisit the Kolkata Paise Restaurant problem by allowing for a more general (but common) preference of the n customers defined over the set of n restaurants. This generalization allows for the possibility that each pure strategy Nash equilibrium differs from the Pareto efficient allocation. By assuming that n is small and by allowing for mutual interaction across all customers we design strategies to sustain cyclically fair norm as a sub-game perfect equilibrium of the Kolkata Paise Restaurant problem. We have a cyclically fair norm if n strategically different Pareto efficient strategies are sequentially sustained in a way such that each customer gets serviced in all the n restaurants exactly once between periods 1 and n and then again the same process is repeated between periods (n+1) and 2n and so on.

Managing retention.

PubMed

Carter, Tony

2007-01-01

To build this process it is necessary to consult customers for preferences, build familiarity and knowledge to build a relationship and conduct business in a customized fashion. The process takes every opportunity to build customer satisfaction with each customer contact. It is an important process to have, since customers today are more demanding, sophisticated, educated and comfortable speaking to the company as an equal (Belk, 2003). Customers have more customized expectations so they want to be reached as individuals (Raymond and Tanner, 1994). Also, a disproportionate search for new business is costly. The cost to cultivate new customers is more than maintaining existing customers (Cathcart, 1990). Other reasons that customer retention is necessary is because many unhappy customers will never buy again from a company that dissatisfied them and they will communicate their displeasure to other people. These dissatisfied customers may not even convey their displeasure but without saying anything just stop doing business with that company, which may keep them unaware for some time that there is any problem (Cathcart, 1990).

Enhanced ant colony optimization for inventory routing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Lily; Moin, Noor Hasnah

2015-10-01

The inventory routing problem (IRP) integrates and coordinates two important components of supply chain management which are transportation and inventory management. We consider a one-to-many IRP network for a finite planning horizon. The demand for each product is deterministic and time varying as well as a fleet of capacitated homogeneous vehicles, housed at a depot/warehouse, delivers the products from the warehouse to meet the demand specified by the customers in each period. The inventory holding cost is product specific and is incurred at the customer sites. The objective is to determine the amount of inventory and to construct a delivery routing that minimizes both the total transportation and inventory holding cost while ensuring each customer's demand is met over the planning horizon. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer programming problem and is solved using CPLEX 12.4 to get the lower and upper bound (best integer) for each instance considered. We propose an enhanced ant colony optimization (ACO) to solve the problem and the built route is improved by using local search. The computational experiments demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach is presented.

The Analysis of Orders of Perishable Goods in Relation to the Bullwhip Effect in the Logistic Supply Chain of the Food Industry: a Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chocholáč, Jan; Průša, Petr

2016-12-01

The bullwhip effect generally refers to the phenomenon where order variability increases as the orders move upstream in the supply chain. It is serious problem for every member of the supply chain. This effect begins at customers and passes through the chain to producers, which are at the end of the logistic chain. Especially food supply chains are affected by this issue. These chains are unique for problems of expiration of goods (particularly perishable goods), variable demand, orders with quantity discounts and effort to maximize the customer satisfaction. This paper will present the problem of the bullwhip effect in the real supply chain in the food industry. This supply chain consists of approximately 350 stores, four central warehouses and more than 1000 suppliers, but the case study will examine 87 stores, one central warehouse and one supplier in 2015. The aim of this paper is the analysis of the order variability between the various links in this chain and confirmation of the bullwhip effect in this chain. The subject of the analysis will be perishable goods.

Applying Squeaky-Wheel Optimization Schedule Airborne Astronomy Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frank, Jeremy; Kuerklue, Elif

2004-01-01

We apply the Squeaky Wheel Optimization (SWO) algorithm to the problem of scheduling astronomy observations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, an airborne observatory. The problem contains complex constraints relating the feasibility of an astronomical observation to the position and time at which the observation begins, telescope elevation limits, special use airspace, and available fuel. Solving the problem requires making discrete choices (e.g. selection and sequencing of observations) and continuous ones (e.g. takeoff time and setting up observations by repositioning the aircraft). The problem also includes optimization criteria such as maximizing observing time while simultaneously minimizing total flight time. Previous approaches to the problem fail to scale when accounting for all constraints. We describe how to customize SWO to solve this problem, and show that it finds better flight plans, often with less computation time, than previous approaches.

Application of clustering for customer segmentation in private banking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xuan; Chen, Jin; Hao, Pengpeng; Wang, Yanbo J.

2015-07-01

With fierce competition in banking industry, more and more banks have realised that accurate customer segmentation is of fundamental importance, especially for the identification of those high-value customers. In order to solve this problem, we collected real data about private banking customers of a commercial bank in China, conducted empirical analysis by applying K-means clustering technique. When determine the K value, we propose a mechanism that meet both academic requirements and practical needs. Through K-means clustering, we successfully segmented the customers into three categories, and features of each group have been illustrated in details.

Research on Capturing of Customer Requirements Based on Innovation Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

junwu, Ding; dongtao, Yang; zhenqiang, Bao

To exactly and effectively capture customer requirements information, a new customer requirements capturing modeling method was proposed. Based on the analysis of function requirement models of previous products and the application of technology system evolution laws of the Theory of Innovative Problem Solving (TRIZ), the customer requirements could be evolved from existing product designs, through modifying the functional requirement unit and confirming the direction of evolution design. Finally, a case study was provided to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.

The Time Window Vehicle Routing Problem Considering Closed Route

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irsa Syahputri, Nenna; Mawengkang, Herman

2017-12-01

The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) determines the optimal set of routes used by a fleet of vehicles to serve a given set of customers on a predefined graph; the objective is to minimize the total travel cost (related to the travel times or distances) and operational cost (related to the number of vehicles used). In this paper we study a variant of the predefined graph: given a weighted graph G and vertices a and b, and given a set X of closed paths in G, find the minimum total travel cost of a-b path P such that no path in X is a subpath of P. Path P is allowed to repeat vertices and edges. We use integer programming model to describe the problem. A feasible neighbourhood approach is proposed to solve the model

47 CFR 64.609 - Enforcement of related customer premises equipment rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Enforcement of related customer premises... Relay Services and Related Customer Premises Equipment for Persons With Disabilities § 64.609 Enforcement of related customer premises equipment rules. Enforcement of §§ 64.607 and 64.608 is delegated to...

Customer and household matching: resolving entity identity in data warehouses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berndt, Donald J.; Satterfield, Ronald K.

2000-04-01

The data preparation and cleansing tasks necessary to ensure high quality data are among the most difficult challenges faced in data warehousing and data mining projects. The extraction of source data, transformation into new forms, and loading into a data warehouse environment are all time consuming tasks that can be supported by methodologies and tools. This paper focuses on the problem of record linkage or entity matching, tasks that can be very important in providing high quality data. Merging two or more large databases into a single integrated system is a difficult problem in many industries, especially in the wake of acquisitions. For example, managing customer lists can be challenging when duplicate entries, data entry problems, and changing information conspire to make data quality an elusive target. Common tasks with regard to customer lists include customer matching to reduce duplicate entries and household matching to group customers. These often O(n2) problems can consume significant resources, both in computing infrastructure and human oversight, and the goal of high accuracy in the final integrated database can be difficult to assure. This paper distinguishes between attribute corruption and entity corruption, discussing the various impacts on quality. A metajoin operator is proposed and used to organize past and current entity matching techniques. Finally, a logistic regression approach to implementing the metajoin operator is discussed and illustrated with an example. The metajoin can be used to determine whether two records match, don't match, or require further evaluation by human experts. Properly implemented, the metajoin operator could allow the integration of individual databases with greater accuracy and lower cost.

Impact of Inuit customary adoption on behavioral problems in school-age Inuit children.

PubMed

Decaluwe, Béatrice; Jacobson, Sandra W; Poirier, Marie-Andrée; Forget-Dubois, Nadine; Jacobson, Joseph L; Muckle, Gina

2015-05-01

A large proportion of Inuit children in Arctic Quebec are adopted in accordance with traditional Inuit customs. In contrast to adoptions in Southern Canada and the United States, the child is adopted at birth and by a close family member; he or she knows who his or her biological parents are, and will typically have contact with them. Studies of other populations have reported an increased incidence of behavior problems in adopted compared with nonadopted children. This study examined the actual extent of the increase in the number of behavior problems seen in Inuit children adopted in accordance with traditional customs. In a prospective longitudinal study conducted in the Canadian Arctic (n = 46 adopted and 231 nonadopted children), prenatal and familial variables were documented at birth and at school age (M = 11.3 years). Behavior problems were assessed on the Teacher Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. Adopted children lived in more economically disadvantaged families, but their caregivers were less prone to depression, domestic violence, or alcohol abuse compared with those of the nonadopted children. The adoption status was not related to the teacher's report of attention problems, externalizing or internalizing behaviors, after controlling for confounders. Despite less favorable socioeconomic circumstances, a higher extent of behavioral problems was not seen at school age in Inuit children adopted at birth by a family member. Psychosocial stressors associated with adoption are more likely to be responsible for an association with higher levels of childhood behavior problems rather than adoption per se. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations between bride price obligations and women's anger, symptoms of mental distress, poverty, spouse and family conflict and preoccupations with injustice in conflict-affected Timor-Leste.

PubMed

Rees, Susan; Mohsin, Mohammed; Tay, Alvin Kuowei; Thorpe, Rosamund; Murray, Samantha; Savio, Elisa; Fonseca, Mira; Tol, Wietse; Silove, Derrick

2016-01-01

Bride price is a widespread custom in many parts of the world, including in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. We hypothesised that problems relating to the obligatory ongoing remittances made by the husband and his family to the bride's family may be a source of mental disturbance (in the form of explosive anger and severe mental distress) among women. In addition, we postulated that problems arising with bride price would be associated with conflict with the spouse and family, poverty and women's preoccupations with injustice. A mixed-methods study comprising a total community household survey and semistructured qualitative interviews. Two villages, one urban, the other rural, in Timor-Leste. 1193 married women participated in the household survey and a structured subsample of 77 women participated in qualitative interviews. Problems with bride price showed a consistent dose-effect relationship with sudden episodes of explosive anger, excessive anger and severe psychological distress. Women with the most severe problems with bride price had twice the poverty scores as those with no problems with the custom. Women with the most severe problems with bride price also reported a threefold increase in conflict with their spouse and a fivefold increase in conflict with family. They also reported heightened preoccupations with injustice. Our study is the first to show consistent associations between problems with bride price obligations and mental distress, poverty, conflict with spouse and family and preoccupations with injustice among women in a low-income, postconflict country.

A study on reliability of power customer in distribution network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Liyuan; Ouyang, Sen; Chen, Danling; Ma, Shaohua; Wang, Xin

2017-05-01

The existing power supply reliability index system is oriented to power system without considering actual electricity availability in customer side. In addition, it is unable to reflect outage or customer’s equipment shutdown caused by instantaneous interruption and power quality problem. This paper thus makes a systematic study on reliability of power customer. By comparing with power supply reliability, reliability of power customer is defined and extracted its evaluation requirements. An indexes system, consisting of seven customer indexes and two contrast indexes, are designed to describe reliability of power customer from continuity and availability. In order to comprehensively and quantitatively evaluate reliability of power customer in distribution networks, reliability evaluation method is proposed based on improved entropy method and the punishment weighting principle. Practical application has proved that reliability index system and evaluation method for power customer is reasonable and effective.

Safety management of Ethernet broadband access based on VLAN aggregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Li

2004-04-01

With broadband access network development, the Ethernet technology is more and more applied access network now. It is different from the private network -LAN. The differences lie in four points: customer management, safety management, service management and count-fee management. This paper mainly discusses the safety management related questions. Safety management means that the access network must secure the customer data safety, isolate the broad message which brings the customer private information, such as ARP, DHCP, and protect key equipment from attack. Virtue LAN (VLAN) technology can restrict network broadcast flow. We can config each customer port with a VLAN, so each customer is isolated with others. The IP address bound with VLAN ID can be routed rightly. But this technology brings another question: IP address shortage. VLAN aggregation technology can solve this problem well. Such a mechanism provides several advantages over traditional IPv4 addressing architectures employed in large switched LANs today. With VLAN aggregation technology, we introduce the notion of sub-VLANs and super-VLANs, a much more optimal approach to IP addressing can be realized. This paper will expatiate the VLAN aggregation model and its implementation in Ethernet access network. It is obvious that the customers in different sub-VLANs can not communication to each other because the ARP packet is isolated. Proxy ARP can enable the communication among them. This paper will also expatiate the proxy ARP model and its implementation in Ethernet access network.

On-line searching: costly or cost effective? A marketing perspective.

PubMed

Dunn, R G; Boyle, H F

1984-05-01

The value of acquiring and using information is not well understood. Decisions to purchase information are made on the basis of the perceived need for the information, the anticipated benefit of using it, and the price. The current pricing of on-line information services, which emphasizes the connect hour as the unit of price, does not relate the price of a search to the value of a search, and the education programs of on-line vendors and database suppliers concentrate on the mechanics of information retrieval rather than on the application of information to the customer's problem. The on-line information industry needs to adopt a strong marketing orientation that focuses on the needs of customers rather than the needs of suppliers or vendors.

CSHCN in Texas: meeting the need for specialist care.

PubMed

Young, M Cherilyn; Drayton, Vonna L C; Menon, Ramdas; Walker, Lesa R; Parker, Colleen M; Cooper, Sam B; Bultman, Linda L

2005-06-01

Assuring the sufficiency and suitability of systems of care and services for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) presents a challenge to Texas providers, agencies, and state Title V programs. To meet the need for specialist care, referrals from primary care doctors are often necessary. The objective of this study was to describe the factors associated with the need for specialist care and problems associated with obtaining referrals in Texas. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) weighted sample for Texas (n = 719,014) to identify variables associated with the need for specialist care and problems obtaining referrals for specialist care. Medical need of the CSHCN and sensitivity to family values/customs was associated with greater need for specialist care, and Hispanic ethnicity and lower maternal education were associated with less need. Medical need, amount of time spent with doctors and sensitivity to values/customs, living in a large metropolitan statistical area, and lack of medical information were associated with problems obtaining a specialist care referral. Findings revealed some similarities and differences with meeting the need for specialist care when comparing Texas results to other studies. In Texas, aspects of customer satisfaction variables, especially doctors' sensitivity to family values/customs and parents' not receiving enough information on medical problems, were significantly associated with problems obtaining specialist referrals. Findings indicate a need to further research relationships and communication among doctors, CSHCN, and their families.

GRAPE-4: A special-purpose computer for gravitational N-body problems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makino, Junichiro; Taiji, Makoto; Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu

1995-12-01

We describe GRAPE-4, a special-purpose computer for gravitational N-body simulations. In gravitational N-body simulations, almost all computing time is spent for the calculation of interaction between particles. GRAPE-4 is a specialized hardware to calculate the interaction between particles. It is used with a general-purpose host computer that performs all calculations other than the force calculation. With this architecture, it is relatively easy to realize a massively parallel system. In 1991, we developed the GRAPE-3 system with the peak speed equivalent to 14.4 Gflops. It consists of 48 custom pipelined processors. In 1992 we started the development of GRAPE-4. The GRAPE-4more » system will consist of 1920 custom pipeline chips. Each chip has the speed of 600 Mflops, when operated on 30 MHz clock. A prototype system with two custom LSIs has been completed July 1994, and the full system is now under manufacturing.« less

Innovative Product Design Based on Comprehensive Customer Requirements of Different Cognitive Levels

PubMed Central

Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach. PMID:25013862

Innovative product design based on comprehensive customer requirements of different cognitive levels.

PubMed

Li, Xiaolong; Zhao, Wu; Zheng, Yake; Wang, Rui; Wang, Chen

2014-01-01

To improve customer satisfaction in innovative product design, a topology structure of customer requirements is established and an innovative product approach is proposed. The topology structure provides designers with reasonable guidance to capture the customer requirements comprehensively. With the aid of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the importance of the customer requirements is evaluated. Quality function deployment (QFD) is used to translate customer requirements into product and process design demands and pick out the technical requirements which need urgent improvement. In this way, the product is developed in a more targeted way to satisfy the customers. the theory of innovative problems solving (TRIZ) is used to help designers to produce innovative solutions. Finally, a case study of automobile steering system is used to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.

At Their Service. Making Life Happier for Customers and Staff. The Helping Hand Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nash, Claire

This guide is intended to help persons employed in the hotel and catering industry to improve their customer relations skills. The following topics are discussed: the importance of customers and good customer relations in the hospitality industry; what customers want; what employees in hospitality occupations can give customers; and importance of…

Identification with the retail organization and customer-perceived employee similarity: effects on customer spending.

PubMed

Netemeyer, Richard G; Heilman, Carrie M; Maxham, James G

2012-09-01

Two constructs important to academicians and managers are the degree to which employees and customers identify with an organization, employee organizational identification (employee OI) and customer-company identification (customer identification), respectively. This research examines the effects of these identification constructs and the related construct of customer perceived similarity to employees on customer spending. Via a 1-year multilevel study of 12,047 customers and 1,464 store employees (sales associates) covering 212 stores of a specialty apparel retailer, our study contributes to the literature in 2 critical ways. First, we expand the theoretical network of employee OI and customer identification by examining the related construct of a customer's perceived similarity to store employees. We examine the incremental (not fully mediated) main and interaction effects of customer-perceived similarity to employees and employee OI on customer spending. Second, we examine the effect of customer identification on customer spending relative to the effect of customer satisfaction on customer spending. Thus, our study also contributes by demonstrating a potential complementary route to achieve customer spending (customer identification), a route that may be more readily affected by management than the efforts required for a sustained increase in customer satisfaction. Implications for academics and managers are offered.

"Teaching Case": Who Renews? Who Leaves? Identifying Customer Churn in a Telecom Company Using Big Data Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asamoah, Daniel A.; Sharda, Ramesh; Kalgotra, Pankush; Ott, Mark

2016-01-01

Within the context of the telecom industry, this teaching case is an active learning analytics exercise to help students build hands-on expertise on how to utilize Big Data to solve a business problem. Particularly, the case utilizes an analytics method to help develop a customer retention strategy to mitigate against an increasing customer churn…

Methodology of mixed load customized bus lines and adjustment based on time windows

PubMed Central

Song, Rui

2018-01-01

Custom bus routes need to be optimized to meet the needs of a customized bus for personalized trips of different passengers. This paper introduced a customized bus routing problem in which trips for each depot are given, and each bus stop has a fixed time window within which trips should be completed. Treating a trip as a virtual stop was the first consideration in solving the school bus routing problem (SBRP). Then, the mixed load custom bus routing model was established with a time window that satisfies its requirement and the result were solved by Cplex software. Finally, a simple network diagram with three depots, four pickup stops, and five delivery stops was structured to verify the correctness of the model, and based on the actual example, the result is that all the buses ran 124.42 kilometers, the sum of kilometers was 10.35 kilometers less than before. The paths and departure times of the different busses that were provided by the model were evaluated to meet the needs of the given conditions, thus providing valuable information for actual work. PMID:29320505

A Gender Identification System for Customers in a Shop Using Infrared Area Scanners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, Takuya; Kimura, Haruhiko; Abe, Takehiko; Abe, Koji; Nakamoto, Yoshinori

Information about customers in shops plays an important role in marketing analysis. Currently, in convenience stores and supermarkets, the identification of customer's gender is examined by clerks. On the other hand, gender identification systems using camera images are investigated. However, these systems have a problem of invading human privacies in identifying attributes of customers. The proposed system identifies gender by using infrared area scanners and Bayesian network. In the proposed system, since infrared area scanners do not take customers' images directly, invasion of privacies are not occurred. The proposed method uses three parameters of height, walking speed and pace for humans. In general, it is shown that these parameters have factors of sexual distinction in humans, and Bayesian network is designed with these three parameters. The proposed method resolves the existent problems of restricting the locations where the systems are set and invading human privacies. Experimental results using data obtained from 450 people show that the identification rate for the proposed method was 91.3% on the average of both of male and female identifications.

Real-time operating system for selected Intel processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pool, W. R.

1980-01-01

The rationale for system development is given along with reasons for not using vendor supplied operating systems. Although many system design and performance goals were dictated by problems with vendor supplied systems, other goals surfaced as a result of a design for a custom system able to span multiple projects. System development and management problems and areas that required redesign or major code changes for system implementation are examined as well as the relative successes of the initial projects. A generic description of the actual project is provided and the ongoing support requirements and future plans are discussed.

Building automatic customer complaints filtering application based on Twitter in Bahasa Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunawan, D.; Siregar, R. P.; Rahmat, R. F.; Amalia, A.

2018-03-01

Twitter has become a media to provide communication between a company with its customers. The average number of Twitter active users monthly is 330 million. A lot of companies realize the potential of Twitter to establish good relationship with their customers. Therefore, they usually have one official Twitter account to act as customer care division. In Indonesia, one of the company that utilizes the potential of Twitter to reach their customers is PT Telkom. PT Telkom has an official customer service account (called @TelkomCare) to receive customers’ problem. However, because of this account is open for public, Twitter users might post all kind of messages (not only complaints) to Telkom Care account. This leads to a problem that the Telkom Care account contains not only the customer complaints but also compliment and ordinary message. Furthermore, the complaints should be distributed to relevant division such as “Indihome”, “Telkomsel”, “UseeTV”, and “Telepon” based on the content of the message. This research built the application that automatically filter twitter post messages into several pre-defined categories (based on existing divisions) using Naïve Bayes algorithm. This research is done by collecting Twitter message, data cleaning, data pre-processing, training and testing data, and evaluate the classification result. This research yields 97% accuracy to classify Twitter message into the categories mentioned earlier.

Integrating Stakeholders and Users into the Geography Discipline's Research Process

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hermans, Caroline M.; Taketa, Richard

2006-01-01

Future research priorities of Geography emphasize the discipline's leadership role in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in multidisciplinary and integrated research on human and environmental systems and how these systems are interrelated and respond to change Geography's research priorities also emphasize providing science that is usable to society and creating decision support products applicable to given customer problems. To achieve these goals, we must understand the relationship between our research and our customer, and how to integrate the customer into the research process. This report details the elements of the research process that help achieve the degree of stakeholder involvement necessary to ensure a successful end-product. It offers suggestions that can help researchers better understand stakeholders and customers and involve them in the research process more effectively, while preserving the integrity of the science. Its aim is to help researchers understand the problems and challenges faced by our customers and communicate the ways in which Geography can help address their problems. Adopting these guidelines can improve the efficiency of the research process and lead to higher quality output. We will be able to conduct better research because we will have an improved understanding of the research problem and the stakeholders involved. This report covers a broad range of topics, from identifying and communicating with stakeholders and users, to the use of language, to how to effectively present scientific information to the user. It does not offer a 'one size fits all' method. Instead, perhaps only specific sections are suitable for a given project and customers, depending on project scope and needs. This report is based on the objectives of Geography's strategic plan, U. S. Geological Survey's strategic plan, and Department of Interior's strategic plan. Section 2 of these guidelines describes the purpose of the research process in Geography and the need for better user involvement in the process. Section 3 explains how to conduct a stakeholder analysis. Section 4 explains how to conduct a user-needs assessment.

22 CFR 127.4 - Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. 127.4 Section 127.4 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT.... Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. (a) U.S. Immigration and...

22 CFR 127.4 - Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. 127.4 Section 127.4 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT.... Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. (a) U.S. Immigration and...

22 CFR 127.4 - Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. 127.4 Section 127.4 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT.... Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. (a) U.S. Immigration and...

Web based Health Education, E-learning, for weight management.

PubMed

Heetebry, Irene; Hatcher, Myron; Tabriziani, Hossein

2005-12-01

Obesity is a major health problem across the United States and becoming a progressive world wide problem. An overweight person could access the weight management program and develop a personalized weight reduction plan. The customer enters specific data to personalize the program and in the future an artificial intelligence program can evaluate customer behavior and adjust accordingly. This is an on-line program with class room support, offered as back up when desired by the patient.

Negative correlation learning for customer churn prediction: a comparison study.

PubMed

Rodan, Ali; Fayyoumi, Ayham; Faris, Hossam; Alsakran, Jamal; Al-Kadi, Omar

2015-01-01

Recently, telecommunication companies have been paying more attention toward the problem of identification of customer churn behavior. In business, it is well known for service providers that attracting new customers is much more expensive than retaining existing ones. Therefore, adopting accurate models that are able to predict customer churn can effectively help in customer retention campaigns and maximizing the profit. In this paper we will utilize an ensemble of Multilayer perceptrons (MLP) whose training is obtained using negative correlation learning (NCL) for predicting customer churn in a telecommunication company. Experiments results confirm that NCL based MLP ensemble can achieve better generalization performance (high churn rate) compared with ensemble of MLP without NCL (flat ensemble) and other common data mining techniques used for churn analysis.

Time Dependent Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem for Catering Service Delivery Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azis, Zainal; Mawengkang, Herman

2017-09-01

The heterogeneous vehicle routing problem (HVRP) is a variant of vehicle routing problem (VRP) which describes various types of vehicles with different capacity to serve a set of customers with known geographical locations. This paper considers the optimal service deliveries of meals of a catering company located in Medan City, Indonesia. Due to the road condition as well as traffic, it is necessary for the company to use different type of vehicle to fulfill customers demand in time. The HVRP incorporates time dependency of travel times on the particular time of the day. The objective is to minimize the sum of the costs of travelling and elapsed time over the planning horizon. The problem can be modeled as a linear mixed integer program and we address a feasible neighbourhood search approach to solve the problem.

Integrating Customer Intimacy Into Radiology to Improve the Patient Perspective: The Case of Breast Cancer Screening.

PubMed

Chhor, Chloe M; Mercado, Cecilia L

2016-02-01

The customer intimacy business model has emerged as a key operational approach for health care organizations as they move toward patient-centered care. The question arises how the customer intimacy approach can be implemented in the clinical setting and whether it can help practitioners address problems and improve quality of care. Breast cancer screening and its emphasis on the patient perspective provides an interesting case study for understanding how the customer intimacy approach can be integrated into radiologic practice to improve the patient experience.

Research on the construction of three level customer service knowledge graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Shi; Shen, Jiajie; Shi, Quan; Cheng, Xianyi

2017-09-01

With the explosion of knowledge and information of the enterprise and the growing demand for intelligent knowledge management and application and improve business performance the knowledge expression and processing of the enterprise has become a hot topic. Aim at the problems of the electric marketing customer service knowledge map (customer service knowledge map) in building theory and method, electric marketing knowledge map of three levels of customer service was discussed, and realizing knowledge reasoning based on Neo4j, achieve good results in practical application.

Value of its information for congestion avoidance in inter-modal transportation systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

This paper considers a freight forwarder's problem of selecting air cargo ight itineraries to a given set of heterogeneous customers and, simultaneously, planning the pickup and airport delivery schedule of customer loads. The air cargo ight itinerar...

Efficiencies in freight & passenger routing & scheduling.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

The problem we study concerns routing a fleet of capacitated vehicles in real time to collect : shipment orders placed by a known set of customers. On each day of operation, only a subset of : all customers request service. Some of these requests are...

Driver's workload comparison in waste collection vehicle routing problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benjamin, Aida Mauziah; Abdul-Rahman, Syariza

2016-10-01

This paper compares the workload of the drivers for a waste collection benchmark problem. The problem involves ten data sets with different number of customers to be served and different number of disposal facilities available. Previous studies proposed a heuristic algorithm, namely Different Initial Customer (DIC) to solve the problem by constructing initial vehicles routes for the drivers with two main objectives; to minimize the total distance travelled and to minimize the total number of vehicles needed to collect the waste. The results from DIC compared well with other solutions in the literature. However, the balance of the workload among the vehicle drivers is not considered in the solutions. Thus in this paper, we evaluate the quality of the solutions in terms of the total number of customers served by each driver. Then the computational result is compared in terms of the total distance travelled which have been presented in a previous study. Comparison results show that the workload of the drivers are unbalance in terms of these two factors that may cause dissatisfaction among the drivers as well as to the managament.

The Development of Educational Environment Suited to the Japan-Specific Educational Service Using Requirements Engineering Techniques: Case Study of Running Sakai with PostgreSQL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terawaki, Yuki; Takahashi, Yuichi; Kodama, Yasushi; Yana, Kazuo

2011-01-01

This paper describes an integration of different Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) of two Course Management Systems (CMS) called Sakai and the Common Factory for Inspiration and Value in Education (CFIVE). First, when the service of CMS is provided campus-wide, the problems of user support, CMS operation and customization of CMS are…

Measurement and Development of Humanware and Technoware Competencies in Order to Meet Pintle Chain Product Requirements in Bandung Manufacture Polytechnic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar, Jodi; Akbar, Muhammad; Irianto, Dradjad

2016-02-01

Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung (Bandung Manufacture Polytechnic) is a polytechnic education that is not only to educate their students, but also manufactures order from customers at its teaching factory. This polytechnic is usually not responsive with the number of reject due to amateur operators from newcomer students. However, customers will be displeased if the reject rate is too high which can cause delay of delivery. At the foundry section, pintle chain is a product that has the highest amount of quantity but the lowest product standard fulfilment. Realizing this problem, it is a strong need to give more focus on quality improvement. The polytechnic considers that bad quality is not only related to low level of humanware (operator) but also related to low level of technoware (machine and equipment). In this research, QFD model was used as a tool for identifying target of improvement of non conforming factors of humanware and technoware using UNESCAP's technometric model. An improvement was done by implementing new scheduling strategy at foundry unit in order to minimize waiting time from molding to pouring process because of deterioration problem. This strategy provides an opportunity to reduce completion times about 50% and waiting time about 95% compared to the existing scheduling strategy.

Optimization of location routing inventory problem with transshipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghani, Nor Edayu Abd; Shariff, S. Sarifah Radiah; Zahari, Siti Meriam

2015-05-01

Location Routing Inventory Problem (LRIP) is a collaboration of the three components in the supply chain. It is confined by location-allocation, vehicle routing and inventory management. The aim of the study is to minimize the total system cost in the supply chain. Transshipment is introduced in order to allow the products to be shipped to a customer who experiences a shortage, either directly from the supplier or from another customer. In the study, LRIP is introduced with the transshipment (LRIPT) and customers act as the transshipment points. We select the transshipment point by using the p-center and we present the results in two divisions of cases. Based on the analysis, the results indicated that LRIPT performed well compared to LRIP.

Space Mission Operations Ground Systems Integration Customer Service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, Karl

2014-01-01

The facility, which is now the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, has provided continuous space mission and related services for the space industry since 1961, from Mercury Redstone through the International Space Station (ISS). Throughout the long history of the facility and mission support teams, the HOSC has developed a stellar customer support and service process. In this era, of cost cutting, and providing more capability and results with fewer resources, space missions are looking for the most efficient way to accomplish their objectives. One of the first services provided by the facility was fax transmission of documents to, then, Cape Canaveral in Florida. The headline in the Marshall Star, the newspaper for the newly formed Marshall Space Flight Center, read "Exact copies of Documents sent to Cape in 4 minutes." The customer was Dr. Wernher von Braun. Currently at the HOSC we are supporting, or have recently supported, missions ranging from simple ISS payloads requiring little more than "bentpipe" telemetry access, to a low cost free-flyer Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSAT), to a full service ISS payload Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2 (AMS2) supporting 24/7 operations at three operations centers around the world with an investment of over 2 billion dollars. The HOSC has more need and desire than ever to provide fast and efficient customer service to support these missions. Here we will outline how our customer-centric service approach reduces the cost of providing services, makes it faster and easier than ever for new customers to get started with HOSC services, and show what the future holds for our space mission operations customers. We will discuss our philosophy concerning our responsibility and accessibility to a mission customer as well as how we deal with the following issues: initial contact with a customer, reducing customer cost, changing regulations and security, and cultural differences, to ensure an efficient response to customer issues using a small Customer Service Team (CST) and adaptability, constant communication with customers, technical expertise and knowledge of services, and dedication to customer service. The HOSC Customer Support Team has implemented a variety of processes, and procedures that help to mitigate the potential problems that arise when integrating ground system services for a variety of complex missions and the lessons learned from this experience will lead the future of customer service in the space operations industry.

14 CFR 1214.805 - Unforeseen customer delay.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... problem pose a threat of delay to the Shuttle launch schedule or critical off-line activities, NASA shall... availability of facilities, equipment, and personnel. In requesting NASA to make such special efforts, the customer shall agree to reimburse NASA the estimated additional cost incurred. ...

14 CFR 1214.805 - Unforeseen customer delay.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... problem pose a threat of delay to the Shuttle launch schedule or critical off-line activities, NASA shall... availability of facilities, equipment, and personnel. In requesting NASA to make such special efforts, the customer shall agree to reimburse NASA the estimated additional cost incurred. ...

14 CFR 1214.805 - Unforeseen customer delay.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... problem pose a threat of delay to the Shuttle launch schedule or critical off-line activities, NASA shall... availability of facilities, equipment, and personnel. In requesting NASA to make such special efforts, the customer shall agree to reimburse NASA the estimated additional cost incurred. ...

Approximation Preserving Reductions among Item Pricing Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamane, Ryoso; Itoh, Toshiya; Tomita, Kouhei

When a store sells items to customers, the store wishes to determine the prices of the items to maximize its profit. Intuitively, if the store sells the items with low (resp. high) prices, the customers buy more (resp. less) items, which provides less profit to the store. So it would be hard for the store to decide the prices of items. Assume that the store has a set V of n items and there is a set E of m customers who wish to buy those items, and also assume that each item i ∈ V has the production cost di and each customer ej ∈ E has the valuation vj on the bundle ej ⊆ V of items. When the store sells an item i ∈ V at the price ri, the profit for the item i is pi = ri - di. The goal of the store is to decide the price of each item to maximize its total profit. We refer to this maximization problem as the item pricing problem. In most of the previous works, the item pricing problem was considered under the assumption that pi ≥ 0 for each i ∈ V, however, Balcan, et al. [In Proc. of WINE, LNCS 4858, 2007] introduced the notion of “loss-leader, ” and showed that the seller can get more total profit in the case that pi < 0 is allowed than in the case that pi < 0 is not allowed. In this paper, we derive approximation preserving reductions among several item pricing problems and show that all of them have algorithms with good approximation ratio.

Robust Dynamic Multi-objective Vehicle Routing Optimization Method.

PubMed

Guo, Yi-Nan; Cheng, Jian; Luo, Sha; Gong, Dun-Wei

2017-03-21

For dynamic multi-objective vehicle routing problems, the waiting time of vehicle, the number of serving vehicles, the total distance of routes were normally considered as the optimization objectives. Except for above objectives, fuel consumption that leads to the environmental pollution and energy consumption was focused on in this paper. Considering the vehicles' load and the driving distance, corresponding carbon emission model was built and set as an optimization objective. Dynamic multi-objective vehicle routing problems with hard time windows and randomly appeared dynamic customers, subsequently, were modeled. In existing planning methods, when the new service demand came up, global vehicle routing optimization method was triggered to find the optimal routes for non-served customers, which was time-consuming. Therefore, robust dynamic multi-objective vehicle routing method with two-phase is proposed. Three highlights of the novel method are: (i) After finding optimal robust virtual routes for all customers by adopting multi-objective particle swarm optimization in the first phase, static vehicle routes for static customers are formed by removing all dynamic customers from robust virtual routes in next phase. (ii)The dynamically appeared customers append to be served according to their service time and the vehicles' statues. Global vehicle routing optimization is triggered only when no suitable locations can be found for dynamic customers. (iii)A metric measuring the algorithms' robustness is given. The statistical results indicated that the routes obtained by the proposed method have better stability and robustness, but may be sub-optimum. Moreover, time-consuming global vehicle routing optimization is avoided as dynamic customers appear.

RFM-based eco-efficiency analysis using Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy and AHP approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen Ruiyang

2009-04-15

Eco-design is crucial to take environmental aspects into account in the phases of design. Few literature review that green product must meet market value. The development of models to predict market value is thus very useful because it can provide early eco-efficiency to the eco-design. For the eco-design engineer, when he tries to solve a customer feedback problem, he usually faces the eco-efficiency. There are, however, often other types of fuzziness uncertainty present, which are related to the quantity of eco-design conditions. In this paper, it is derived that analysis of eco-efficiency can be identified by using the RFM valuemore » for quantifying eco-design with Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system on customer feedback problem. It clusters eco-efficiency into segments according to green product usages value expressed in terms of weighted RFM. This experiment examined the weighted RFM effect of overall average normalized, AHP and non-weighted for F1 metric. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology indeed can yield identification of higher quality.« less

Bartenders' and Rum Shopkeepers' Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward "Problem Drinking" in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

PubMed

Zafer, Maryam; Liu, Shiyuan; Katz, Craig L

2018-04-28

Harmful alcohol use encompasses a spectrum of habits, including heavy episodic drinking (HED) which increases the risk of acute alcohol-related harms. The prevalence of HED in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is 5.7% among the overall population aged 15 years and older and 10.2% among drinkers. Responsible Beverage Service interventions train alcohol servers to limit levels of intoxication attained by customers and decrease acute alcohol-related harms. The objectives of this study were to determine bar tenders' and rum shopkeepers' knowledge of and attitudes toward problem drinking and willingness to participate in server training. Researchers used convenience and purposive sampling to recruit 30 participants from Barraouile, Kingstown, and Calliaqua to participate in semi-structured interviews designed to explore study objectives. Results and conclusions were derived from grounded theory analysis. Heavy episodic drinking is common but not stigmatized. Heavy drinking is considered a "problem" if the customer attains a level of disinhibition causing drunken and disruptive or injurious behavior. Bartenders and rum shopkeepers reported intervening with visibly intoxicated patrons and encouraging cessation of continued alcohol consumption. Participants cited economic incentives, prevention of alcohol-related harms, and personal morals as motivators to prevent drunkenness. Respondents acknowledged that encouraging responsible drinking was a legitimate part of their role and were favorable to server training. However, there were mixed opinions about the intervention's perceived efficacy given absent community-wide standards on preventing intoxication and limitations of existing alcohol policy. Given respondents' motivation and lack of standardized alcohol server training in SVG, mandated server training can be an effective strategy when promoted as one piece of a multi-component alcohol policy.

Associations between bride price obligations and women's anger, symptoms of mental distress, poverty, spouse and family conflict and preoccupations with injustice in conflict-affected Timor-Leste

PubMed Central

Rees, Susan; Mohsin, Mohammed; Tay, Alvin Kuowei; Thorpe, Rosamund; Murray, Samantha; Savio, Elisa; Fonseca, Mira; Tol, Wietse; Silove, Derrick

2016-01-01

Objectives Bride price is a widespread custom in many parts of the world, including in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. We hypothesised that problems relating to the obligatory ongoing remittances made by the husband and his family to the bride's family may be a source of mental disturbance (in the form of explosive anger and severe mental distress) among women. In addition, we postulated that problems arising with bride price would be associated with conflict with the spouse and family, poverty and women's preoccupations with injustice. Design A mixed-methods study comprising a total community household survey and semistructured qualitative interviews. Setting Two villages, one urban, the other rural, in Timor-Leste. Participants 1193 married women participated in the household survey and a structured subsample of 77 women participated in qualitative interviews. Results Problems with bride price showed a consistent dose–effect relationship with sudden episodes of explosive anger, excessive anger and severe psychological distress. Women with the most severe problems with bride price had twice the poverty scores as those with no problems with the custom. Women with the most severe problems with bride price also reported a threefold increase in conflict with their spouse and a fivefold increase in conflict with family. They also reported heightened preoccupations with injustice. Conclusions Our study is the first to show consistent associations between problems with bride price obligations and mental distress, poverty, conflict with spouse and family and preoccupations with injustice among women in a low-income, postconflict country. PMID:28588920

From customer satisfaction survey to corrective actions in laboratory services in a university hospital.

PubMed

Oja, Paula I; Kouri, Timo T; Pakarinen, Arto J

2006-12-01

To find out the satisfaction of clinical units with laboratory services in a university hospital, to point out the most important problems and defects in services, to carry out corrective actions, and thereafter to identify the possible changes in satisfaction. and Senior physicians and nurses-in-charge of the clinical units at Oulu University Hospital, Finland. Customer satisfaction survey using a questionnaire was carried out in 2001, indicating the essential aspects of laboratory services. Customer-specific problems were clarified, corrective actions were performed, and the survey was repeated in 2004. In 2001, the highest dissatisfaction rates were recorded for computerized test requesting and reporting, turnaround times of tests, and the schedule of phlebotomy rounds. The old laboratory information system was not amenable to major improvements, and it was renewed in 2004-05. Several clinical units perceived turnaround times to be long, because the tests were ordered as routine despite emergency needs. Instructions about stat requesting were given to these units. However, no changes were evident in the satisfaction level in the 2004 survey. Following negotiations with the clinics, phlebotomy rounds were re-scheduled. This resulted in a distinct increase in satisfaction in 2004. Satisfaction survey is a screening tool that identifies topics of dissatisfaction. Without further clarifications, it is not possible to find out the specific problems of customers and to undertake targeted corrective actions. Customer-specific corrections are rarely seen as improvements in overall satisfaction rates.

Pacific Northwest Storms Situation Report # 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2006-12-17

Significant progress has been made in restoring power to customers in the Pacific Northwest region. Currently, 468,200 customers, including Canada, remain without power. This is down from 1.8 million customers who lost power following severe wind and snow storms on December 14-15, 2006. The customers without power represent about 16 percent of customers in the affected utility service areas of Oregon and Washington. See table below. The Olympic pipeline reports that the pipeline is operational; however, pipeline throughput remains reduced since one substation along the line remains without power. Complete power restoration is expected later today. There are no reportsmore » of problems regarding fuel distribution and production.« less

Negative Correlation Learning for Customer Churn Prediction: A Comparison Study

PubMed Central

Faris, Hossam

2015-01-01

Recently, telecommunication companies have been paying more attention toward the problem of identification of customer churn behavior. In business, it is well known for service providers that attracting new customers is much more expensive than retaining existing ones. Therefore, adopting accurate models that are able to predict customer churn can effectively help in customer retention campaigns and maximizing the profit. In this paper we will utilize an ensemble of Multilayer perceptrons (MLP) whose training is obtained using negative correlation learning (NCL) for predicting customer churn in a telecommunication company. Experiments results confirm that NCL based MLP ensemble can achieve better generalization performance (high churn rate) compared with ensemble of MLP without NCL (flat ensemble) and other common data mining techniques used for churn analysis. PMID:25879060

14 CFR § 1214.805 - Unforeseen customer delay.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... problem pose a threat of delay to the Shuttle launch schedule or critical off-line activities, NASA shall... availability of facilities, equipment, and personnel. In requesting NASA to make such special efforts, the customer shall agree to reimburse NASA the estimated additional cost incurred. ...

Value propositions of mHealth projects.

PubMed

Gorski, Irena; Bram, Joshua T; Sutermaster, Staci; Eckman, Molly; Mehta, Khanjan

While mHealth holds great potential for addressing global health disparities, a majority of the initiatives never proceed beyond the pilot stage. One fundamental concern is that mHealth projects are seldom designed from the customer's perspective to address their specific problems and/or create appreciable value. A customer-centric view, where direct tangible benefits of interventions are identified and communicated effectively, can drive customer engagement and advance projects toward self-sustaining business models. This article reviews the business models of 234 mHealth projects to identify nine distinct value propositions that solve specific problems for customers. Each of these value propositions is discussed with real-world examples, analyses of their design approaches and business strategies, and common enablers as well as hurdles to surviving past the pilot stage. Furthermore, a deeper analysis of 42 mHealth ventures that have achieved self-sustainability through project revenue provides a host of practical and poignant insights into the design of systems that can fulfil mHealth's promise to address healthcare challenges in the long term.

Handling imbalance data in churn prediction using combined SMOTE and RUS with bagging method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pura Hartati, Eka; Adiwijaya; Arif Bijaksana, Moch

2018-03-01

Customer churn has become a significant problem and also a challenge for Telecommunication company such as PT. Telkom Indonesia. It is necessary to evaluate whether the big problems of churn customer and the company’s managements will make appropriate strategies to minimize the churn and retaining the customer. Churn Customer data which categorized churn Atas Permintaan Sendiri (APS) in this Company is an imbalance data, and this issue is one of the challenging tasks in machine learning. This study will investigate how is handling class imbalance in churn prediction using combined Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling (SMOTE) and Random Under-Sampling (RUS) with Bagging method for a better churn prediction performance’s result. The dataset that used is Broadband Internet data which is collected from Telkom Regional 6 Kalimantan. The research firstly using data preprocessing to balance the imbalanced dataset and also to select features by sampling technique SMOTE and RUS, and then building churn prediction model using Bagging methods and C4.5.

Measuring engagement effectiveness in social media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lei; Sun, Tong; Peng, Wei; Li, Tao

2012-03-01

Social media is becoming increasingly prevalent with the advent of web 2.0 technologies. Popular social media websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are attracting a gigantic number of online users to post and share information. An interesting phenomenon under this trend involves that more and more users share their experiences or issues with regard to a product, and then the product service agents use commercial social media listening and engagement tools (e.g. Radian6, Sysomos, etc.) to response to users' complaints or issues and help them tackle their problems. This is often called customer care in social media or social customer relationship management (CRM). However, all these existing commercial social media tools only provide an aggregated level of trends, patterns and sentiment analysis based on the keyword-centric brand relevant data, which have little insights for answering one of the key questions in social CRM system: how effective is our social customer care engagement? In this paper, we focus on addressing the problem of how to measure the effectiveness of engagement for service agents in customer care. Traditional CRM effectiveness measurements are defined under the scenario of the call center, where the effectiveness is mostly based on the duration time per call and/or number of answered calls per day. Different from customer care in a call center, we can obtain detailed conversations between agents and customers in social media, and therefore the effectiveness can be measured by analyzing the content of conversations and the sentiment of customers.

How rude! Emotional labor as a mediator between customer incivility and employee outcomes.

PubMed

Sliter, Michael; Jex, Steve; Wolford, Katherine; McInnerney, Joanne

2010-10-01

Because of the large number of people employed in service occupations, customer incivility has become an increasingly prevalent and important workplace stressor. Unfortunately, relatively little research has examined the effects of customer incivility; of the research that does exist, virtually all of it has focused solely on employee mental health outcomes. The present study was designed to replicate previous research linking customer incivility to the emotional exhaustion dimension of burnout and to expand on previous research by examining the effects of customer incivility on customer service quality. In addition, two models were proposed and tested in which emotional labor mediated the relationship between customer incivility and outcomes. Data from 120 bank tellers revealed that customer incivility was positively related to emotional exhaustion and negatively related to customer service performance. In addition, both proposed models were supported. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings and future directions are discussed. © 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Stochastic Dual Algorithm for Voltage Regulation in Distribution Networks with Discrete Loads: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dall-Anese, Emiliano; Zhou, Xinyang; Liu, Zhiyuan

This paper considers distribution networks with distributed energy resources and discrete-rate loads, and designs an incentive-based algorithm that allows the network operator and the customers to pursue given operational and economic objectives, while concurrently ensuring that voltages are within prescribed limits. Four major challenges include: (1) the non-convexity from discrete decision variables, (2) the non-convexity due to a Stackelberg game structure, (3) unavailable private information from customers, and (4) different update frequency from two types of devices. In this paper, we first make convex relaxation for discrete variables, then reformulate the non-convex structure into a convex optimization problem together withmore » pricing/reward signal design, and propose a distributed stochastic dual algorithm for solving the reformulated problem while restoring feasible power rates for discrete devices. By doing so, we are able to statistically achieve the solution of the reformulated problem without exposure of any private information from customers. Stability of the proposed schemes is analytically established and numerically corroborated.« less

78 FR 3499 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection Tools Relating to Customer...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-16

... Information Collection Tools Relating to Customer Satisfaction Surveys AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS..., the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing Customer Satisfaction Surveys previously... information collection tools, reporting, and record-keeping requirements: Title: IRS Customer Satisfaction...

Linking functional and relational service quality to customer satisfaction and loyalty: differences between men and women.

PubMed

Sánchez-Hernández, Rosa M; Martínez-Tur, Vicente; Peiró, José M; Moliner, Carolina

2010-04-01

This study assessed differences between men and women in the association of perceptions of service quality with customer evaluations. Functional (efficiency with which the service is delivered) and relational (customers' emotional benefits, beyond the core performance, related to the social interaction of customers with employees) dimensions of service quality were measured as well as customer satisfaction and loyalty. The sample of 277 customers (191 men, 86 women), surveyed in 29 Mexican hotels, had a mean age of 38.1 yr. (SD=9.7) for men and 34.5 yr. (SD=11.0) for women. To be eligible for survey, customers had to have spent at least one night in the hotel in question. Analysis indicated that the women and men differed in the association of functional and relational dimensions of service quality with their satisfaction and loyalty. Functional service quality was higher for the men than the women, while relational service quality showed greater predictive power for women than for men, although these accounted for only 4% of the customers' satisfaction variance and 6% of the loyalty variance.

Developing Customized Programs for Steel and Other Heavy Industries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Philip R., Jr.

1984-01-01

Describes Dundalk Community College's (DCC's) customized training programs for local industries. Looks at employment problems and outlook in Baltimore County, the development of a training agreement with Bethlehem Steel, the use of the Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) process to develop skill profiles, and future directions. (DMM)

Artificial immune algorithm for multi-depot vehicle scheduling problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhongyi; Wang, Donggen; Xia, Linyuan; Chen, Xiaoling

2008-10-01

In the fast-developing logistics and supply chain management fields, one of the key problems in the decision support system is that how to arrange, for a lot of customers and suppliers, the supplier-to-customer assignment and produce a detailed supply schedule under a set of constraints. Solutions to the multi-depot vehicle scheduling problems (MDVRP) help in solving this problem in case of transportation applications. The objective of the MDVSP is to minimize the total distance covered by all vehicles, which can be considered as delivery costs or time consumption. The MDVSP is one of nondeterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard) problem which cannot be solved to optimality within polynomial bounded computational time. Many different approaches have been developed to tackle MDVSP, such as exact algorithm (EA), one-stage approach (OSA), two-phase heuristic method (TPHM), tabu search algorithm (TSA), genetic algorithm (GA) and hierarchical multiplex structure (HIMS). Most of the methods mentioned above are time consuming and have high risk to result in local optimum. In this paper, a new search algorithm is proposed to solve MDVSP based on Artificial Immune Systems (AIS), which are inspirited by vertebrate immune systems. The proposed AIS algorithm is tested with 30 customers and 6 vehicles located in 3 depots. Experimental results show that the artificial immune system algorithm is an effective and efficient method for solving MDVSP problems.

Using Grey Wolf Algorithm to Solve the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korayem, L.; Khorsid, M.; Kassem, S. S.

2015-05-01

The capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) is a class of the vehicle routing problems (VRPs). In CVRP a set of identical vehicles having fixed capacities are required to fulfill customers' demands for a single commodity. The main objective is to minimize the total cost or distance traveled by the vehicles while satisfying a number of constraints, such as: the capacity constraint of each vehicle, logical flow constraints, etc. One of the methods employed in solving the CVRP is the cluster-first route-second method. It is a technique based on grouping of customers into a number of clusters, where each cluster is served by one vehicle. Once clusters are formed, a route determining the best sequence to visit customers is established within each cluster. The recently bio-inspired grey wolf optimizer (GWO), introduced in 2014, has proven to be efficient in solving unconstrained, as well as, constrained optimization problems. In the current research, our main contributions are: combining GWO with the traditional K-means clustering algorithm to generate the ‘K-GWO’ algorithm, deriving a capacitated version of the K-GWO algorithm by incorporating a capacity constraint into the aforementioned algorithm, and finally, developing 2 new clustering heuristics. The resulting algorithm is used in the clustering phase of the cluster-first route-second method to solve the CVR problem. The algorithm is tested on a number of benchmark problems with encouraging results.

Application of Gray Relational Analysis Method in Comprehensive Evaluation on the Customer Satisfaction of Automobile 4S Enterprises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cenglin, Yao

The car sales enterprises could continuously boost sales and expand customer groups, an important method is to enhance the customer satisfaction. The customer satisfaction of car sales enterprises (4S enterprises) depends on many factors. By using the grey relational analysis method, we could perfectly combine various factors in terms of customer satisfaction. And through the vertical contrast, car sales enterprises could find specific factors which will improve customer satisfaction, thereby increase sales volume and benefits. Gray relational analysis method has become a kind of good method and means to analyze and evaluate the enterprises.

A Study of Novice Systems Analysis Problem Solving Behaviors Using Protocol Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

conducted. Each subject was given the same task to perform. The task involved a case study (Appendix B) of a utility company’s customer order processing system...behavior (Ramesh, 1989). The task was to design a customer order processing system that utilized a centralized telephone answering service center...of the utility company’s customer order processing system that was developed based on information obtained by a large systems consulting firm during

Searching for solutions for territorial disputes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

LaBella, J.W.

Late in 1986 the boards of directors of the American Public Power Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association appointed a joint task force to examine and propose solutions to the pervasive problem of territorial disputes. Municipal electric systems and rural electric cooperatives have many common interests. In the legislative and regulatory halls of Washington, they jointly work for fair treatment and low costs for electric customers and they support each other on issues related to power supply. But the backyard brawls over which utility will serve which group of customers are fierce and potentially crippling to the nationalmore » alliance. The disputes typically arise when a municipality annexes territory. In communities served by a local publicly owned electric system, the new larger city wants to provide electric service in the newly annexed area. The rural electric cooperative that brought electricity to the area is not economically positioned to simply turn over those customers. Cities that provide other utility services feel they should also be permitted to provide electric service. Twenty-one suggestions (or possible solutions identified) are listed here.« less

Enhancing students' higher order thinking skills through computer-based scaffolding in problem-based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Nam Ju

This multiple paper dissertation addressed several issues in Problem-based learning (PBL) through conceptual analysis, meta-analysis, and empirical research. PBL is characterized by ill-structured tasks, self-directed learning process, and a combination of individual and cooperative learning activities. Students who lack content knowledge and problem-solving skills may struggle to address associated tasks that are beyond their current ability levels in PBL. This dissertation addressed a) scaffolding characteristics (i.e., scaffolding types, delivery method, customization) and their effects on students' perception of optimal challenge in PBL, b) the possibility of virtual learning environments for PBL, and c) the importance of information literacy for successful PBL learning. Specifically, this dissertation demonstrated the effectiveness of scaffolding customization (i.e., fading, adding, and fading/adding) to enhance students' self-directed learning in PBL. Moreover, the effectiveness of scaffolding was greatest when scaffolding customization is self-selected than based on fixed-time interval and their performance. This suggests that it might be important for students to take responsibility for their learning in PBL and individualized and just-in-time scaffolding can be one of the solutions to address K-12 students' difficulties in improving problem-solving skills and adjusting to PBL.

Learning Mechanisms in Multidisciplinary Teamwork with Real Customers and Open-Ended Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heikkinen, Juho; Isomöttönen, Ville

2015-01-01

Recently, there has been a trend towards adding a multidisciplinary or multicultural element to traditional monodisciplinary project courses in computing and engineering. In this article, we examine the implications of multidisciplinarity for students' learning experiences during a one-semester project course for real customers. We use a…

Customers First: Using Process Improvement To Improve Service Quality and Efficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Catherine A.

1998-01-01

Describes steps in a process-improvement project for reserve book services at the University of Arizona Library: (1) plan--identify process boundaries and customer requirements, gather/analyze data, prioritize problems; (2) do--encourage divergent thinking, reach convergent thinking, find solutions; (3) check--pilot solutions, compare costs; and…

Working with Angry Parents: Taking a Customer Service Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phipps, Patricia A.

1998-01-01

Discusses ways child care personnel can develop a proactive customer service plan that meets families' needs and expectations while minimizing the probability of confrontations with angry parents. Outlines a five-step conflict-resolution strategy that offers a "win-win" approach for both parents and providers when problems do occur. (TJQ)

A modelling framework for mitigating customers' waiting time at a vehicle inspection centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Norazura; Abidin, Norhaslinda Zainal; Ilyas, Khibtiyah; Abduljabbar, Waleed Khalid

2017-11-01

In Malaysia, an agency that is entrusted by the Government to perform mandatory vehicle inspection for public, commercial and private vehicles, receive many customers daily. Often complaints of problems received from the customers are associated with waiting time that leads to lost of business and dissatisfied customers. To address this issue, we propose a framework for modelling a vehicle inspection system using an integration of simulation and optimization approaches. The strengths of simulation and optimization are reviewed briefly that is hoped to reveal the synergy between the established methods in determining an appropriate customer's waiting time for inspection at a vehicle inspection centre. Relevant concepts and preliminary results are also presented and discussed in this paper.

22 CFR 91.1 - Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... customs regulations. 91.1 Section 91.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.1 Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations. In replying to inquiries received from exporters, travelers, or other interested parties, concerning tariff acts or customs...

22 CFR 91.1 - Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... customs regulations. 91.1 Section 91.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.1 Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations. In replying to inquiries received from exporters, travelers, or other interested parties, concerning tariff acts or customs...

22 CFR 91.1 - Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... customs regulations. 91.1 Section 91.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.1 Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations. In replying to inquiries received from exporters, travelers, or other interested parties, concerning tariff acts or customs...

22 CFR 91.1 - Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... customs regulations. 91.1 Section 91.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.1 Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations. In replying to inquiries received from exporters, travelers, or other interested parties, concerning tariff acts or customs...

22 CFR 91.1 - Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... customs regulations. 91.1 Section 91.1 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.1 Answering inquiries regarding tariff acts and customs regulations. In replying to inquiries received from exporters, travelers, or other interested parties, concerning tariff acts or customs...

41 CFR 109-28.306 - Customer supply center (CSC) accounts and related controls.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS SUPPLY AND PROCUREMENT 28-STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION 28.3-Customer Supply Centers § 109-28.306 Customer supply center (CSC) accounts and related controls. ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Customer supply center...

A hybrid algorithm for selecting head-related transfer function based on similarity of anthropometric structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Xiang-Yang; Wang, Shu-Guang; Gao, Li-Ping

2010-09-01

As the basic data for virtual auditory technology, head-related transfer function (HRTF) has many applications in the areas of room acoustic modeling, spatial hearing and multimedia. How to individualize HRTF fast and effectively has become an opening problem at present. Based on the similarity and relativity of anthropometric structures, a hybrid HRTF customization algorithm, which has combined the method of principal component analysis (PCA), multiple linear regression (MLR) and database matching (DM), has been presented in this paper. The HRTFs selected by both the best match and the worst match have been applied into obtaining binaurally auralized sounds, which are then used for subjective listening experiments and the results are compared. For the area in the horizontal plane, the localization results have shown that the selection of HRTFs can enhance the localization accuracy and can also abate the problem of front-back confusion.

Multi-Objective Hybrid Optimal Control for Multiple-Flyby Interplanetary Mission Design Using Chemical Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Englander, Jacob; Vavrina, Matthew

2015-01-01

The customer (scientist or project manager) most often does not want just one point solution to the mission design problem Instead, an exploration of a multi-objective trade space is required. For a typical main-belt asteroid mission the customer might wish to see the trade-space of: Launch date vs. Flight time vs. Deliverable mass, while varying the destination asteroid, planetary flybys, launch year, etcetera. To address this question we use a multi-objective discrete outer-loop which defines many single objective real-valued inner-loop problems.

A modify ant colony optimization for the grid jobs scheduling problem with QoS requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pu, Xun; Lu, XianLiang

2011-10-01

Job scheduling with customers' quality of service (QoS) requirement is challenging in grid environment. In this paper, we present a modify Ant colony optimization (MACO) for the Job scheduling problem in grid. Instead of using the conventional construction approach to construct feasible schedules, the proposed algorithm employs a decomposition method to satisfy the customer's deadline and cost requirements. Besides, a new mechanism of service instances state updating is embedded to improve the convergence of MACO. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Customer Loyalty and Customer Relationship Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Pengwei; Li, Min; Jiao, Xiaojing; Zhou, Ruijin

The contemporary company attaches great importance to marketing relationship and customer relations is the core of this relationship. Further, customer satisfaction and loyalty is the core of the customer relationship management. Sometimes, high customer satisfaction causes low profit because enterprises do not realize that strengthening the loyalty of the aimed customer is the key of customer relationship management.

The Need for Consumer Relations in Technical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isberner, Fred R.; Armstrong, Connie

1995-01-01

Technical education curricula should include the topical area of customer relations. Students need to learn how to listen to customers, handle complaints, monitor quality, and understand customer satisfaction. (SK)

Discrete Optimization Model for Vehicle Routing Problem with Scheduling Side Cosntraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juliandri, Dedy; Mawengkang, Herman; Bu'ulolo, F.

2018-01-01

Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is an important element of many logistic systems which involve routing and scheduling of vehicles from a depot to a set of customers node. This is a hard combinatorial optimization problem with the objective to find an optimal set of routes used by a fleet of vehicles to serve the demands a set of customers It is required that these vehicles return to the depot after serving customers’ demand. The problem incorporates time windows, fleet and driver scheduling, pick-up and delivery in the planning horizon. The goal is to determine the scheduling of fleet and driver and routing policies of the vehicles. The objective is to minimize the overall costs of all routes over the planning horizon. We model the problem as a linear mixed integer program. We develop a combination of heuristics and exact method for solving the model.

Modelling voltage sag mitigation using dynamic voltage restorer and analyzing power quality issue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Nor Laili; Hidzir, Hizrin Dayana Mohd; Thanakodi, Suresh; Nazar, Nazatul Shiema Moh; Ibrahim, Pungut; Ali, Che Ku Muhammad Sabri Che Ku

2018-02-01

Power quality problem which are arise due to a fault or a pulsed load can have caused an interruption of critical load. The modern power systems are becoming more sensitive to the quality of the power supplied by the utility company. Voltage sags and swells, flicker, interruptions, harmonic distortion and other distortion to the sinusoidal waveform are the examples of the power quality problems. The most affected due to these problems is industrial customers who use a lot of sensitive equipment. There has suffered a huge loss to these problems. Resulting of broken or damage equipment if voltage sag exceeds the sensitive threshold of the equipment. Thus, device such as Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) and Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) has been created to solve this problem among users. DVR is a custom power device that most effective and efficient. This paper intended to report the DVR operations during voltage sag compensation.

Current trends for customized biomedical software tools.

PubMed

Khan, Haseeb Ahmad

2017-01-01

In the past, biomedical scientists were solely dependent on expensive commercial software packages for various applications. However, the advent of user-friendly programming languages and open source platforms has revolutionized the development of simple and efficient customized software tools for solving specific biomedical problems. Many of these tools are designed and developed by biomedical scientists independently or with the support of computer experts and often made freely available for the benefit of scientific community. The current trends for customized biomedical software tools are highlighted in this short review.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to I&T

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Michael R.

1999-01-01

With over two dozen missions since the first in 1986, the Hitchhiker project has a reputation for providing quick-reaction, low-cost flight services for Shuttle Small Payloads Project (SSPP) customers. Despite the successes, several potential improvements in customer payload integration and test (I&T) deserve consideration. This paper presents suggestions to Hitchhiker customers on how to help make the I&T process run smoother. Included are: customer requirements and interface definition, pre-integration test and evaluation, configuration management, I&T overview and planning, problem mitigation, and organizational communication. In this era of limited flight opportunities and new ISO-based requirements, issues such as these have become more important than ever.

26 CFR 1.924(e)-1 - Activities relating to the disposition of export property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., television, newspaper, trade journals, mass mailings, or billboards), in order to induce multiple customers or potential customers to buy or rent the property or services from the FSC or related supplier... export customers or potential export customers. Advertising except for the advertising described in § 1...

The SIGNAL expert system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Struve, R.

The SIGNAL insurance companies have developed an expert system for the support of its customer sales service. It was introduced at the end of 1993 and is currently used by approximately 500 customer service representatives. It involves a counseling system, which enables customer sales personnel to produce high-quality benefit analyses at the point of sale. It is not only an information system for the agent but involves the customer in an active role (through the implementation of sales talks, the conscious visualization of facts, the generation of natural language explanations etc.). Thus, the customer is not faced with a faitmore » accompli but is actively involved in solving the problem. To meet these requirements, several Al techniques are used, as described further below. The application has increased sales efficiency, optimized customer contact time and decreased training requirements. The system is developed with KEE (and reimplemented in Allegro CL/PC) and runs on notebooks with 8 MB RAM.« less

Information Technology Manager's Perspective on Experiences with Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: A Phenomenology Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Sherry A.

2016-01-01

The general problem was that, in the competitive telecommunications industry, information technology service providers have to develop ways to improve on customer satisfaction and service quality during service disruptions to meet service level agreements. A descriptive phenomenological study was used to explore the lived experiences and…

Developing Customized Programs for Steel and Other Heavy Industries: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Philip R., Jr.

1984-01-01

This article discusses the successful implementation of a unique customized training program for steel and other industries. A contextual framework for understanding both the process and the product is presented. Traditional labor management problems are examined as well as the DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) procedure of identifying job-related…

41 CFR 101-28.306 - Customer supply center (CSC) accounts and related controls.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... PROCUREMENT 28-STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION 28.3-Customer Supply Centers § 101-28.306 Customer supply center (CSC... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Customer supply center (CSC) accounts and related controls. 101-28.306 Section 101-28.306 Public Contracts and Property...

Exploring the impact of customer relational benefit on relationship commitment in health service sectors.

PubMed

Weng, Rhay-Hung; Huang, Jin-An; Huang, Ching-Yuan; Huang, Shih-Chang

2010-01-01

An increasing number of health service sectors have begun to implement relationship marketing to try to establish long-term relationship with customers. Customer relational benefit has been an important subject for relationship marketing researchers. This study was conducted to investigate how customer relational benefit might influence relationship commitment in health service sectors. The research used a questionnaire survey that retrieved a total number of 403 valid questionnaires. The data were collected by way of personal visits and investigations of outpatients in three regional hospitals in Taiwan. After the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire sample were examined, the data were verified by using hierarchical regression analysis. Results showed that confidence benefit constituted the most pronounced factor for hospital customers. Confidence benefit, social benefit, and special treatment benefit were perceived by customers as the key factors that have a positive influence on relationship commitment. In particular, customers placing greater emphasis on confidence benefit tended to be less willing to establish relationship commitment. When health service managers develop marketing strategies using customer relational benefit, they will still need to enhance customer confidence benefit as one of the main ways of achieving future improvements. In the event where health service managers seek to install resources for establishing and maintaining a good relationship commitment with customers, the crucial factors of social and special treatment benefits should not be ignored when seeking to enhance the customers' perception of confidence benefit.

Terminally ill patients as customers: the patient's perspective.

PubMed

Seibel, Katharina; Valeo, Sara Celestina; Xander, Carola; Adami, Sandra; Duerk, Thorsten; Becker, Gerhild

2014-01-01

Consumerism in health care defines patients as self-determined, rational customers. Yet, it is questionable whether vulnerable patients, such as the terminally ill, also fulfill these criteria. Vulnerable contexts and the patient's perspective on being a customer remain relatively unexplored. The present study addresses this research gap by analyzing terminally ill patients' views on being customers. To explore the ways in which patients in palliative care refer to themselves as patients/customers, and how the patients' concepts of self-determination are related to their attitudes toward the patient/customer role. Qualitative interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed in three steps: narrative analysis, thematic content analysis, and typology construction. Researchers recruited 25 patients via the Department of Palliative Care, University Medical Center Freiburg, Germany. In many ways, palliative patients contradict the image of a self-determined customer. The palliative patient role is characterized by the concept of relational self-determination rather than an unrestricted self-determination. Self-attribution as a customer still occurs when positively associated with a person-centered, individualized treatment. Thus, the customer and patient role overlap within the palliative care setting because of the focus on the individual. The idealized customer role cannot be arbitrarily applied to all medical fields. Palliative patients are dependent on the physician, regardless of whether the customer or patient role is preferred. Hence, self-determination must be understood in relational terms, and physicians must recognize their crucial role in promoting patients' self-determination in the context of shared decision-making.

The Scatter Search Based Algorithm to Revenue Management Problem in Broadcasting Companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pishdad, Arezoo; Sharifyazdi, Mehdi; Karimpour, Reza

2009-09-01

The problem under question in this paper which is faced by broadcasting companies is how to benefit from a limited advertising space. This problem is due to the stochastic behavior of customers (advertiser) in different fare classes. To address this issue we propose a mathematical constrained nonlinear multi period model which incorporates cancellation and overbooking. The objective function is to maximize the total expected revenue and our numerical method performs it by determining the sales limits for each class of customer to present the revenue management control policy. Scheduling the advertising spots in breaks is another area of concern and we consider it as a constraint in our model. In this paper an algorithm based on Scatter search is developed to acquire a good feasible solution. This method uses simulation over customer arrival and in a continuous finite time horizon [0, T]. Several sensitivity analyses are conducted in computational result for depicting the effectiveness of proposed method. It also provides insight into better results of considering revenue management (control policy) compared to "no sales limit" policy in which sooner demand will served first.

Spatial, temporal, and hybrid decompositions for large-scale vehicle routing with time windows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bent, Russell W

This paper studies the use of decomposition techniques to quickly find high-quality solutions to large-scale vehicle routing problems with time windows. It considers an adaptive decomposition scheme which iteratively decouples a routing problem based on the current solution. Earlier work considered vehicle-based decompositions that partitions the vehicles across the subproblems. The subproblems can then be optimized independently and merged easily. This paper argues that vehicle-based decompositions, although very effective on various problem classes also have limitations. In particular, they do not accommodate temporal decompositions and may produce spatial decompositions that are not focused enough. This paper then proposes customer-based decompositionsmore » which generalize vehicle-based decouplings and allows for focused spatial and temporal decompositions. Experimental results on class R2 of the extended Solomon benchmarks demonstrates the benefits of the customer-based adaptive decomposition scheme and its spatial, temporal, and hybrid instantiations. In particular, they show that customer-based decompositions bring significant benefits over large neighborhood search in contrast to vehicle-based decompositions.« less

22 CFR 91.3 - Assistance to Customs and Tariff Commission representatives.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Assistance to Customs and Tariff Commission representatives. 91.3 Section 91.3 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.3 Assistance to Customs and Tariff Commission representatives. Consular officers shall render...

47 CFR 64.2010 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... authenticate a customer prior to disclosing CPNI based on customer-initiated telephone contact, online account... customer. (c) Online access to CPNI. A telecommunications carrier must authenticate a customer without the... customer online access to CPNI related to a telecommunications service account. Once authenticated, the...

47 CFR 64.2010 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... authenticate a customer prior to disclosing CPNI based on customer-initiated telephone contact, online account... customer. (c) Online access to CPNI. A telecommunications carrier must authenticate a customer without the... customer online access to CPNI related to a telecommunications service account. Once authenticated, the...

47 CFR 64.2010 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... authenticate a customer prior to disclosing CPNI based on customer-initiated telephone contact, online account... customer. (c) Online access to CPNI. A telecommunications carrier must authenticate a customer without the... customer online access to CPNI related to a telecommunications service account. Once authenticated, the...

Context Analysis of Customer Requests using a Hybrid Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System and Hidden Markov Models in the Natural Language Call Routing Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rustamov, Samir; Mustafayev, Elshan; Clements, Mark A.

2018-04-01

The context analysis of customer requests in a natural language call routing problem is investigated in the paper. One of the most significant problems in natural language call routing is a comprehension of client request. With the aim of finding a solution to this issue, the Hybrid HMM and ANFIS models become a subject to an examination. Combining different types of models (ANFIS and HMM) can prevent misunderstanding by the system for identification of user intention in dialogue system. Based on these models, the hybrid system may be employed in various language and call routing domains due to nonusage of lexical or syntactic analysis in classification process.

A multi-objective genetic algorithm for a mixed-model assembly U-line balancing type-I problem considering human-related issues, training, and learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabbani, Masoud; Montazeri, Mona; Farrokhi-Asl, Hamed; Rafiei, Hamed

2016-12-01

Mixed-model assembly lines are increasingly accepted in many industrial environments to meet the growing trend of greater product variability, diversification of customer demands, and shorter life cycles. In this research, a new mathematical model is presented considering balancing a mixed-model U-line and human-related issues, simultaneously. The objective function consists of two separate components. The first part of the objective function is related to balance problem. In this part, objective functions are minimizing the cycle time, minimizing the number of workstations, and maximizing the line efficiencies. The second part is related to human issues and consists of hiring cost, firing cost, training cost, and salary. To solve the presented model, two well-known multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, namely non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and multi-objective particle swarm optimization, have been used. A simple solution representation is provided in this paper to encode the solutions. Finally, the computational results are compared and analyzed.

Teaching nutrition to medical students: a community-based problem-solving approach.

PubMed

Bhattacharji, S; Joseph, A; Abraham, S; Muliyil, J; John, K R; Ethirajan, N

1990-01-01

This paper presents a community-based problem-solving educational programme which aims at teaching medical and other health science students the importance of nutrition and its application. Through community surveys students assess the nutritional status of children under five using different anthropometric methods. They understand the cultural beliefs and customs related to food fads and the reasons for them. They also acquire the skill to educate the community using the information gathered. They use epidemiological methods such as case control study to find associations between malnutrition and other causative factors. Feedback from students has been positive and evaluation of students' knowledge before and after the programme has shown significant improvement.

[How are consumers, service and market factors related to customer loyalty in medical service? Targeting the medical consumer in a city].

PubMed

Lee, Sunhee; Kim, Hyunmi; Kim, Juhye; Ha, Gwiyeom

2008-09-01

This study was performed to explore customer loyalty and the related factors. 900 households (a 1% sample) were randomly selected from the total population of K city located in Kangwon province. An interview survey was performed with using a structured questionnaire for the subjects (923 persons) who had used medical service during the year before the survey, and the survey was done September, 2002. When comparing the relating factors related with customer loyalty according to the sociodemographic characteristics, the older group showed a significantly higher level of recognition for service quality, service reputation, internal customers.attitudes and switching cost. The lower income group showed a higher level of recognition for service quality, service image and switching cost. The lower educated group showed a higher level of recognition for service reputation, service image and internal customers.attitudes. The higher educated group showed a higher level of recognition for perceived risk, and seeking variety. In addition, the expert group or the service and manufacturing workers group showed a higher level of recognition for service involvement. On multiple regression analysis, internal customers' attitudes, service image, service reputation, service quality, switching cost, and substitutability showed significant relations with customer loyalty. This study showed that customer loyalty was significantly influenced by service factors like internal customers' attitudes, service image, service reputation, and service quality, and by market factors like switching cost, and substitutability. The results of this study can be used as a baseline for developing strategies to create and keep customers with high loyalty.

22 CFR 127.4 - Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs.... Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. (a) U.S. Immigration and.... (b) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have the...

Can custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses prevent problems in the back and lower extremities? A randomized, controlled intervention trial of 146 military conscripts.

PubMed

Larsen, Kristian; Weidich, Flemming; Leboeuf-Yde, Charlotte

2002-06-01

Shock-absorbing and biomechanic shoe orthoses are frequently used in the prevention and treatment of back and lower extremity problems. One review concludes that the former is clinically effective in relation to prevention, whereas the latter has been tested in only 1 randomized clinical trial, concluding that stress fractures could be prevented. To investigate if biomechanic shoe orthoses can prevent problems in the back and lower extremities and if reducing the number of days off-duty because of back or lower extremity problems is possible. Prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial. One female and 145 male military conscripts (aged 18 to 24 years), representing 25% of all new conscripts in a Danish regiment. Health data were collected by questionnaires at initiation of the study and 3 months later. Custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses to be worn in military boots were provided to all in the study group during the 3-month intervention period. No intervention was provided for the control group. Differences between the 2 groups were tested with the chi-square test, and statistical significance was accepted at P <.05. Risk ratio (RR), risk difference (ARR), numbers needed to prevent (NNP), and cost per successfully prevented case were calculated. Outcome variables included self-reported back and/or lower extremity problems; specific problems in the back or knees or shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, sprained ankle, or other problems in the lower extremity; number of subjects with at least 1 day off-duty because of back or lower extremity problems and total number of days off-duty within the first 3 months of military service because of back or lower extremity problems. Results were significantly better in an actual-use analysis in the intervention group for total number of subjects with back or lower extremity problems (RR 0.7, ARR 19%, NNP 5, cost 98 US dollars); number of subjects with shin splints (RR 0.2, ARR 19%, NNP 5, cost 101 US dollars); number of off-duty days because of back or lower extremity problems (RR 0.6, ARR < 1%, NNP 200, cost 3750 US dollars). In an intention-to-treat analysis, a significant difference was found for only number of subjects with shin splints (RR 0.3, ARR 18%, NNP 6 cost 105 US dollars), whereas a worst-case analysis revealed no significant differences between the study groups. This study shows that it may be possible to prevent certain musculoskeletal problems in the back or lower extremities among military conscripts by using custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses. However, because care-seeking for lower extremity problems is rare, using this method of prevention in military conscripts would be too costly. We also noted that the choice of statistical approach determined the outcome.

Profit-Based Model Selection for Customer Retention Using Individual Customer Lifetime Values.

PubMed

Óskarsdóttir, María; Baesens, Bart; Vanthienen, Jan

2018-03-01

The goal of customer retention campaigns, by design, is to add value and enhance the operational efficiency of businesses. For organizations that strive to retain their customers in saturated, and sometimes fast moving, markets such as the telecommunication and banking industries, implementing customer churn prediction models that perform well and in accordance with the business goals is vital. The expected maximum profit (EMP) measure is tailored toward this problem by taking into account the costs and benefits of a retention campaign and estimating its worth for the organization. Unfortunately, the measure assumes fixed and equal customer lifetime value (CLV) for all customers, which has been shown to not correspond well with reality. In this article, we extend the EMP measure to take into account the variability in the lifetime values of customers, thereby basing it on individual characteristics. We demonstrate how to incorporate the heterogeneity of CLVs when CLVs are known, when their prior distribution is known, and when neither is known. By taking into account individual CLVs, our proposed approach of measuring model performance gives novel insights when deciding on a customer retention campaign. The method is dependent on the characteristics of the customer base as is compliant with modern business analytics and accommodates the data-driven culture that has manifested itself within organizations.

77 FR 67042 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The Options Clearing Corporation; Notice of No Objection to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-08

... Amendment No. 1 Thereto, Relating to the Margining of Segregated Futures Customer Accounts on a Gross Basis... of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Margining of Segregated Futures Customer Accounts...\\ ``Advance Notice Relating to the Margining of Segregated Futures Customer Accounts on a Gross Basis...

22 CFR 91.2 - Furnishing samples to collectors of customs or appraising officers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Furnishing samples to collectors of customs or appraising officers. 91.2 Section 91.2 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE LEGAL AND RELATED SERVICES IMPORT CONTROLS § 91.2 Furnishing samples to collectors of customs or appraising officers. Upon the...

Meeting the Energy Challenges of the 1990s. Experts Define the Key Policy Issues.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

Forecast of Low Emission Fuel Usage-Liquid 79 Fuels Figure 2.10: Forecast of Low Emission Fuel Usage- 81 Gaseous Fuels Figure 2.11: Global Warming From...environmental problems caused by acid rain, smog, and global warming , he said. According to Mr. Lovins, utilities as well as their customers benefit from...made in relation to these effects. The panel- ists addressed the links between global warming and the fossil fuels that now produce nearly 90 percent

The Development of B2C E-Commerce in Greece: Current Situation and Future Potential.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kardaras, Dimitris; Papathanassiou, Eleutherios

2000-01-01

Reports on the results of a survey of 120 companies in Greece that evaluated the potential of business to customer (B2C) Internet applications and investigated how the Internet and e-commerce can offer new opportunities for businesses to improve their customers' satisfaction. Discusses electronic commerce problems and future technology. (Contains…

Prospective Evaluation of Mesopic Night Vision and Night Vision Goggle Visual Acuity After Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

off-label use of custom wavefront-guided treatment has demonstrated potential for reducing some QoV problems; however, early custom- ablation LASIK ...10): 1934-40. 66. Lee JB, Ryu CH, Kim EK,, Kim HB. Comparison of tear secretion and tear film instability after PRK and LASIK . J Cataract Surg

Sometimes the Customer "Isn't" Always Right: Problem Solving with Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Karen

2004-01-01

Relationships become so close in early childhood programs that many parents describe early childhood staff as their children's "extended family." And yet, no matter how genuine attachments are, there still remains the fact that parents are, in fact, the school's paying customers. When money is exchanged in the U.S., the typical rule of thumb for…

[Business organization theory: its potential use in the organization of the operating room].

PubMed

Bartz, H-J

2005-07-01

The paradigm of patient care in the German health system is changing. The introduction of German Diagnosis Related Groups (G-DRGs), a diagnosis-related coding system, has made process-oriented thinking increasingly important. The treatment process is viewed and managed as a whole from the admission to the discharge of the patient. The interfaces of departments and sectors are diminished. A main objective of these measures is to render patient care more cost efficient. Within the hospital, the operating room (OR) is the most expensive factor accounting for 25 - 50 % of the costs of a surgical patient and is also a bottleneck in the surgical patient care. Therefore, controlling of the perioperative treatment process is getting more and more important. Here, the business organisation theory can be a very useful tool. Especially the concepts of process organisation and process management can be applied to hospitals. Process-oriented thinking uncovers and solves typical organisational problems. Competences, responsibilities and tasks are reorganised by process orientation and the enterprise is gradually transformed to a process-oriented system. Process management includes objective-oriented controlling of the value chain of an enterprise with regard to quality, time, costs and customer satisfaction. The quality of the process is continuously improved using process-management techniques. The main advantage of process management is consistent customer orientation. Customer orientation means to be aware of the customer's needs at any time during the daily routine. The performance is therefore always directed towards current market requirements. This paper presents the basics of business organisation theory and to point out its potential use in the organisation of the OR.

A cross-lagged test of the association between customer satisfaction and employee job satisfaction in a relational context.

PubMed

Zablah, Alex R; Carlson, Brad D; Donavan, D Todd; Maxham, James G; Brown, Tom J

2016-05-01

Due to its practical importance, the relationship between customer satisfaction and frontline employee (FLE) job satisfaction has received significant attention in the literature. Numerous studies to date confirm that the constructs are related and rely on this empirical finding to infer support for the "inside-out" effect of FLE job satisfaction on customer satisfaction. In doing so, prior studies ignore the possibility that-as suggested by the Service Profit Chain's satisfaction mirror-a portion of the observed empirical effect may be due to the "outside-in" impact of customer satisfaction on FLE job satisfaction. Consequently, both the magnitude and direction of the causal relationship between the constructs remain unclear. To address this oversight, this study builds on multisource data, including longitudinal satisfaction data provided by 49,242 customers and 1,470 FLEs from across 209 retail stores, to examine the association between FLE job satisfaction and customer satisfaction in a context where service relationships are the norm. Consistent with predictions rooted in social exchange theory, the results reveal that (a) customer satisfaction and FLE job satisfaction are reciprocally related; (b) the outside-in effect of customer satisfaction on FLE job satisfaction is predominant (i.e., larger in magnitude than the inside-out effect); and (c) customer engagement determines the extent of this outside-in predominance. Contrary to common wisdom, the study's findings suggest that, in relational contexts, incentivizing FLEs to satisfy customers may prove to be more effective for enhancing FLE and customer outcomes than direct investments in FLE job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Health worker (internal customer) satisfaction and motivation in the public sector in Ghana.

PubMed

Agyepong, Irene Akua; Anafi, Patricia; Asiamah, Ebenezer; Ansah, Evelyn K; Ashon, Daniel A; Narh-Dometey, Christiana

2004-01-01

This paper describes factors affecting health worker motivation and satisfaction in the public sector in Ghana. The data are from a survey of public sector health care providers carried out in January 2002 and repeated in August 2003 using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire. It is part of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) effort in the health sector in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Workplace obstacles identified that caused dissatisfaction and de-motivated staff in order of the most frequently mentioned were low salaries such that obtaining basic necessities of daily living becomes a problem; lack of essential equipment, tools and supplies to work with; delayed promotions; difficulties and inconveniences with transportation to work; staff shortages; housing, additional duty allowances and in-service (continuous) training. Others included children's education, vehicles to work with such as ambulances and pickups, staff transfer procedures, staff pre-service education inadequate for job requirements, and the effect of the job on family and other social factors. There were some differences in the percentages of staff selecting a given workplace obstacle between the purely rural districts, the highly urbanized Accra metropolis and the districts that were a mixture of urbanized and rural. It is unlikely that the Ghana Health Service can provide high quality of care to its end users (external customers) if workplace obstacles that de-motivate staff (internal customers) and negatively influence their performance are not properly recognized and addressed as a complex of inter-related problems producing a common result--dissatisfied poorly motivated staff and resulting poor quality services.

A Correlational Study of How Airline Customer Service and Consumer Perception of Airline Customer Service Affect the Air Rage Phenomenon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Joyce A.

2007-01-01

Between 1995 and 2000, customer service declined throughout the airline industry, as reported in February 2001 by the U.S. Department of Transportation (2001). One of the biggest problems today within the airline industry is the constant complaining from customers regarding the deterioraton of service (McCollough, Berry, & Yadav, 2000). Since 1995, unfortunately no airline has been immune from service deterioration, as reported by the Airline Quality Rating, an annual report by two airline industry experts who analyzed Department of Transportation statistics (Harrison & Kleinsasser, 1999). The airline' refusal to recognize the issue of customer service has perpetuated an environment that has become dangerous and detrimental to the traveling public as well as to airline employees, which in turn has fueled a new phenomenon, now referred to as "air rage".

Churn in Social Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karnstedt, Marcel; Hennessy, Tara; Chan, Jeffrey; Basuchowdhuri, Partha; Hayes, Conor; Strufe, Thorsten

In the past, churn has been identified as an issue across most industry sectors. In its most general sense it refers to the rate of loss of customers from a company's customer base. There is a simple reason for the attention churn attracts: churning customers mean a loss of revenue. Emerging from business spaces like telecommunications (telcom) and broadcast providers, where churn is a major issue, it is also regarded as a crucial problem in many other businesses, such as online games creators, but also online social networks and discussion sites. Companies aim at identifying the risk of churn in its early stages, as it is usually much cheaper to retain a customer than to try to win him or her back. If this risk can be accurately predicted, marketing departments can target customers efficiently with tailored incentives to prevent them from leaving.

A heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing model for solving the LPG distribution problem: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onut, S.; Kamber, M. R.; Altay, G.

2014-03-01

Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is an important management problem in the field of distribution and logistics. In VRPs, routes from a distribution point to geographically distributed points are designed with minimum cost and considering customer demands. All points should be visited only once and by one vehicle in one route. Total demand in one route should not exceed the capacity of the vehicle that assigned to that route. VRPs are varied due to real life constraints related to vehicle types, number of depots, transportation conditions and time periods, etc. Heterogeneous fleet vehicle routing problem is a kind of VRP that vehicles have different capacity and costs. There are two types of vehicles in our problem. In this study, it is used the real world data and obtained from a company that operates in LPG sector in Turkey. An optimization model is established for planning daily routes and assigned vehicles. The model is solved by GAMS and optimal solution is found in a reasonable time.

Predicting Innovation Acceptance by Simulation in Virtual Environments (Theoretical Foundations)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

León, Noel; Duran, Roberto; Aguayo, Humberto; Flores, Myrna

This paper extends the current development of a methodology for Computer Aided Innovation. It begins with a presentation of concepts related to the perceived capabilities of virtual environments in the Innovation Cycle. The main premise establishes that it is possible to predict the acceptance of a new product in a specific market, by releasing an early prototype in a virtual scenario to quantify its general reception and to receive early feedback from potential customers. The paper continues to focus this research on a synergistic extension of techniques that have their origins in optimization and innovation disciplines. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), extends the generation of variants with Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) and finally to present the designer and the intended customer, creative and innovative alternatives. All of this developed on a virtual software interface (Virtual World). The work continues with a general description of the project as a step forward to improve the overall strategy.

Voluntary Tools Of The Environmental Oriented Product Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusko, Miroslav

2015-06-01

Environmentally oriented product policy is in general determined by the relationships between its aims - subjects - objects - tools. It is based on the integrated approach to the product life cycle, which anticipates an enormous amount of information. It has to solve the questions of the international trade as well as the rules of the International Trade Organization. New forms of preventive environmental strategies and especially Green Marketing are being introduced helping to solve environmental problems and environmental motivation of producers. Many producers face great attention of the public regarding their approach to the environment. Despite the fact that the customers buy products fairly prudently and their behaviour is markedly affected by prices, a particular part of the population prefers the products that do not burden the environment. This brings about a situation, in which the producers within their mutual competition and in relation to customers are enforced to behave responsibly.

Multi-trip vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time window in real life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sze, San-Nah; Chiew, Kang-Leng; Sze, Jeeu-Fong

2012-09-01

This paper studies a manpower scheduling problem with multiple maintenance operations and vehicle routing considerations. Service teams located at a common service centre are required to travel to different customer sites. All customers must be served within given time window, which are known in advance. The scheduling process must take into consideration complex constraints such as a meal break during the team's shift, multiple travelling trips, synchronisation of service teams and working shifts. The main objective of this study is to develop a heuristic that can generate high quality solution in short time for large problem instances. A Two-stage Scheduling Heuristic is developed for different variants of the problem. Empirical results show that the proposed solution performs effectively and efficiently. In addition, our proposed approximation algorithm is very flexible and can be easily adapted to different scheduling environments and operational requirements.

Others' anger makes people work harder not smarter: the effect of observing anger and sarcasm on creative and analytic thinking.

PubMed

Miron-Spektor, Ella; Efrat-Treister, Dorit; Rafaeli, Anat; Schwarz-Cohen, Orit

2011-09-01

The authors examine whether and how observing anger influences thinking processes and problem-solving ability. In 3 studies, the authors show that participants who listened to an angry customer were more successful in solving analytic problems, but less successful in solving creative problems compared with participants who listened to an emotionally neutral customer. In Studies 2 and 3, the authors further show that observing anger communicated through sarcasm enhances complex thinking and solving of creative problems. Prevention orientation is argued to be the latent variable that mediated the effect of observing anger on complex thinking. The present findings help reconcile inconsistent findings in previous research, promote theory about the effects of observing anger and sarcasm, and contribute to understanding the effects of anger in the workplace. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

New Techniques for Deep Learning with Geospatial Data using TensorFlow, Earth Engine, and Google Cloud Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancher, M.

2017-12-01

Recent years have seen promising results from many research teams applying deep learning techniques to geospatial data processing. In that same timeframe, TensorFlow has emerged as the most popular framework for deep learning in general, and Google has assembled petabytes of Earth observation data from a wide variety of sources and made them available in analysis-ready form in the cloud through Google Earth Engine. Nevertheless, developing and applying deep learning to geospatial data at scale has been somewhat cumbersome to date. We present a new set of tools and techniques that simplify this process. Our approach combines the strengths of several underlying tools: TensorFlow for its expressive deep learning framework; Earth Engine for data management, preprocessing, postprocessing, and visualization; and other tools in Google Cloud Platform to train TensorFlow models at scale, perform additional custom parallel data processing, and drive the entire process from a single familiar Python development environment. These tools can be used to easily apply standard deep neural networks, convolutional neural networks, and other custom model architectures to a variety of geospatial data structures. We discuss our experiences applying these and related tools to a range of machine learning problems, including classic problems like cloud detection, building detection, land cover classification, as well as more novel problems like illegal fishing detection. Our improved tools will make it easier for geospatial data scientists to apply modern deep learning techniques to their own problems, and will also make it easier for machine learning researchers to advance the state of the art of those techniques.

Customer relations data aids marketing efforts.

PubMed

Werronen, H J

1988-08-01

A customer relations information system can help improve a hospital's marketing performance. With such a system, the author writes, a medical center can easily redirect its information systems away from the traditional transaction-oriented approach toward the building of long-lasting relationship with customers.

Astronomy at the service of the Islamic society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernini, Ilias M.

2011-06-01

The Islamic society has great ties to astronomy. Its main religious customs (start of the Islamic month, direction of prayer, and the five daily prayers) are all related to two main celestial objects: the Sun and the Moon. First, the start of any Islamic month is related to the actual seeing of the young crescent after the new Moon. Second, the direction of prayer, i.e., praying towards Mecca, is related to the determination of the zenith point in Mecca. Third, the proper time for the five daily prayers is related to the motion of the Sun. Everyone in the society is directly concerned by these customs. This is to say that the major impetus for the growth of Islamic astronomy came from these three main religious observances which presented an assortment of problems in mathematical astronomy. To observe these three customs, a new set of astronomical observations were needed and this helped the development of the Islamic observatory. There is a claim that it was first in Islam that the astronomical observatory came into real existence. The Islamic observatory was a product of needs and values interwoven into the Islamic society and culture. It is also considered as a true representative and an integral par of the Islamic civilisation. Since astronomy interested not only men of science, but also the rulers of the Islamic empire, several observatories have flourished. The observatories of Baghdad, Cairo, Córdoba, Toledo, Maragha, Samarqand and Istanbul acquired a worldwide reputation throughout the centuries. This paper will discuss the two most important observatories (Maragha and Samarqand) in terms of their instruments and discoveries that contributed to the establishment of these scientific institutions.

An Integrated model for Product Quality Development—A case study on Quality functions deployment and AHP based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maitra, Subrata; Banerjee, Debamalya

2010-10-01

Present article is based on application of the product quality and improvement of design related with the nature of failure of machineries and plant operational problems of an industrial blower fan Company. The project aims at developing the product on the basis of standardized production parameters for selling its products in the market. Special attention is also being paid to the blower fans which have been ordered directly by the customer on the basis of installed capacity of air to be provided by the fan. Application of quality function deployment is primarily a customer oriented approach. Proposed model of QFD integrated with AHP to select and rank the decision criterions on the commercial and technical factors and the measurement of the decision parameters for selection of best product in the compettitive environment. The present AHP-QFD model justifies the selection of a blower fan with the help of the group of experts' opinion by pairwise comparison of the customer's and ergonomy based technical design requirements. The steps invoved in implementation of the QFD—AHP and selection of weighted criterion may be helpful for all similar purpose industries maintaining cost and utility for competitive product.

[Postgraduate studies in public health: the problem of efficiency evaluation].

PubMed

Boczkowski, Andrzej

2003-01-01

The satisfaction of customer is the main measure and the most important, generally recognized criterion for evaluating the quality of products and services. In the case of education and training, the quality is frequently understood as effectiveness, i.e., the degree to what educational objectives of a training institution are met; the objectives previously formulated on the basis of analyzed and defined demands and expectations of customers (clients). In the first part of the paper: (1) the problems related to the question who in fact is the customer in the context of an institution providing education in public health are discussed; (2) a proposal for resolving these problems is presented; and (3) the main directions of evaluation activities, which should be undertaken under monitoring and effectiveness assessment of postgraduate training in public health are pointed out. In the years 1998-2002, the students' assessment data on educational programs, curriculum contents and subject teachers in the field of postgraduate studies in the School of Public Health, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, were collected with the help of specially-designed evaluation questionnaires. The data on the students' self-assessment of gained professional competencies were also collected. All students who completed the School of Public Health in these years were subjected to the evaluation inquiries. The data collected were analyzed. Due to the analysis it was possible to define: the quality of the curriculum contents, as well as the professional and didactic skills of the teaching staff as perceived by the students; the degree to what particular curriculum in public health contributed to the increase in professional competence as perceived by the students; the degree to what particular teaching subjects influenced the students' knowledge of and skills in Public Health. The results obtained provided information very useful in the teaching process, designing of educational programs and their modification.

Improving Customer Waiting Time at a DMV Center Using Discrete-Event Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnaout, Georges M.; Bowling, Shannon

2010-01-01

Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) serves a customer base of approximately 5.6 million licensed drivers and ID card holders and 7 million registered vehicle owners. DMV has more daily face-to-face contact with Virginia's citizens than any other state agency [1]. The DMV faces a major difficulty in keeping up with the excessively large customers' arrival rate. The consequences are queues building up, stretching out to the entrance doors (and sometimes even outside) and customers complaining. While the DMV state employees are trying to serve at their fastest pace, the remarkably large queues indicate that there is a serious problem that the DMV faces in its services, which must be dealt with rapidly. Simulation is considered as one of the best tools for evaluating and improving complex systems. In this paper, we use it to model one of the DMV centers located in Norfolk, VA. The simulation model is modeled in Arena 10.0 from Rockwell systems. The data used is collected from experts of the DMV Virginia headquarter located in Richmond. The model created was verified and validated. The intent of this study is to identify key problems causing the delays at the DMV centers and suggest possible solutions to minimize the customers' waiting time. In addition, two tentative hypotheses aiming to improve the model's design are tested and validated.

Association of Subway Driver's Depressive Symptoms and Experience of Work-Related Problems.

PubMed

Jo, Sun-Jin; Yim, Hyeon Woo; Kim, Hyoung-Ryoul; Lee, Kang Sook; Park, Jong-Ik; Chang, Sung Man

2010-12-03

Subway drivers experience various types of work-related problems during their driving, and those experiences can act as risk factors for depressive symptoms. This study was conducted to investigate the association between work-related problems and subway driver's depressive symptoms. We recruited all of the 961 current subway drivers of a subway company located in Seoul, South Korea and conducted a survey of their socio-demographic and vocational characteristics, hospital visits as an outpatient or inpatient, and work-related problem experiences during the last year. Work-related problems included an accident resulting in death or injury, a conflict with a customer, a sudden stop from an emergency bell, or a near accident. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) instrument. The survey was performed using a self-report questionnaire from April 16 to July 13, 2007. The data of 827 drivers (86.2%) were analyzed. Experience of a conflict with a passenger (p=0.011), a sudden stop from an emergency bell (p=0.001), or a near accident (p=0.001) increased the prevalence of depressive symptoms among subway drivers. A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that a sudden stop from an emergency bell increased the risk of depressive symptoms significantly (OR=2.59, p=0.026). Near accidents were marginally associated with a higher risk for depressive symptoms (OR=1.62, p=0.062). The experience of a sudden stop from an emergency bell increased subway driver's depressive symptoms, and near accidents may increase the risk of depressive symptoms. Therefore, interventions for the drivers who had experienced these work-related problems are needed.

Competitive Bidding in a Certain Class of Auctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johansson, Mathias

2006-11-01

We consider the problem of determining the amount to bid in a certain type of auctions in which customers submit one sealed bid. The bid reflects the price a customer is willing to pay for one unit of the offered goods. The auction is repeated and at each auction each customer requests a certain amount of goods, an amount that we call the capacity of the customer and that varies among customers and over time. At each auction, only the customer with the largest bid-capacity product obtains any goods. The price paid by the winner equals his/her bid-capacity product, and the amount of goods obtained in return equals the winner's capacity. The auction is repeated many times, with only limited information concerning winning bid-capacity products being announced to the customers. This situation is motivated in for example wireless communication networks in which a possible way of obtaining a desired service level is to use dynamic pricing and competitive bidding. In this application, the capacity is typically uncertain when the bid is made. We derive bidding rules and loss functions for a few typical service requirements.

Enhancing Communication in Adults with Dementia and Age-Related Hearing Loss

PubMed Central

Mamo, Sara K.; Oh, Esther; Lin, Frank R.

2017-01-01

For many adults with dementia, age-related hearing loss is undiagnosed and/or untreated. Untreated hearing loss can exacerbate common dementia-related behavioral symptoms, such as depression, apathy, agitation. Despite the potential benefits to the individual and the family, pursuing and adopting hearing aids for persons with dementia presents with many challenges. As such, this group of vulnerable older adults is well suited for alternative approaches that adopt an interventional audiology framework. This article reviews alternative hearing care models that we have tested when working with older adults with cognitive impairments. We have found that some individuals show improvements in dementia-related problem behaviors and/or in measures of social engagement after brief aural rehabilitation interventions that provide non-custom amplification. We have developed simple training materials to help family and professional caregivers use communication strategies and non-custom amplification. Providing services that can be integrated into the person's broader dementia care has the potential to improve communication and quality of life for individuals and families. There are opportunities in this population to provide basic, simple strategies and make substantial improvements as long as we adopt approaches that bring the services to the people, instead of bringing the people to us in the audiology clinic. PMID:28522892

Better delivery/pick up routes in the presence of uncertainty.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-08-01

We consider the Courier Delivery Problem, a variant of the Vehicle Routing Problem with : time windows in which customers appear probabilistically and their service times are uncertain. : We use scenario-based stochastic optimization with recourse fo...

Custom E-Learning Experiences: Working with Profiles for Multiple Content Sources Access and Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferretti, Stefano; Roccetti, Marco; Salomoni, Paola; Mirri, Silvia

2009-01-01

It is a common belief that the problem of extracting learners' profiles to be used for delivering custom learning experiences is a closed case. Yet, practical solutions do not completely cope with the complex issue of capturing all the features of users, especially those of heterogeneous learners, who may have special needs or characteristics…

Better communication makes customer service shine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singer, S.

1995-01-01

After the terrible winter last year, Robison Oil decided to expand existing telephone equipment to provide the best possible service to our 26,000 customers. We are headquartered in Elmsford, NY, and have branches in Tarrytown and Brewster. Another company, Original Consumer Oil, is headquartered in the Bronx and serves commercial customers in the metropolitan area. Our new expanded communications system gives us shorter customer response time and the ability to resolve customer issues without transferring the customer around like a ping-pong ball. By combining our telephone and computer systems, we have been able to improve customer delivery and service throughmore » faster dispatching. And by using a network of T1 telephone lines between locations with different area codes, we save money on long distance phone charges. We have 12 customer service reps who are a key part of our operation. They enter all service and oil orders as well as handle all billing and credit problems. We wanted a communication system that would help us reduce the response time for customers, as well as let us know how many calls are waiting to be answered. To make their job easier and more productive, especially during the winter months, we upgraded our AT&T System 75 to a Definity G3 System.« less

Breaking the trade-off between efficiency and service.

PubMed

Frei, Frances X

2006-11-01

For manufacturers, customers are the open wallets at the end of the supply chain. But for most service businesses, they are key inputs to the production process. Customers introduce tremendous variability to that process, but they also complain about any lack of consistency and don't care about the company's profit agenda. Managing customer-introduced variability, the author argues, is a central challenge for service companies. The first step is to diagnose which type of variability is causing mischief: Customers may arrive at different times, request different kinds of service, possess different capabilities, make varying degrees of effort, and have different personal preferences. Should companies accommodate variability or reduce it? Accommodation often involves asking employees to compensate for the variations among customers--a potentially costly solution. Reduction often means offering a limited menu of options, which may drive customers away. Some companies have learned to deal with customer-introduced variability without damaging either their operating environments or customers' service experiences. Starbucks, for example, handles capability variability among its customers by teaching them the correct ordering protocol. Dell deals with arrival and request variability in its high-end server business by outsourcing customer service while staying in close touch with customers to discuss their needs and assess their experiences with third-party providers. The effective management of variability often requires a company to influence customers' behavior. Managers attempting that kind of intervention can follow a three-step process: diagnosing the behavioral problem, designing an operating role for customers that creates new value for both parties, and testing and refining approaches for influencing behavior.

Efficient constraint handling in electromagnetism-like algorithm for traveling salesman problem with time windows.

PubMed

Yurtkuran, Alkın; Emel, Erdal

2014-01-01

The traveling salesman problem with time windows (TSPTW) is a variant of the traveling salesman problem in which each customer should be visited within a given time window. In this paper, we propose an electromagnetism-like algorithm (EMA) that uses a new constraint handling technique to minimize the travel cost in TSPTW problems. The EMA utilizes the attraction-repulsion mechanism between charged particles in a multidimensional space for global optimization. This paper investigates the problem-specific constraint handling capability of the EMA framework using a new variable bounding strategy, in which real-coded particle's boundary constraints associated with the corresponding time windows of customers, is introduced and combined with the penalty approach to eliminate infeasibilities regarding time window violations. The performance of the proposed algorithm and the effectiveness of the constraint handling technique have been studied extensively, comparing it to that of state-of-the-art metaheuristics using several sets of benchmark problems reported in the literature. The results of the numerical experiments show that the EMA generates feasible and near-optimal results within shorter computational times compared to the test algorithms.

Efficient Constraint Handling in Electromagnetism-Like Algorithm for Traveling Salesman Problem with Time Windows

PubMed Central

Yurtkuran, Alkın

2014-01-01

The traveling salesman problem with time windows (TSPTW) is a variant of the traveling salesman problem in which each customer should be visited within a given time window. In this paper, we propose an electromagnetism-like algorithm (EMA) that uses a new constraint handling technique to minimize the travel cost in TSPTW problems. The EMA utilizes the attraction-repulsion mechanism between charged particles in a multidimensional space for global optimization. This paper investigates the problem-specific constraint handling capability of the EMA framework using a new variable bounding strategy, in which real-coded particle's boundary constraints associated with the corresponding time windows of customers, is introduced and combined with the penalty approach to eliminate infeasibilities regarding time window violations. The performance of the proposed algorithm and the effectiveness of the constraint handling technique have been studied extensively, comparing it to that of state-of-the-art metaheuristics using several sets of benchmark problems reported in the literature. The results of the numerical experiments show that the EMA generates feasible and near-optimal results within shorter computational times compared to the test algorithms. PMID:24723834

Use and effects of custom-made therapeutic footwear on lower-extremity-related pain and activity limitations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A prospective observational study of a cohort.

PubMed

Dahmen, Rutger; Buijsmann, Saskia; Siemonsma, Petra C; Boers, Maarten; Lankhorst, Gustaaf J; Roorda, Leo D

2014-06-01

An estimated 55-90% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have foot problems. Therapeutic footwear is frequently prescribed as part of usual care, but data on its use and effect is incomplete. This study aimed to investigate the use and effects of therapeutic footwear. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving custom-made therapeutic footwear for the first time formed an inception cohort. Patients reported their therapeutic footwear use on 3 consecutive days in activity diaries 14 and 20 weeks after delivery of the footwear. The Western Ontario and McMasters Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used as the primary outcome of lower-extremity-related pain and activity limitations, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as a secondary outcome measure of activity limitations, both at baseline and 26 weeks after therapeutic footwear delivery. The cohort comprised 114 rheumatoid arthritis patients (median disease duration 10 years). Mean (standard deviation) therapeutic footwear use was 54 (25)% of the time patients were out of bed. The median (interquartile range) WOMAC score improved from 41 (27-59) to 31 (16-45) (p < 0.001). Secondary outcome measures improved significantly. Therapeutic footwear was used with moderate intensity by most rheumatoid arthritis patients and was associated with a substantial decrease in pain and activity limitations. Therapeutic footwear is a relevant treatment option for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and foot problems.

Customer orientation among employees in public administration: a transnational, longitudinal study.

PubMed

Korunka, Christian; Scharitzer, Dieter; Carayon, Pascale; Hoonakker, Peter; Sonnek, Angelika; Sainfort, Francois

2007-05-01

The relation between ergonomic principles and quality management initiatives, both, in the private and public sector, has received increasing attention in the recent years. Customer orientation among employees is not only an important quality principle, but also an essential prerequisite for customer satisfaction, especially in service organizations. In this context, the objective of introducing new public management (NPM) in public-service organizations is to increase customer orientation among employees who are at the forefront of service providing. In this study, we developed a short scale to measure perceived customer orientation. In two separate longitudinal studies carried out in Austria and the US, we analyzed changes in customer orientation resulting from the introduction of NPM. In both organizations, we observed a significant increase in customer orientation. Perceived customer orientation was related to job characteristics, organizational characteristics and employee quality of working life. Creating positive influences on these characteristics within the framework of an organizational change process has positive effects on employee customer orientation.

How to improve the promotion of Korean beef barbecue, bulgogi, for international customers. An application of quality function deployment.

PubMed

Park, So-Hyun; Ham, Sunny; Lee, Min-A

2012-10-01

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a product development technique that translates customer requirements into activities for the development of products and services. This study utilizes QFD to identify American customer's requirements for bulgogi, a popular Korean dish among international customers, and how to fulfill those requirements. A customer survey and an expert opinion survey were conducted for US customers. The top five customer requirements for bulgogi were identified as taste, freshness, flavor, tenderness, and juiciness; ease of purchase was included in the place of tenderness after calculating the weight requirements. Eighteen engineering characteristics were developed, and a 'localization of bulgogi menu' is strongly related to the other characteristics as well. The results from the calculation of relative importance of engineering characteristics identified that the 'control of marinating time', 'localization of bulgogi menu', 'improvement of cooking and serving process', 'development of recipe by parts of beef', and 'use of various seasonings' were the highest contributors to the overall improvement of bulgogi. The relative importance of engineering characteristics, correlation, and technical difficulties are ranked and integrated to develop the most effective strategy. The findings are discussed relative to industry implications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Study on the Interrelations between the Security-Related Antecedents of Customers' Online Trust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peikari, Hamid Reza

Despite the wide attention of previous studies to explore the influence of different security-related factors on customers' online trust, the interrelations between such factors and their direct and indirect influences on customers' trust have been neglected. This study investigates the direct and indirect interrelations between the factors authentication, encryption, technical protection and externally provided assurances including third party security and privacy seals with customers' trust in the business-to-customer (B2C) environment. The data was collected from 238 respondents and after the test of reliability and validity of the scale, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that customers' perception of encryption and authentication mechanisms implemented by a Website have a positive significant influence on their perceived technical protection while technical protection was found to significantly influence customers' trust to the Website. However, the analysis did not find any relation between the third party assurance and customers' trust, indicating that despite the high expenses companies involve to obtain such assurances from reputed third parties, such mechanisms and assurances do not have any direct or indirect significant influence on customers' trust; which raises questions on the value of such mechanisms .finally, after discussing the findings and implication of this study for both academic and business worlds, suggestions for future studies were made to have a better understanding of the dimensions of the interrelations between the security-related factors.

19 CFR 111.39 - Advice to client.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Advice to client. 111.39 Section 111.39 Customs... CUSTOMS BROKERS Duties and Responsibilities of Customs Brokers § 111.39 Advice to client. (a) Withheld or false information. A broker must not withhold information relative to any customs business from a client...

31 CFR 356.14 - What are the requirements for submitting bids for customers?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... submitting bids for customers? 356.14 Section 356.14 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to... requirements for submitting bids for customers? (a) Institutions that may submit bids for customers. Only depository institutions or dealers may submit bids for customers (see definitions at § 356.2), or for...

19 CFR 10.786 - Violations relating to the MFTA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Violations relating to the MFTA. 10.786 Section 10.786 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Morocco Free...

19 CFR 10.889 - Violations relating to the OFTA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Violations relating to the OFTA. 10.889 Section 10.889 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Oman Free...

19 CFR 10.889 - Violations relating to the OFTA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Violations relating to the OFTA. 10.889 Section 10.889 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Oman Free...

19 CFR 10.889 - Violations relating to the OFTA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Violations relating to the OFTA. 10.889 Section 10.889 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Oman Free...

19 CFR 10.889 - Violations relating to the OFTA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Violations relating to the OFTA. 10.889 Section 10.889 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ARTICLES CONDITIONALLY FREE, SUBJECT TO A REDUCED RATE, ETC. United States-Oman Free...

The Challenges of Searching, Finding, Reading, Understanding and Using Mars Mission Datasets for Science Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Jeffrey R.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the problems that non-mission researchers have in accessing data to use in their analysis of Mars. The increasing complexity of Mars datasets results in custom software development by instrument teams that is often the only means to visualize and analyze the data. The solutions to the problem are to continue efforts toward synergizing data from multiple missions and making the data, s/w, derived products available in standardized, easily-accessible formats, encourage release of "lite" versions of mission-related software prior to end-of-mission, and planetary image data should be systematically processed in a coordinated way and made available in an easily accessed form. The recommendations of Mars Environmental GIS Workshop are reviewed.

Life Cost Based FMEA Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Carrying Out a Cost-based Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rhee, Seung; Spencer, Cherrill; /Stanford U. /SLAC

2009-01-23

Failure occurs when one or more of the intended functions of a product are no longer fulfilled to the customer's satisfaction. The most critical product failures are those that escape design reviews and in-house quality inspection and are found by the customer. The product may work for a while until its performance degrades to an unacceptable level or it may have not worked even before customer took possession of the product. The end results of failures which may lead to unsafe conditions or major losses of the main function are rated high in severity. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)more » is a tool widely used in the automotive, aerospace, and electronics industries to identify, prioritize, and eliminate known potential failures, problems, and errors from systems under design, before the product is released (Stamatis, 1997). Several industrial FMEA standards such as those published by the Society of Automotive Engineers, US Department of Defense, and the Automotive Industry Action Group employ the Risk Priority Number (RPN) to measure risk and severity of failures. The Risk Priority Number (RPN) is a product of 3 indices: Occurrence (O), Severity (S), and Detection (D). In a traditional FMEA process design engineers typically analyze the 'root cause' and 'end-effects' of potential failures in a sub-system or component and assign penalty points through the O, S, D values to each failure. The analysis is organized around categories called failure modes, which link the causes and effects of failures. A few actions are taken upon completing the FMEA worksheet. The RPN column generally will identify the high-risk areas. The idea of performing FMEA is to eliminate or reduce known and potential failures before they reach the customers. Thus, a plan of action must be in place for the next task. Not all failures can be resolved during the product development cycle, thus prioritization of actions must be made within the design group. One definition of detection difficulty (D) is how well the organization controls the development process. Another definition relates to the detectability of a particular failure in the product when it is in the hands of the customer. The former asks 'What is the chance of catching the problem before we give it to the customer'? The latter asks 'What is the chance of the customer catching the problem before the problem results in a catastrophic failure?' (Palady, 1995) These differing definitions confuse the FMEA users when one tries to determine detection difficulty. Are we trying to measure how easy it is to detect where a failure has occurred or when it has occurred? Or are we trying to measure how easy or difficult it is to prevent failures? Ordinal scale variables are used to rank-order industries such as, hotels, restaurants, and movies (Note that a 4 star hotel is not necessarily twice as good as a 2 star hotel). Ordinal values preserve rank in a group of items, but the distance between the values cannot be measured since a distance function does not exist. Thus, the product or sum of ordinal variables loses its rank since each parameter has different scales. The RPN is a product of 3 independent ordinal variables, it can indicate that some failure types are 'worse' than others, but give no quantitative indication of their relative effects. To resolve the ambiguity of measuring detection difficulty and the irrational logic of multiplying 3 ordinal indices, a new methodology was created to overcome these shortcomings, Life Cost-Based FMEA. Life Cost-Based FMEA measures failure/risk in terms of monetary cost. Cost is a universal parameter that can be easily related to severity by engineers and others. Thus, failure cost can be estimated using the following simplest form: Expected Failure Cost = {sup n}{Sigma}{sub i=1}p{sub i}c{sub i}, p: Probability of a particular failure occurring; c: Monetary cost associated with that particular failure; and n: Total number of failure scenarios. FMEA is most effective when there are inputs into it from all concerned disciplines of the product development team. However, FMEA is a long process and can become tedious and won't be effective if too many people participate. An ideal team should have 3 to 4 people from: design, manufacturing, and service departments if possible. Depending on how complex the system is, the entire process can take anywhere from one to four weeks working full time. Thus, it is important to agree to the time commitment before starting the analysis else, anxious managers might stop the procedure before it is completed.« less

Clean water billing monitoring system using flow liquid meter sensor and SMS gateway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fahmi, F.; Hizriadi, A.; Khairani, F.; Andayani, U.; Siregar, B.

2018-03-01

Public clean water company (PDAM) as a public service is designed and organized to meet the needs of the community. Currently, the number of PDAM subscribers is very big and will continue to grow, but the service and facilities to customers are still done conventionally by visiting the customer’s home to record the last position of the meter. One of the problems of PDAM is the lack of disclosure of PDAM customers’ invoice because it is only done monthly. This, of course, makes PDAM customers difficult to remember the date of payment of water account. Therefore it is difficult to maintain the efficiency. The purpose of this research is to facilitate customers of PDAM water users to know the details of water usage and the time of payment of water bills easily. It also facilitates customers in knowing information related to the form of water discharge data used, payment rates, and time grace payments using SMS Gateway. In this study, Flow Liquid Meter Sensor was used for data retrieval of water flowing in the piping system. Sensors used to require the help of Hall Effect sensor that serves to measure the speed of water discharge and placed on the pipe that has the same diameter size with the sensor diameter. The sensor will take the data from the rate of water discharge it passes; this data is the number of turns of the mill on the sensor. The results of the tests show that the built system works well in helping customers know in detail the amount of water usage in a month and the bill to be paid

eShopper modeling and simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrushin, Valery A.

2001-03-01

The advent of e-commerce gives an opportunity to shift the paradigm of customer communication into a highly interactive mode. The new generation of commercial Web servers, such as the Blue Martini's server, combines the collection of data on a customer behavior with real-time processing and dynamic tailoring of a feedback page. The new opportunities for direct product marketing and cross selling are arriving. The key problem is what kind of information do we need to achieve these goals, or in other words, how do we model the customer? The paper is devoted to customer modeling and simulation. The focus is on modeling an individual customer. The model is based on the customer's transaction data, click stream data, and demographics. The model includes the hierarchical profile of a customer's preferences to different types of products and brands; consumption models for the different types of products; the current focus, trends, and stochastic models for time intervals between purchases; product affinity models; and some generalized features, such as purchasing power, sensitivity to advertising, price sensitivity, etc. This type of model is used for predicting the date of the next visit, overall spending, and spending for different types of products and brands. For some type of stores (for example, a supermarket) and stable customers, it is possible to forecast the shopping lists rather accurately. The forecasting techniques are discussed. The forecasting results can be used for on- line direct marketing, customer retention, and inventory management. The customer model can also be used as a generative model for simulating the customer's purchasing behavior in different situations and for estimating customer's features.

Build loyalty in business markets.

PubMed

Narayandas, Das

2005-09-01

Companies often apply consumer marketing solutions in business markets without realizing that such strategies only hamper the acquisition and retention of profitable customers. Unlike consumers, business customers inevitably need customized products, quantities, or prices. A company in a business market must therefore manage customers individually, showing how its products or services can help solve each buyer's problems. And it must learn to reap the enormous benefits of loyalty by developing individual relationships with customers. To achieve these ends, the firm's marketers must become aware of the different types of benefits the company offers and convey their value to the appropriate executives in the customer company. It's especially important to inform customers about what the author calls nontangible nonfinancial benefits-above-and-beyond efforts, such as delivering supplies on holidays to keep customers' production lines going. The author has developed a simple set of devices-the benefit stack and the decision-maker stack-to help marketers communicate their firm's myriad benefits. The vendor lists the benefits it offers, then lists the customer's decision makers, specifying their concerns, motivations, and power bases. By linking the two stacks, the vendor can systematically communicate how it will meet each decision-maker's needs. The author has also developed a tool called a loyalty ladder, which helps a company determine how much time and money to spend on relationships with various customers. As customers become increasingly loyal, they display behaviors in a predictable sequence, from growing the relationship and providing word-of-mouth endorsements to investing in the vendor company. The author has found that customers follow the same sequence of loyalty behaviors in all business markets.

26 CFR 1.1059A-1 - Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the... the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value... customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item...

26 CFR 1.1059A-1 - Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the... the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value... customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item...

26 CFR 1.1059A-1 - Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the... the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value... customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item...

26 CFR 1.1059A-1 - Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the... the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value... customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item...

26 CFR 1.1059A-1 - Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the... the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value... customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item...

Anxiety and health problems related to air travel.

PubMed

McIntosh, I B; Swanson, V; Power, K G; Raeside, F; Dempster, C

1998-12-01

A significant proportion of air travelers experience situational anxiety and physical health problems. Take-off and landing are assumed to be stressful, but anxiety related to other aspects of the air travel process, anxiety coping strategies, and in-flight health problems have not previously been investigated. We aimed to investigate frequency of perceived anxiety at procedural stages of air travel, individual strategies used to reduce such anxiety, and frequency of health problems on short-haul and long-haul flights. A questionnaire measuring the occurrence and frequency of the above was administered to two samples of intending travelers during a 3 month period to: (a) 138 travel agency clients, and (b) 100 individuals attending a hospital travel clinic. Of the 238 respondents, two thirds were women. Take-off and landing were a perceived source of anxiety for about 40% of respondents, flight delays for over 50%, and customs and baggage reclaim for a third of individuals. Most frequent anxiety-reduction methods included alcohol and cigarette use, and distraction or relaxation techniques. Physical health problems related to air travel were common, and there was a strong relationship between such problems and frequency of anxiety. Travel agency clients reported more anxiety but not more physical health symptoms overall than travel clinic clients. Women reported greater air-travel anxiety, and more somatic symptoms than men. Significant numbers of air travelers report perceived anxiety related to aspects of travel, and this is associated with health problems during flights. Airlines and travel companies could institute specific measures, including improved information and communication, to reassure clients and thereby diminish anxiety during stages of air-travel. Medical practitioners and travel agencies should also be aware of the potential stresses of air travel and the need for additional information and advice.

47 CFR 64.5110 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... disclosing CPNI based on a customer-initiated telephone contact, TRS call, point-to-point call, online...) of this section. (c) Online access to CPNI. A TRS provider shall authenticate a customer without the... customer online access to CPNI related to his or her TRS account. Once authenticated, the customer may only...

47 CFR 64.5110 - Safeguards on the disclosure of customer proprietary network information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... disclosing CPNI based on a customer-initiated telephone contact, TRS call, point-to-point call, online...) of this section. (c) Online access to CPNI. A TRS provider shall authenticate a customer without the... customer online access to CPNI related to his or her TRS account. Once authenticated, the customer may only...

47 CFR 64.2003 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS Customer Proprietary Network Information § 64.2003 Definitions. (a... service. (g) Customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The term “customer proprietary network...

[A cross-level analysis of the links between service quality and disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction].

PubMed

Sánchez-Hernández, Rosa M; Martínez-Tur, Vicente; González-Morales, M Gloria; Ramos, José; Peiró, José M

2009-08-01

This article examines links between disconfirmation of expectations and functional and relational service quality perceived by employees and customer satisfaction. A total of 156 employees, who were working in 52 work units, participated in the research study. In addition, 517 customers who were assisted by these work units were surveyed. Using a cross-level approach, we used a random coefficient model to test the aforementioned relationships. A strong relationship between disconfirmation of expectations and customer satisfaction was observed. Also, the results confirmed that functional service quality maintains an additional and significant association with customer satisfaction. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between relational service quality and customer satisfaction. The article concludes with a discussion of these results.

Effects of service provider attitudes and employment status on citizenship behaviors and customers' attitudes and loyalty behavior.

PubMed

Payne, Stephanie C; Webber, Sheila Simsarian

2006-03-01

The relationship among job satisfaction, affective commitment, service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty were examined for a sample of 249 hairstylists and 1 of their corresponding customers. Employee satisfaction was positively related to service-oriented OCBs, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, whereas affective commitment was not related to these outcomes. The extent to which the predictor variables interacted with one another and the role of employment status on these relationships was also explored. High levels of job satisfaction or affective commitment resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for employees and self-employed workers, whereas high levels of both resulted in more service-oriented OCBs for owners.

A quality tool for health insurers. A new scale measures "quality orientation" from the customer's point of view.

PubMed

Westbrook, K W; Pedrick, D; Bush, V

1996-01-01

This study defines a company's quality orientation as "all process-related activities that can be discerned by customers." This even includes certain processes internal to the company that can be seen and evaluated by customers. One significant contribution this study provides is scale development centered on customer rather than employee perceptions. To generate scale items, input was gathered from experts involved in the study, senior managers employed with the target company, focus groups of employees working on the front line with customers, and users of the services. Because the sale measures customer perceptions of quality in comparison with the firm's closest competitor, it provides managers with information for benchmarking performance relative to others in the marketplace.

Developing a new stochastic competitive model regarding inventory and price

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashid, Reza; Bozorgi-Amiri, Ali; Seyedhoseini, S. M.

2015-09-01

Within the competition in today's business environment, the design of supply chains becomes more complex than before. This paper deals with the retailer's location problem when customers choose their vendors, and inventory costs have been considered for retailers. In a competitive location problem, price and location of facilities affect demands of customers; consequently, simultaneous optimization of the location and inventory system is needed. To prepare a realistic model, demand and lead time have been assumed as stochastic parameters, and queuing theory has been used to develop a comprehensive mathematical model. Due to complexity of the problem, a branch and bound algorithm has been developed, and its performance has been validated in several numerical examples, which indicated effectiveness of the algorithm. Also, a real case has been prepared to demonstrate performance of the model for real world.

78 FR 21008 - Proposed Information Collection (NCA Customer Satisfaction Surveys (Headstone/Marker) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

... Customer Satisfaction Surveys (Headstone/Marker) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: National Cemetery... estimates relating to customer satisfaction surveys involving the National Cemetery Administration (NCA.... Title: Generic Clearance for NCA, and IG Customer Satisfaction Surveys. OMB Control Number: 2900-0571...

Strategy and your stronger hand.

PubMed

Moore, Geoffrey A

2005-12-01

There are two kinds of businesses in the world, says the author. Knowing what they are--and which one your company is--will guide you to the right strategic moves. One kind includes businesses that compete on a complex-systems model. These companies have large enterprises as their primary customers. They seek to grow a customer base in the thousands, with no more than a handful of transactions per customer per year (indeed, in some years there may be none), and the average price per transaction ranges from six to seven figures. In this model, 1,000 enterprises each paying dollar 1 million per year would generate dollar 1 billion in annual revenue. The other kind of business competes on a volume-operations model. Here, vendors seek to acquire millions of customers, with tens or even hundreds of transactions per customer per year, at an average price of relatively few dollars per transaction. Under this model, it would take 10 million customers each spending dollar 8 per month to generate nearly dollar 1 billion in revenue. An examination of both models shows that they could not be further apart in their approach to every step along the classic value chain. The problem, though, is that companies in one camp often attempt to create new value by venturing into the other. In doing so, they fail to realize how their managerial habits have been shaped by the model they've grown up with. By analogy, they have a "handedness"--the equivalent of a person's right- or left-hand dominance--that makes them as adroit in one mode as they are awkward in the other. Unless you are in an industry whose structure forces you to attempt ambidexterity (in which case, special efforts are required to manage the inevitable dropped balls), you'll be far more successful making moves that favor your stronger hand.

22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service. 61.8 Section 61.8 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing...

22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service. 61.8 Section 61.8 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing...

22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service. 61.8 Section 61.8 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing...

22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service. 61.8 Section 61.8 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing...

22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service. 61.8 Section 61.8 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND EXCHANGES WORLD-WIDE FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing...

DTS: Building custom, intelligent schedulers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansson, Othar; Mayer, Andrew

1994-01-01

DTS is a decision-theoretic scheduler, built on top of a flexible toolkit -- this paper focuses on how the toolkit might be reused in future NASA mission schedulers. The toolkit includes a user-customizable scheduling interface, and a 'Just-For-You' optimization engine. The customizable interface is built on two metaphors: objects and dynamic graphs. Objects help to structure problem specifications and related data, while dynamic graphs simplify the specification of graphical schedule editors (such as Gantt charts). The interface can be used with any 'back-end' scheduler, through dynamically-loaded code, interprocess communication, or a shared database. The 'Just-For-You' optimization engine includes user-specific utility functions, automatically compiled heuristic evaluations, and a postprocessing facility for enforcing scheduling policies. The optimization engine is based on BPS, the Bayesian Problem-Solver (1,2), which introduced a similar approach to solving single-agent and adversarial graph search problems.

An empirical research on evaluating banks' credit assessment of corporate customers.

PubMed

Tsai, Sang-Bing; Li, Guodong; Wu, Chia-Huei; Zheng, Yuxiang; Wang, Jiangtao

2016-01-01

Under the rapid change of the global financial environment, the risk control of the credit granting is viewed as the foremost task to each bank. With the impact one by one from financial crisis and European debt crisis, the steady bank business is also facing the severe challenge. Banks approve the credits for their customers and then make money from the interest. Credit granting is not only the primary job but also the main source of income. The quality of credit granting concerns not just the reclaims of creditor's rights; it also affects the successful running of banks. To enhance the reliability and usefulness of bank credit risk assessment, we first will delve in the facets and indexes in the bank credit risk assessment. Then, we will examine the different dimensions of cause-effect relationships and correlations in the assessment process. Finally, the study focuses on how to raise the functions and benefits of the bank credit risk assessment. In those five credit risk evaluation dimensions, A "optional capability" and D "competitiveness" are of high relation and high prominence among those dimensions, influencing other items obviously. By actively focusing on these two dimensions and improving their credit risk assessment ability will solve the foremost problems and also solve other facets of credit risk assessment problems at the same time.

Order Batching in Warehouses by Minimizing Total Tardiness: A Hybrid Approach of Weighted Association Rule Mining and Genetic Algorithms

PubMed Central

Taheri, Shahrooz; Mat Saman, Muhamad Zameri; Wong, Kuan Yew

2013-01-01

One of the cost-intensive issues in managing warehouses is the order picking problem which deals with the retrieval of items from their storage locations in order to meet customer requests. Many solution approaches have been proposed in order to minimize traveling distance in the process of order picking. However, in practice, customer orders have to be completed by certain due dates in order to avoid tardiness which is neglected in most of the related scientific papers. Consequently, we proposed a novel solution approach in order to minimize tardiness which consists of four phases. First of all, weighted association rule mining has been used to calculate associations between orders with respect to their due date. Next, a batching model based on binary integer programming has been formulated to maximize the associations between orders within each batch. Subsequently, the order picking phase will come up which used a Genetic Algorithm integrated with the Traveling Salesman Problem in order to identify the most suitable travel path. Finally, the Genetic Algorithm has been applied for sequencing the constructed batches in order to minimize tardiness. Illustrative examples and comparisons are presented to demonstrate the proficiency and solution quality of the proposed approach. PMID:23864823

Order batching in warehouses by minimizing total tardiness: a hybrid approach of weighted association rule mining and genetic algorithms.

PubMed

Azadnia, Amir Hossein; Taheri, Shahrooz; Ghadimi, Pezhman; Saman, Muhamad Zameri Mat; Wong, Kuan Yew

2013-01-01

One of the cost-intensive issues in managing warehouses is the order picking problem which deals with the retrieval of items from their storage locations in order to meet customer requests. Many solution approaches have been proposed in order to minimize traveling distance in the process of order picking. However, in practice, customer orders have to be completed by certain due dates in order to avoid tardiness which is neglected in most of the related scientific papers. Consequently, we proposed a novel solution approach in order to minimize tardiness which consists of four phases. First of all, weighted association rule mining has been used to calculate associations between orders with respect to their due date. Next, a batching model based on binary integer programming has been formulated to maximize the associations between orders within each batch. Subsequently, the order picking phase will come up which used a Genetic Algorithm integrated with the Traveling Salesman Problem in order to identify the most suitable travel path. Finally, the Genetic Algorithm has been applied for sequencing the constructed batches in order to minimize tardiness. Illustrative examples and comparisons are presented to demonstrate the proficiency and solution quality of the proposed approach.

Materials Science Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, Dionne

2005-01-01

The NASA Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) provides science and engineering services to NASA and Contractor customers at KSC, including those working for the Space Shuttle. International Space Station. and Launch Services Programs. These services include: (1) Independent/unbiased failure analysis (2) Support to Accident/Mishap Investigation Boards (3) Materials testing and evaluation (4) Materials and Processes (M&P) engineering consultation (5) Metrology (6) Chemical analysis (including ID of unknown materials) (7) Mechanical design and fabrication We provide unique solutions to unusual and urgent problems associated with aerospace flight hardware, ground support equipment and related facilities.

Investigation of Simulated Trading — A multi agent based trading system for optimization purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Johannes J.

2010-07-01

Some years ago, Bachem, Hochstättler, and Malich proposed a heuristic algorithm called Simulated Trading for the optimization of vehicle routing problems. Computational agents place buy-orders and sell-orders for customers to be handled at a virtual financial market, the prices of the orders depending on the costs of inserting the customer in the tour or for his removal. According to a proposed rule set, the financial market creates a buy-and-sell graph for the various orders in the order book, intending to optimize the overall system. Here I present a thorough investigation for the application of this algorithm to the traveling salesman problem.

19 CFR 177.0 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Customs files), part 133 (relating to disputed claims of piratical copying of copyrighted matter), subpart... 19 Customs Duties 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Scope. 177.0 Section 177.0 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

19 CFR 177.0 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Customs files), part 133 (relating to disputed claims of piratical copying of copyrighted matter), subpart... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Scope. 177.0 Section 177.0 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

19 CFR 103.12 - Exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... U.S. Customs Service records which relate to the following: (a) Matters kept secret pursuant to... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Exemptions. 103.12 Section 103.12 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY...

19 CFR 177.0 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Customs files), part 133 (relating to disputed claims of piratical copying of copyrighted matter), subpart... 19 Customs Duties 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Scope. 177.0 Section 177.0 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

19 CFR 103.12 - Exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... U.S. Customs Service records which relate to the following: (a) Matters kept secret pursuant to... 19 Customs Duties 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Exemptions. 103.12 Section 103.12 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY...

19 CFR 103.12 - Exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... U.S. Customs Service records which relate to the following: (a) Matters kept secret pursuant to... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Exemptions. 103.12 Section 103.12 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY...

19 CFR 103.12 - Exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... U.S. Customs Service records which relate to the following: (a) Matters kept secret pursuant to... 19 Customs Duties 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Exemptions. 103.12 Section 103.12 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY...

19 CFR 177.0 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... Customs files), part 133 (relating to disputed claims of piratical copying of copyrighted matter), subpart... 19 Customs Duties 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Scope. 177.0 Section 177.0 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

19 CFR 177.0 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Customs files), part 133 (relating to disputed claims of piratical copying of copyrighted matter), subpart... 19 Customs Duties 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Scope. 177.0 Section 177.0 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED...

31 CFR 1024.220 - Customer identification programs for mutual funds.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... mutual funds. 1024.220 Section 1024.220 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and... FUNDS Programs § 1024.220 Customer identification programs for mutual funds. (a) Customer identification program: minimum requirements—(1) In general. A mutual fund must implement a written Customer...

A Planning Approach of Engineering Characteristics Based on QFD-TRIZ Integrated

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shang; Shi, Dongyan; Zhang, Ying

Traditional QFD planning method compromises contradictions between engineering characteristics to achieve higher customer satisfaction. However, this compromise trade-off can not eliminate the contradictions existing among the engineering characteristics which limited the overall customer satisfaction. QFD (Quality function deployment) integrated with TRIZ (the Russian acronym of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) becomes hot research recently for TRIZ can be used to solve contradictions between engineering characteristics which construct the roof of HOQ (House of quality). But, the traditional QFD planning approach is not suitable for QFD integrated with TRIZ for that TRIZ requires emphasizing the contradictions between engineering characteristics at problem definition stage instead of compromising trade-off. So, a new planning approach based on QFD / TRIZ integration is proposed in this paper, which based on the consideration of the correlation matrix of engineering characteristics and customer satisfaction on the basis of cost. The proposed approach suggests that TRIZ should be applied to solve contradictions at the first step, and the correlation matrix of engineering characteristics should be amended at the second step, and at next step IFR (ideal final result) must be validated, then planning execute. An example is used to illustrate the proposed approach. The application indicated that higher customer satisfaction can be met and the contradictions between the characteristic parameters are eliminated.

An Overview of Customer Satisfaction Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hom, Willard

This document is a report on how California community colleges can incorporate customer satisfaction models and theories from business to better serve students. Emphasis is given to two levels of customer satisfaction: macro- and micro-models. Macro-models look at how customer satisfaction relates to other elements or priorities of community…

49 CFR 579.5 - Notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction... General § 579.5 Notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other... to NHTSA a copy of each communication relating to a customer satisfaction campaign, consumer advisory...

Understanding the Role of Online Reviews on Customers' Risk Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jing

2013-01-01

Customer reviews play an important role in today's online shopping environment. Research into customer reviews has largely focused on the predictive effect of review characteristics on variables such as product sales. However, relatively little attention has been directed towards understanding how reviews impact a customer's decision to purchase a…

Others' Anger Makes People Work Harder Not Smarter: The Effect of Observing Anger and Sarcasm on Creative and Analytic Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miron-Spektor, Ella; Efrat-Treister, Dorit; Rafaeli, Anat; Schwarz-Cohen, Orit

2011-01-01

The authors examine whether and how observing anger influences thinking processes and problem-solving ability. In 3 studies, the authors show that participants who listened to an angry customer were more successful in solving analytic problems, but less successful in solving creative problems compared with participants who listened to an…

Problem analysis: application in the development of market strategies for health care organizations.

PubMed

Martin, J

1988-03-01

The problem analysis technique is an approach to understanding salient customer needs that is especially appropriate under complex market conditions. The author demonstrates the use of the approach in segmenting markets and conducting competitive analysis for positioning strategy decisions in health care.

A Computer Program for the Management of Prescription-Based Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotter, Patricia M.; Gumtow, Robert H.

1991-01-01

The Prescription Management Program, a software program using Apple's HyperCard on a MacIntosh, was developed to simplify the creation, storage, modification, and general management of prescription-based problems. Pharmacy instructors may customize the program to serve their individual teaching needs. (Author/DB)

Problem Solving Teams in a Total Quality Management Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towler, Constance F.

1993-01-01

Outlines the problem-solving team training process used at Harvard University (Massachusetts), including the size and formation of teams, roles, and time commitment. Components of the process are explained, including introduction to Total Quality Management (TQM), customer satisfaction, meeting management, Parker Team Player Survey, interactive…

The costs and benefits of getting the ISO 9000 certification in the manufacturing sector in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Mezher, T; Ramadan, H

1998-01-01

Many Saudi companies, in their journey to improve quality, efficiency and competitiveness, are pursuing and obtaining the ISO 9000 certificate. Many studies have evaluated how to implement ISO 9000 in different sectors, but none have analyzed the effectiveness of ISO 9000 certification (costs and benefits) on improving the overall quality and on meeting expectations. This study addressed these issues by investigating manufacturing organizations in Saudi Arabia that have the ISO 9000 certification. A survey questionnaire was distributed to firms throughout the kingdom. Thirty-two firms participated in the study. Results indicate that increased consistency of operations, improved service, and product quality are among the top motivators for pursuing the ISO certificate. The benefits most often experienced were improved awareness of procedural problems, better management control, keeping existing customers, increased customer satisfaction, and improved customer service. Difficulties experienced during the certification process involved time and cost, but these were not considered to be major problems. A high volume of paperwork was the main problem experienced following initial certification. Respondents in general said that the ISO 9000 certification met their expectations and that their level of satisfaction regarding the impact of ISO 9000 was high. Most recommended that other organizations pursue the certificate.

Incorporating location, routing, and inventory decisions in a bi-objective supply chain design problem with risk-pooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, Reza; Forouzanfar, Fateme; Ebrahimnejad, Sadoullah

2013-07-01

This paper considers a single-sourcing network design problem for a three-level supply chain. For the first time, a novel mathematical model is presented considering risk-pooling, the inventory existence at distribution centers (DCs) under demand uncertainty, the existence of several alternatives to transport the product between facilities, and routing of vehicles from distribution centers to customer in a stochastic supply chain system, simultaneously. This problem is formulated as a bi-objective stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear programming model. The aim of this model is to determine the number of located distribution centers, their locations, and capacity levels, and allocating customers to distribution centers and distribution centers to suppliers. It also determines the inventory control decisions on the amount of ordered products and the amount of safety stocks at each opened DC, selecting a type of vehicle for transportation. Moreover, it determines routing decisions, such as determination of vehicles' routes starting from an opened distribution center to serve its allocated customers and returning to that distribution center. All are done in a way that the total system cost and the total transportation time are minimized. The Lingo software is used to solve the presented model. The computational results are illustrated in this paper.

A Fuzzy Goal Programming for a Multi-Depot Distribution Problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunkaew, Wuttinan; Phruksaphanrat, Busaba

2010-10-01

A fuzzy goal programming model for solving a Multi-Depot Distribution Problem (MDDP) is proposed in this research. This effective proposed model is applied for solving in the first step of Assignment First-Routing Second (AFRS) approach. Practically, a basic transportation model is firstly chosen to solve this kind of problem in the assignment step. After that the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) model is used to compute the delivery cost in the routing step. However, in the basic transportation model, only depot to customer relationship is concerned. In addition, the consideration of customer to customer relationship should also be considered since this relationship exists in the routing step. Both considerations of relationships are solved using Preemptive Fuzzy Goal Programming (P-FGP). The first fuzzy goal is set by a total transportation cost and the second fuzzy goal is set by a satisfactory level of the overall independence value. A case study is used for describing the effectiveness of the proposed model. Results from the proposed model are compared with the basic transportation model that has previously been used in this company. The proposed model can reduce the actual delivery cost in the routing step owing to the better result in the assignment step. Defining fuzzy goals by membership functions are more realistic than crisps. Furthermore, flexibility to adjust goals and an acceptable satisfactory level for decision maker can also be increased and the optimal solution can be obtained.

Research on Customer Value Based on Extension Data Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chun-Yan, Yang; Wei-Hua, Li

Extenics is a new discipline for dealing with contradiction problems with formulize model. Extension data mining (EDM) is a product combining Extenics with data mining. It explores to acquire the knowledge based on extension transformations, which is called extension knowledge (EK), taking advantage of extension methods and data mining technology. EK includes extensible classification knowledge, conductive knowledge and so on. Extension data mining technology (EDMT) is a new data mining technology that mining EK in databases or data warehouse. Customer value (CV) can weigh the essentiality of customer relationship for an enterprise according to an enterprise as a subject of tasting value and customers as objects of tasting value at the same time. CV varies continually. Mining the changing knowledge of CV in databases using EDMT, including quantitative change knowledge and qualitative change knowledge, can provide a foundation for that an enterprise decides the strategy of customer relationship management (CRM). It can also provide a new idea for studying CV.

The Implementation of CRM at FISC Norfolk Detachment Philadelphia

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-06-01

Customer Relationship Management system. [28] If FISC decides to implement a CRM system, the decision will impact the duties of the...distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) Customer Relations Management ( CRM ) can be defined in many ways. In...Norfolk Philadelphia Mission Statement. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 91 14. SUBJECT TERMS Customer Relations Management System, CRM ,

The value of supply chain coordination under moral hazard: A case study of the consumer product supply chain.

PubMed

Lee, Yumi; Song, Sang Hwa; Cheong, Taesu

2018-01-01

In this paper, we examine a real-world case related to the consumer product supply chain to analyze the value of supply chain coordination under the condition of moral hazard. Because of the characteristics of a buyback contract scheme employed in the supply chain, the supplier company's sales department encourages retailers to order more inventory to meet their sales target, whereas retailers pay less attention to their inventory level and leftovers at the end of the season. This condition induces moral hazard problems in the operation of the supply chain, as suppliers suffer from huge returns of leftover inventory. This, in turn, is related to the obsolescence of returned inventory, even with penalty terms in the contract for the return of any leftovers. In this study, we show under the current buyback-based supply chain operation, the inventory levels of both the supplier and retailers exceed customer demand and develop vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system with base stock policy to remove any mismatch of supply and demand. A comparison of both systems shows that through the proper coordination of supply chain operations, both suppliers and retailers can gain additional benefits while providing proper services to end customers.

Implementation of nutrition care service development plan at Banning Memorial Hospital: a case study.

PubMed

Ben Oumlil, A; Rao, C P

1992-01-01

Health care service markets in general and hospital care service markets in particular are characterized by many competitive developments. Hence, hospital marketing managers are forced to respond to these emerging competitive pressures. However, in formulating appropriate marketing management strategies, hospital managers need to have detailed knowledge about consumers and their behaviors in the marketplace. This paper focuses on the Nutrition Care division of the Department of Nutrition Service at a hospital and its venture into new service development. This case study is intended to emphasize the significance of acquiring adequate knowledge of customers in the health care services industry. It particularly emphasizes the critical role that this type of information concerning customer behavior plays in the development and implementation of an appropriate business expansion strategy. Furthermore, the aim of this case study is to help the reader to relate the acquired marketing information to the problem at hand, and make the appropriate marketing management decision.

Cost Effective Instrumentation for Developing Autonomous Groundwater Monitoring Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viti, T. M.; Garmire, D. G.

2017-12-01

Despite a relatively poor understanding of Hawaiian groundwater systems, the State of Hawaii depends almost exclusively on groundwater for its public water supply. Ike Wai, an NSF funded project (EPSCoR Program Award OIA #1557349) at the University of Hawaii, aims to develop new groundwater models for Hawaii's aquifers, including water quality and transport processes. To better understand aquifer properties such as capacity and hydraulic conductivity, we are developing well-monitoring instruments that can autonomously record water parameters such as conductivity, temperature, and hydraulic head level, with sampling frequencies on the order of minutes. We are currently exploring novel methods and materials for solving classical design problems, such as applying dielectric spectroscopy techniques for measuring salinity, and using recycled materials for producing custom cable assemblies. System components are fabricated in house using rapid prototyping (e.g. 3D printing, circuit board milling, and laser cutting), and traditional manufacturing techniques. This approach allows us to produce custom components while minimizing development cost, and maximizing flexibility in the overall system's design.

Esthetic abutment design for angulated screw channels: A technical report.

PubMed

Sakamoto, Satoshi; Ro, Munehiko; Al Ardah, Aladdin; Goodacre, Charles

2017-11-15

Angulated screw channel system abutments (ASCs) have recently been introduced to address the problem with visible screw access that may compromise esthetics. ASCs allow the screw access to be modified up to 25 degrees relative to the implant axis. However, a widened channel, which may cause thinning of the facial ceramic, is needed at the implant screw head to allow for proper engagement of the screwdriver. This technical report introduces a custom titanium insert design, the Satoshi Sakamoto (SS) abutment. The SS abutment consists of a custom titanium metal insert and zirconia coping in which the access hole is located in an esthetic position with an ASC system. The SS abutment results in a crown with more normal crown dimensions that also provides more space for the soft tissues. This SS abutment design allows clinicians to obtain screw-retained restorations with optimal esthetics and mechanical strength. Copyright © 2017 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A customer satisfaction model for a utility service industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, Jastini Mohd; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Ramli, Razamin

2016-08-01

This paper explores the effect of Image, Customer Expectation, Perceived Quality and Perceived Value on Customer Satisfaction, and to investigate the effect of Image and Customer Satisfaction on Customer Loyalty of mobile phone provider in Malaysia. The result of this research is based on data gathered online from international students in one of the public university in Malaysia. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) has been used to analyze the data that have been collected from the international students' perceptions. The results found that Image and Perceived Quality have significant impact on Customer Satisfaction. Image and Customer Satisfaction ware also found to have significantly related to Customer Loyalty. However, no significant impact has been found between Customer Expectation with Customer Satisfaction, Perceived Value with Customer Satisfaction, and Customer Expectation with Perceived Value. We hope that the findings may assist the mobile phone provider in production and promotion of their services.

19 CFR 111.29 - Diligence in correspondence and paying monies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... preparation and filing of records relating to any customs business matter handled by him as a broker. Payment... 19 Customs Duties 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Diligence in correspondence and paying monies. 111.29 Section 111.29 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 111.29 - Diligence in correspondence and paying monies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... preparation and filing of records relating to any customs business matter handled by him as a broker. Payment... 19 Customs Duties 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Diligence in correspondence and paying monies. 111.29 Section 111.29 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 111.29 - Diligence in correspondence and paying monies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... preparation and filing of records relating to any customs business matter handled by him as a broker. Payment... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Diligence in correspondence and paying monies. 111.29 Section 111.29 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 111.29 - Diligence in correspondence and paying monies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... preparation and filing of records relating to any customs business matter handled by him as a broker. Payment... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Diligence in correspondence and paying monies. 111.29 Section 111.29 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

75 FR 52456 - Customs Broker License Examination Individual Eligibility Requirements

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-26

... statements made in the application, the business integrity of the applicant, and the moral character and... partnership) must hold a valid customs broker's license and permit in order to transact customs business on... relating to the customs business of brokers as necessary to protect importers and the revenue of the United...

The Small Retailer and His Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burstinger, Irving

1975-01-01

This study, through personal interviews, collected data on small retailers for three purposes: (1) to provide informative insights into small-scale retailing in New York City, (2) to explore retailers' opinions as to why customers shop at their stroes, and (3) to ascertain the more common problems experienced by retailers. (Author/BP)

An Instructional Theory for the Post-Industrial Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reigeluth, Charles M.

2011-01-01

This article describes instructional theory that supports post-industrial education and training systems--ones that are customized and learner-centered, in which student progress is based on learning rather than time. The author discusses the importance of problem-based instruction (PBI), identifies some problems with PBI, overviews an…

Impact of Higher Natural Gas Prices on Local Distribution Companies and Residential Customers

EIA Publications

2007-01-01

This report examines some of the problems faced by natural gas consumers as a result of increasing heating bills in recent years and problems associated with larger amounts of uncollectible revenue and lower throughput for the local distribution companies (LDCs) supplying the natural gas.

Virtual Recruiting Analysis and Process Development Study: Final Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-01

are provide customer service , keep DEPer/recruit motivated, have a training background, identify problems early so that they can take their attrite...concerned with customer service to Future Sailors in DEP, which is measured by feedback they may receive from Future Sailors and their family members. h...buddy program, have a significant other also in training , have prior military service , or are involved with a host of other special programs. g. Some

Comparative study on the customization of natural language interfaces to databases.

PubMed

Pazos R, Rodolfo A; Aguirre L, Marco A; González B, Juan J; Martínez F, José A; Pérez O, Joaquín; Verástegui O, Andrés A

2016-01-01

In the last decades the popularity of natural language interfaces to databases (NLIDBs) has increased, because in many cases information obtained from them is used for making important business decisions. Unfortunately, the complexity of their customization by database administrators make them difficult to use. In order for a NLIDB to obtain a high percentage of correctly translated queries, it is necessary that it is correctly customized for the database to be queried. In most cases the performance reported in NLIDB literature is the highest possible; i.e., the performance obtained when the interfaces were customized by the implementers. However, for end users it is more important the performance that the interface can yield when the NLIDB is customized by someone different from the implementers. Unfortunately, there exist very few articles that report NLIDB performance when the NLIDBs are not customized by the implementers. This article presents a semantically-enriched data dictionary (which permits solving many of the problems that occur when translating from natural language to SQL) and an experiment in which two groups of undergraduate students customized our NLIDB and English language frontend (ELF), considered one of the best available commercial NLIDBs. The experimental results show that, when customized by the first group, our NLIDB obtained a 44.69 % of correctly answered queries and ELF 11.83 % for the ATIS database, and when customized by the second group, our NLIDB attained 77.05 % and ELF 13.48 %. The performance attained by our NLIDB, when customized by ourselves was 90 %.

Validity of an Exercise Test Based on Habitual Gait Speed in Mobility-Limited Older Adults

PubMed Central

Li, Xin; Forman, Daniel E.; Kiely, Dan K.; LaRose, Sharon; Hirschberg, Ronald; Frontera, Walter R.; Bean, Jonathan F.

2013-01-01

Objective To evaluate whether a customized exercise tolerance testing (ETT) protocol based on an individual’s habitual gait speed (HGS) on level ground would be a valid mode of exercise testing older adults. Although ETT provides a useful means to risk-stratify adults, age-related declines in gait speed paradoxically limit the utility of standard ETT protocols for evaluating older adults. A customized ETT protocol may be a useful alternative to these standard methods, and this study hypothesized that this alternative approach would be valid. Design We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial of older adults with observed mobility problems. Screening was performed using a treadmill-based ETT protocol customized for each individual’s HGS. We determined the content validity by assessing the results of the ETTs, and we evaluated the construct validity of treadmill time in relation to the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and the Late Life Function and Disability Instrument (LLFDI). Setting Outpatient rehabilitation center. Participants Community-dwelling, mobility-limited older adults (N = 141). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Cardiac instability, ETT duration, peak heart rate, peak systolic blood pressure, PASE, and LLFDI. Results Acute cardiac instability was identified in 4 of the participants who underwent ETT. The remaining participants (n = 137, 68% female; mean age, 75.3y) were included in the subsequent analyses. Mean exercise duration was 9.39 minutes, with no significant differences in durations being observed after evaluating among tertiles by HGS status. Mean peak heart rate and mean peak systolic blood pressure were 126.6 beats/ min and 175.0mmHg, respectively. Within separate multivariate models, ETT duration in each of the 3 gait speed groups was significantly associated (P<.05) with PASE and LLFDI. Conclusions Mobility-limited older adults can complete this customized ETT protocol, allowing for the identification of acute cardiac instability and the achievement of optimal exercise parameters. PMID:22289248

Trade-off decisions in distribution utility management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slavickas, Rimas Anthony

As a result of the "unbundling" of traditional monopolistic electricity generation and transmission enterprises into a free-market economy, power distribution utilities are faced with very difficult decisions pertaining to electricity supply options and quality of service to the customers. The management of distribution utilities has become increasingly complex, versatile, and dynamic to the extent that conventional, non-automated management tools are almost useless and obsolete. This thesis presents a novel and unified approach to managing electricity supply options and quality of service to customers. The technique formulates the problem in terms of variables, parameters, and constraints. An advanced Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) optimization formulation is developed together with novel, logical, decision-making algorithms. These tools enable the utility management to optimize various cost components and assess their time-trend impacts, taking into account the intangible issues such as customer perception, customer expectation, social pressures, and public response to service deterioration. The above concepts are further generalized and a Logical Proportion Analysis (LPA) methodology and associated software have been developed. Solutions using numbers are replaced with solutions using words (character strings) which more closely emulate the human decision-making process and advance the art of decision-making in the power utility environment. Using practical distribution utility operation data and customer surveys, the developments outlined in this thesis are successfully applied to several important utility management problems. These involve the evaluation of alternative electricity supply options, the impact of rate structures on utility business, and the decision of whether to continue to purchase from a main grid or generate locally (partially or totally) by building Non-Utility Generation (NUG).

Shopping in Hospitality: Situational Constructions of Customer-Vendor Relationships among Shopping Tourists at a Bazaar on the German-Polish Border

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busch, Dominic

2010-01-01

This article presents an analysis of a short customer-vendor dialogue between a German couple and a Polish vendor at a food bazaar on the Polish border with Germany. In this situation, interactants have to negotiate and construct framings of hospitality abroad, customer-vendor relations, as well as intercultural relations. It is assumed that…

22 CFR 123.6 - Foreign trade zones and U.S. Customs and Border Protection bonded warehouses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Foreign trade zones and U.S. Customs and Border Protection bonded warehouses. 123.6 Section 123.6 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS LICENSES FOR THE EXPORT OF DEFENSE ARTICLES § 123.6 Foreign trade zones and U.S. Customs and Border Protection bonded...

Systems engineering for very large systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewkowicz, Paul E.

1993-01-01

Very large integrated systems have always posed special problems for engineers. Whether they are power generation systems, computer networks or space vehicles, whenever there are multiple interfaces, complex technologies or just demanding customers, the challenges are unique. 'Systems engineering' has evolved as a discipline in order to meet these challenges by providing a structured, top-down design and development methodology for the engineer. This paper attempts to define the general class of problems requiring the complete systems engineering treatment and to show how systems engineering can be utilized to improve customer satisfaction and profit ability. Specifically, this work will focus on a design methodology for the largest of systems, not necessarily in terms of physical size, but in terms of complexity and interconnectivity.

Systems engineering for very large systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewkowicz, Paul E.

Very large integrated systems have always posed special problems for engineers. Whether they are power generation systems, computer networks or space vehicles, whenever there are multiple interfaces, complex technologies or just demanding customers, the challenges are unique. 'Systems engineering' has evolved as a discipline in order to meet these challenges by providing a structured, top-down design and development methodology for the engineer. This paper attempts to define the general class of problems requiring the complete systems engineering treatment and to show how systems engineering can be utilized to improve customer satisfaction and profit ability. Specifically, this work will focus on a design methodology for the largest of systems, not necessarily in terms of physical size, but in terms of complexity and interconnectivity.

Lean on Wii: physical rehabilitation with virtual reality Wii peripherals.

PubMed

Anderson, Fraser; Annett, Michelle; Bischof, Walter F

2010-01-01

In recent years, a growing number of occupational therapists have integrated video game technologies, such as the Nintendo Wii, into rehabilitation programs. 'Wiihabilitation', or the use of the Wii in rehabilitation, has been successful in increasing patients' motivation and encouraging full body movement. The non-rehabilitative focus of Wii applications, however, presents a number of problems: games are too difficult for patients, they mainly target upper-body gross motor functions, and they lack support for task customization, grading, and quantitative measurements. To overcome these problems, we have designed a low-cost, virtual-reality based system. Our system, Virtual Wiihab, records performance and behavioral measurements, allows for activity customization, and uses auditory, visual, and haptic elements to provide extrinsic feedback and motivation to patients.

Bringing Cost-Wise Readiness to the Deckplates of a Strike Fighter Squadron Using the Balanced Scorecard

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

equity employed). Customer measures, such as customer satisfaction , are intended to measure the company’s performance from the customer’s perspective...link between a non-financial measure and a firm’s financial performance. For example, one could meet objectives relating to customer satisfaction ... customer satisfaction . Who then is the customer of a strike fighter squadron? Kaplan and Norton (2004) write extensively about 61 the value

How Healthcare Can Refocus on Its Super-Customers (Patients, n =1) and Customers (Doctors and Nurses) by Leveraging Lessons from Amazon, Uber, and Watson.

PubMed

Kolker, Evelyne; Özdemir, Vural; Kolker, Eugene

2016-06-01

Healthcare is transforming with data-intensive omics technologies and Big Data. The "revolution" has already happened in technology, but the bottlenecks have shifted to the social domain: Who can be empowered by Big Data? Who are the users and customers? In this review and innovation field analysis, we introduce the idea of a "super-customer" versus "customer" and relate both to 21st century healthcare. A "super-customer" in healthcare is the patient, sample size of n = 1, while "customers" are the providers of healthcare (e.g., doctors and nurses). The super-customers have been patients, enabled by unprecedented social practices, such as the ability to track one's physical activities, personal genomics, patient advocacy for greater autonomy, and self-governance, to name but a few. In contrast, the originally intended customers-providers, doctors, and nurses-have relatively lagged behind. With patients as super-customers, there are valuable lessons to be learned from industry examples, such as Amazon and Uber. To offer superior quality service, healthcare organizations have to refocus on the needs, pains, and aspirations of their super-customers by enabling the customers. We propose a strategic solution to this end: the PPT-DAM (People-Process-Technology empowered by Data, Analytics, and Metrics) approach. When applied together with the classic Experiment-Execute-Evaluate iterative methodology, we suggest PPT-DAM is an extremely powerful approach to deliver quality health services to super-customers and customers. As an example, we describe the PPT-DAM implementation by the Benchmarking Improvement Program at the Seattle Children's Hospital. Finally, we forecast that cognitive systems in general and IBM Watson in particular, if properly implemented, can bring transformative and sustainable capabilities in healthcare far beyond the current ones.

77 FR 57618 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-18

... Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Customer Rebate To Add Liquidity and Non-Customer Fees for Removing... routing standardized equity and index options. Specifically, NOM proposes to amend the Customer Rebate to Add Liquidity and Non-Customer Fees for Removing Liquidity in Penny Pilot \\3\\ Options. \\3\\ The Penny...

19 CFR 11.7 - Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages imported in bottles and similar containers...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... relating to strip stamps and other matters. (27 CFR parts 5, 201, and 251). Customs officers and employees... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages....7 Section 11.7 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 11.7 - Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages imported in bottles and similar containers...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... relating to strip stamps and other matters. (27 CFR parts 5, 201, and 251). Customs officers and employees... 19 Customs Duties 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages....7 Section 11.7 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 11.7 - Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages imported in bottles and similar containers...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... relating to strip stamps and other matters. (27 CFR parts 5, 201, and 251). Customs officers and employees... 19 Customs Duties 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages....7 Section 11.7 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 11.7 - Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages imported in bottles and similar containers...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... relating to strip stamps and other matters. (27 CFR parts 5, 201, and 251). Customs officers and employees... 19 Customs Duties 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages....7 Section 11.7 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

19 CFR 11.7 - Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages imported in bottles and similar containers...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... relating to strip stamps and other matters. (27 CFR parts 5, 201, and 251). Customs officers and employees... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Distilled spirits and other alcoholic beverages....7 Section 11.7 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY...

26 CFR 1.924(d)-1 - Requirement that economic processes take place outside the United States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. (ii) Customer groupings. A customer grouping... customers. Through its existing agreements with a domestic unrelated person, the related supplier... requirements of section 924(d)(1)(A). For example, if a FSC sells a product to a foreign customer by first...

12 CFR Appendix G to Part 360 - Deposit-Customer Join File Structure

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..._Code Relationship CodeThe code indicating how the customer is related to the account. Possible values... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Deposit-Customer Join File Structure G Appendix... GENERAL POLICY RESOLUTION AND RECEIVERSHIP RULES Pt. 360, App. G Appendix G to Part 360—Deposit-Customer...

26 CFR 1.924(d)-1 - Requirement that economic processes take place outside the United States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. (ii) Customer groupings. A customer grouping... customers. Through its existing agreements with a domestic unrelated person, the related supplier... requirements of section 924(d)(1)(A). For example, if a FSC sells a product to a foreign customer by first...

26 CFR 1.924(d)-1 - Requirement that economic processes take place outside the United States.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President. (ii) Customer groupings. A customer grouping... customers. Through its existing agreements with a domestic unrelated person, the related supplier... requirements of section 924(d)(1)(A). For example, if a FSC sells a product to a foreign customer by first...

Convolutional neural network-based malaria diagnosis from focus stack of blood smear images acquired using custom-built slide scanner.

PubMed

Gopakumar, Gopalakrishna Pillai; Swetha, Murali; Sai Siva, Gorthi; Sai Subrahmanyam, Gorthi R K

2018-03-01

The present paper introduces a focus stacking-based approach for automated quantitative detection of Plasmodium falciparum malaria from blood smear. For the detection, a custom designed convolutional neural network (CNN) operating on focus stack of images is used. The cell counting problem is addressed as the segmentation problem and we propose a 2-level segmentation strategy. Use of CNN operating on focus stack for the detection of malaria is first of its kind, and it not only improved the detection accuracy (both in terms of sensitivity [97.06%] and specificity [98.50%]) but also favored the processing on cell patches and avoided the need for hand-engineered features. The slide images are acquired with a custom-built portable slide scanner made from low-cost, off-the-shelf components and is suitable for point-of-care diagnostics. The proposed approach of employing sophisticated algorithmic processing together with inexpensive instrumentation can potentially benefit clinicians to enable malaria diagnosis. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fuel cells provide a revenue-generating solution to power quality problems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

King, J.M. Jr.

Electric power quality and reliability are becoming increasingly important as computers and microprocessors assume a larger role in commercial, health care and industrial buildings and processes. At the same time, constraints on transmission and distribution of power from central stations are making local areas vulnerable to low voltage, load addition limitations, power quality and power reliability problems. Many customers currently utilize some form of premium power in the form of standby generators and/or UPS systems. These include customers where continuous power is required because of health and safety or security reasons (hospitals, nursing homes, places of public assembly, air trafficmore » control, military installations, telecommunications, etc.) These also include customers with industrial or commercial processes which can`t tolerance an interruption of power because of product loss or equipment damage. The paper discusses the use of the PC25 fuel cell power plant for backup and parallel power supplies for critical industrial applications. Several PC25 installations are described: the use of propane in a PC25; the use by rural cooperatives; and a demonstration of PC25 technology using landfill gas.« less

A simple and valuable approach for measuring customer satisfaction.

PubMed

Kinney, William C

2005-08-01

To determine the financial impact of poor customer satisfaction and the value of information gained from using a 1-question customer-satisfaction survey in a medical setting. A single-question customer-satisfaction survey was collected from customers presenting to an academic otolaryngology head and neck surgery outpatient clinic. The overall response rate was 25%, overall net promoter score was 67.3%, lowest net promoter score occurred on Wednesday and Friday, overall net potential referrals were 872, and potential lost revenue from dissatisfied customers equaled US 2.3 million dollars. A single-question customer-satisfaction survey may help identify areas of customer dissatisfaction that lead to a significant source of lost revenue. The competitive forces in today's health care environment require medical practices to address issues related to customer satisfaction.

Enhancing User Customization through Novel Software Architecture for Utility Scale Solar Siting Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brant Peery; Sam Alessi; Randy Lee

2014-06-01

There is a need for a spatial decision support application that allows users to create customized metrics for comparing proposed locations of a new solar installation. This document discusses how PVMapper was designed to overcome the customization problem through the development of loosely coupled spatial and decision components in a JavaScript plugin architecture. This allows the user to easily add functionality and data to the system. The paper also explains how PVMapper provides the user with a dynamic and customizable decision tool that enables them to visually modify the formulas that are used in the decision algorithms that convert datamore » to comparable metrics. The technologies that make up the presentation and calculation software stack are outlined. This document also explains the architecture that allows the tool to grow through custom plugins created by the software users. Some discussion is given on the difficulties encountered while designing the system.« less

Serving Meat and Potatoes into the 21st Century: Fixing the Problem of the Marine Corps’ Internal Information News Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-02-01

nothing but manhours to produce. These newspapers provide Marines a direct link to their local community through commercial advertisements , area...www.parade.com/mediarelations/index.html> (15 December 2005) 10 They want timely, comprehensive and customized news products. Newspapers nationwide have...recognized the need to adapt and offer new choices in order to maintain old customers and attract new patrons. Unfortunately a tired main entree of

47 CFR 64.1603 - Customer notification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Customer notification. 64.1603 Section 64.1603 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS Calling Party Telephone Number; Privacy § 64.1603 Customer...

Frequent Itemset Hiding Algorithm Using Frequent Pattern Tree Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alnatsheh, Rami

2012-01-01

A problem that has been the focus of much recent research in privacy preserving data-mining is the frequent itemset hiding (FIH) problem. Identifying itemsets that appear together frequently in customer transactions is a common task in association rule mining. Organizations that share data with business partners may consider some of the frequent…

Marketing Hardwoods to Furniture Producers

Treesearch

Steven A. Sinclair; Robert J. Bush; Philip A. Araman

1989-01-01

This paper discusses some of the many problems in developing marketing programs for small wood products manufacturers. It examines the problems of using price as a dominant means for getting and attracting customers. The marketing of hardwood lumber to furniture producers is then used as an example. Data from 36 furniture lumber buyers is presented to illustrate...

Pharmacy Customers' Experiences With Electronic Prescriptions: Cross-Sectional Survey on Nationwide Implementation in Finland.

PubMed

Lämsä, Elina; Timonen, Johanna; Ahonen, Riitta

2018-02-23

One of the forerunners in electronic health, Finland has introduced electronic prescriptions (ePrescriptions) nationwide by law. This has led to significant changes for pharmacy customers. Despite the worldwide ambition to develop ePrescription services, there are few reports of nationally adopted systems and particularly on the experiences of pharmacy customers. The aim of this study was to investigate Finnish pharmacy customers' (1) experiences with purchasing medicines with ePrescriptions; (2) experiences with renewing ePrescriptions and acting on behalf of someone else at the pharmacy; (3) ways in which customers keep up to date with their ePrescriptions; and (4) overall satisfaction with ePrescriptions. Questionnaires were distributed to 2913 pharmacy customers aged ≥18 years purchasing prescription medicines for themselves with an ePrescription in 18 community pharmacies across Finland in autumn 2015. Customers' experiences were explored with 10 structured questions. The data were stored in SPSS for Windows and subjected to descriptive analysis, chi-square, Fisher exact, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, the Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Completed questionnaires were returned by 1288 customers, a response rate of 44.19% (1288/2913). The majority of the respondents did not encounter any problems during pharmacy visits (1161/1278, 90.85%) and were informed about the current status of their ePrescriptions after their medication was dispensed (1013/1276, 79.44%). Over half of the respondents had usually received a patient instruction sheet from their physician (752/1255, 59.92%), and nearly all of them regarded its content as clear (711/724, 98.2%). Half of the respondents had renewed their ePrescriptions through the pharmacy (645/1281, 50.35%), and one-third of them had acted on behalf of someone else with ePrescriptions (432/1280, 33.75%). Problems were rarely encountered in the renewal process (49/628, 7.8%) or when acting on behalf of another person (25/418, 6.0%) at the pharmacy. The most common way of keeping up to date with ePrescriptions was to ask at the pharmacy (631/1278, 49.37%). The vast majority of the respondents were satisfied with ePrescriptions as a whole (1221/1274, 95.84%). Finnish pharmacy customers are satisfied with the recently implemented nationwide ePrescription system. They seldom have any difficulties purchasing medicines, renewing their ePrescriptions, or acting on behalf of someone else at the pharmacy. Customers usually keep up to date with their ePrescriptions by asking at the pharmacy. However, some customers are unaware of the practices or have difficulty keeping up to date with the status of their ePrescriptions. The provision of relevant information and assistance by health care professionals is therefore required to promote customers' adoption of the ePrescription system. ©Elina Lämsä, Johanna Timonen, Riitta Ahonen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 23.02.2018.

[Survey of carbon fiber reinforced plastic orthoses and occupational and medical problems based on a questionnaire administered to companies involved in the manufacture of prosthetics and orthotics].

PubMed

Kaneshiro, Yuko; Furuta, Nami; Makino, Kenichiro; Wada, Futoshi; Hachisuka, Kenji

2011-09-01

We surveyed carbon fiber reinforced plastic orthoses (carbon orthoses) and their associated occupational and medical problems based on a questionnaire sent to 310 companies which were members of the Japan Orthotics and Prosthetics Association. Of all the companies, 232 responded: 77 of the 232 companies dealt with ready-made carbon orthoses, 52 dealt with fabricated custom-made orthoses, and 155 did not dealt with carbon orthoses. Although the total number of custom-made carbon ortheses in Japan was 829/ 5 years, there was a difference by region, and one company fabricated only 12 (per 5 years) custom-made carbon orthoses on average. The advantages of the carbon orthosis were the fact that it was "light weight", "well-fitted", had a "good appearance", and "excellent durability", while the disadvantages were that it was "expensive", "high cost of production", of "black color", and required a "longer time for completion", and "higher fabrication techniques". From the standpoint of industrial medicine, "scattering of fine fragments of carbon fibers", "itching on the skin" and "health hazards" were indicated in companies that manufacture the orthosis. In order to make the carbon orthosis more popular, it is necessary to develop a new carbon material that is easier to fabricate at a lower cost, to improve the fabrication technique, and to resolve the occupational and medical problems.

[Determine the patient's position towards psychiatric care: a simple tool to estimate the alliance and the motivation].

PubMed

Versaevel, C; Samama, D; Jeanson, R; Lajugie, C; Dufeutrel, L; Defromont, L; Lebouteiller, V; Danel, T; Duhamel, A; Genin, M; Salleron, J; Cottencin, O

2013-09-01

For the brief systemic therapy (BST), the evaluation of the patient's position towards the care is a prerequisite to psychotherapy. Three positions of the patient are described. The "tourist's" position: the patient claims to have no problem and doesn't suffer. Someone asks him to make an appointment, sometimes with threats. The "complaint's" position: the patient claims to suffer, but attributes the responsibility of this suffering to others. These two positions are not good for beginning a therapy. The "customer's" position differs from both previous positions. The "customer" considers that he has a psychological problem which depends on him and he is motivated in the resolution of it. In theory, the "customer" is more motivated and the therapeutic alliance is better. It is for this reason that the BST estimates the position of the patient at first, to bring the patient to the "customer's" position. The objective of this study is to assess an interview which identifies the patient's position towards the care, and to validate the theoretical elaborations of the brief systemic therapy. The study concerns the follow-up of outpatients who consult a psychiatrist for the first time. The evaluation of the patients checks their position towards care using the Tourist-Complaint-Customer (TCC) inventory, how they suffer, the therapeutic alliance (scale Haq-2) and the compliance during care. The evaluation by the psychiatrists checks the suffering perceived, the motivation perceived and the diagnoses according to the DSM. The typology of these patients is made up of one half "complaint", a quarter of "tourist" and a quarter of "customer". The "customer's" position is correlated with the therapeutic alliance and the motivation perceived by the psychiatrist. The motivation perceived by the psychiatrist is correlated with the therapeutic alliance. These results correspond to the theoretical elaborations of the BST. the TCC inventory provides information on the motivation and the therapeutic alliance. If the patient is in "tourist" or "complaint" position, we recommend that the psychiatrist "work" to bring the patient to "customer" position. The evaluation of the position of the patient is simple and rich in information. We recommend that it be given a place in the daily practice of psychiatry. Copyright © 2013 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Aesthetic properties and message customization: navigating the dark side of web recruitment.

PubMed

Dineen, Brian R; Ling, Juan; Ash, Steven R; DelVecchio, Devon

2007-03-01

The authors examined recruitment message viewing time, information recall, and attraction in a Web-based context. In particular, they extended theory related to the cognitive processing of recruitment messages and found that the provision of customized information about likely fit related to increased viewing time and recall when good aesthetics were also present. A 3-way interaction among moderate-to low-fitting individuals further indicated that objective fit was most strongly related to attraction when messages included both good aesthetics and customized information. In particular, given this combination, the poorest fitting individuals exhibited lower attraction levels, whereas more moderately fitting individuals exhibited invariant attraction levels across combinations of aesthetics and customized information. The results suggest that, given good aesthetics, customized information exerts effects mostly by causing poorly fitting individuals to be less attracted, which further suggests a means of averting the "dark side" of Web recruitment that occurs when organizations receive too many applications from poorly fitting applicants. (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved.

Green marketing, renewables, and free riders: increasing customer demand for a public good

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiser, R.; Pickle, S.

1997-09-01

Retail electricity competition will allow customers to select their own power suppliers and some customers will make purchase decisions based, in part, on their concern for the environment. Green power marketing targets these customers under the assumption that they will pay a premium for ``green`` energy products such as renewable power generation. But renewable energy is not a traditional product because it supplies public goods; for example, a customer supporting renewable energy is unable to capture the environmental benefits that their investment provides to non-participating customers. As with all public goods, there is a risk that few customers will purchasemore » ``green`` power and that many will instead ``free ride`` on others` participation. By free riding, an individual is able to enjoy the benefits of the public good while avoiding payment. This report reviews current green power marketing activities in the electric industry, introduces the extensive academic literature on public goods, free riders, and collective action problems, and explores in detail the implications of this literature for the green marketing of renewable energy. Specifically, the authors highlight the implications of the public goods literature for green power product design and marketing communications strategies. They emphasize four mechanisms that marketers can use to increase customer demand for renewable energy. Though the public goods literature can also contribute insights into the potential rationale for renewable energy policies, they leave most of these implications for future work (see Appendix A for a possible research agenda).« less

Managers' perceptions of customers' satisfactions with their hospital cafeteria services.

PubMed

Johnston, C M; Upton, E M

1991-01-01

It is important that hospital cafeterias deliver products that create customer satisfaction so that financial objectives are met. An exploratory descriptive survey of 12 selected hospital cafeterias used a self-administered questionnaire to determine how satisfied customers were with services provided. It also asked cafeteria managers to give their perceptions of their customers' relative satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the service. Principal components analysis, followed by varimax rotation, identified four underlying constructs of the 15 pre-selected foodservice characteristics used to measure relative satisfaction. A multiple regression model, controlling for country, hospital size and customer demographics, in which the dependent variable was overall rating, found that the independent variables, the underlying rating constructs--food and service--made a much greater impact on overall rating than environment and accessibility. Most cafeteria managers' predictions about their customers' satisfaction were within two standard deviations of their customers' mean scores of satisfaction. While the managers' close association with their service may have accounted for this, it does not necessarily follow that they have the power to implement policy and product improvements.

Reticle variation influence on manufacturing line and wafer device performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nistler, John L.; Spurlock, Kyle

1994-01-01

Cost effective manufacturing of devices at 0.5, 0.35 and 0.25μm geometries will be highly dependent on a companys' ability to obtain an economic return on investment. The high capital investment in equipment and facilities, not to mention the related chemical and wafer costs, for producing 200mm silicon wafers requires aspects of wafer processing to be tightly controlled. Reduction in errors and enhanced yield management requires early correction or avoidance of reticle problems. It is becoming increasingly important to recognize and track all pertinent factors impacting both the technical and financial viability of a wafer manufacturing fabrication area. Reticle related effects on wafer manufacturing can be costly and affect the total quality perceived by the device customer.

Equilibrium pricing and ordering policies in a two-echelon supply chain in the presence of strategic customers.

PubMed

Sadjadi, Seyed J; Naeij, Jafar; Shavandi, Hasan; Makui, Ahmad

2016-06-07

This paper studying the impact of strategic customer behavior on decentralized supply chain gains and decisions, which includes a supplier, and a monopoly firm as a retailer who sells a single product over a finite two periods of selling season. We consider three types of customers: myopic, strategic and low-value customers. The problem is formulated as a bi-level game where at the second level (e.g. horizontal game), the retailer determines his/her equilibrium pricing strategy in a non-cooperative simultaneous general game with strategic customers who choose equilibrium purchasing strategy to maximize their expected surplus. At the first level (e.g. vertical game), the supplier competes with the retailer as leader and follower in the Stackelberg game. They set the wholesale price and initial stocking capacity to maximize their profits. Finally, a numerical study is presented to demonstrate the impacts of strategic behavior on supply chain gain and decisions; subsequently the effects of market parameters on decision variables and total profitability of supply chain's members is studied through a sensitivity analysis.

Analysis of two production inventory systems with buffer, retrials and different production rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jose, K. P.; Nair, Salini S.

2017-09-01

This paper considers the comparison of two ( {s,S} ) production inventory systems with retrials of unsatisfied customers. The time for producing and adding each item to the inventory is exponentially distributed with rate β. However, a production rate α β higher than β is used at the beginning of the production. The higher production rate will reduce customers' loss when inventory level approaches zero. The demand from customers is according to a Poisson process. Service times are exponentially distributed. Upon arrival, the customers enter into a buffer of finite capacity. An arriving customer, who finds the buffer full, moves to an orbit. They can retry from there and inter-retrial times are exponentially distributed. The two models differ in the capacity of the buffer. The aim is to find the minimum value of total cost by varying different parameters and compare the efficiency of the models. The optimum value of α corresponding to minimum total cost is an important evaluation. Matrix analytic method is used to find an algorithmic solution to the problem. We also provide several numerical or graphical illustrations.

iHelp: an intelligent online helpdesk system.

PubMed

Wang, Dingding; Li, Tao; Zhu, Shenghuo; Gong, Yihong

2011-02-01

Due to the importance of high-quality customer service, many companies use intelligent helpdesk systems (e.g., case-based systems) to improve customer service quality. However, these systems face two challenges: 1) Case retrieval measures: most case-based systems use traditional keyword-matching-based ranking schemes for case retrieval and have difficulty to capture the semantic meanings of cases and 2) result representation: most case-based systems return a list of past cases ranked by their relevance to a new request, and customers have to go through the list and examine the cases one by one to identify their desired cases. To address these challenges, we develop iHelp, an intelligent online helpdesk system, to automatically find problem-solution patterns from the past customer-representative interactions. When a new customer request arrives, iHelp searches and ranks the past cases based on their semantic relevance to the request, groups the relevant cases into different clusters using a mixture language model and symmetric matrix factorization, and summarizes each case cluster to generate recommended solutions. Case and user studies have been conducted to show the full functionality and the effectiveness of iHelp.

Designing a capacitated multi-configuration logistics network under disturbances and parameter uncertainty: a real-world case of a drug supply chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishebori, Davood; Babadi, Abolghasem Yousefi

2018-03-01

This study investigates the reliable multi-configuration capacitated logistics network design problem (RMCLNDP) under system disturbances, which relates to locating facilities, establishing transportation links, and also allocating their limited capacities to the customers conducive to provide their demand on the minimum expected total cost (including locating costs, link constructing costs, and also expected costs in normal and disturbance conditions). In addition, two types of risks are considered; (I) uncertain environment, (II) system disturbances. A two-level mathematical model is proposed for formulating of the mentioned problem. Also, because of the uncertain parameters of the model, an efficacious possibilistic robust optimization approach is utilized. To evaluate the model, a drug supply chain design (SCN) is studied. Finally, an extensive sensitivity analysis was done on the critical parameters. The obtained results show that the efficiency of the proposed approach is suitable and is worthwhile for analyzing the real practical problems.

Detection of faults in rotating machinery using periodic time-frequency sparsity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Yin; He, Wangpeng; Chen, Binqiang; Zi, Yanyang; Selesnick, Ivan W.

2016-11-01

This paper addresses the problem of extracting periodic oscillatory features in vibration signals for detecting faults in rotating machinery. To extract the feature, we propose an approach in the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) domain where the periodic oscillatory feature manifests itself as a relatively sparse grid. To estimate the sparse grid, we formulate an optimization problem using customized binary weights in the regularizer, where the weights are formulated to promote periodicity. In order to solve the proposed optimization problem, we develop an algorithm called augmented Lagrangian majorization-minimization algorithm, which combines the split augmented Lagrangian shrinkage algorithm (SALSA) with majorization-minimization (MM), and is guaranteed to converge for both convex and non-convex formulation. As examples, the proposed approach is applied to simulated data, and used as a tool for diagnosing faults in bearings and gearboxes for real data, and compared to some state-of-the-art methods. The results show that the proposed approach can effectively detect and extract the periodical oscillatory features.

12 CFR 220.1 - Authority, purpose, and scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... principal purpose is to regulate extensions of credit by brokers and dealers; it also covers related... account and four special purpose accounts in which to record all financial relations between a customer... part does not apply to: (i) Financial relations between a customer and a creditor to the extent that...

Fatigue

MedlinePlus

... possible. For example, take a vacation or resolve relationship problems. Take a multivitamin. Talk to your provider ... ADAM Health Solutions. About MedlinePlus Site Map FAQs Customer Support Get email updates Subscribe to RSS Follow ...

13 CFR 315.16 - Adjustment proposal requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... analysis of the Firm's problems, strengths and weaknesses and an assessment of its prospects for recovery... generally consists of knowledge-based services such as market penetration studies, customized business...

Bionic Design, Materials and Performance of Bone Tissue Scaffolds

PubMed Central

Wu, Tong; Yu, Suihuai; Chen, Dengkai; Wang, Yanen

2017-01-01

Design, materials, and performance are important factors in the research of bone tissue scaffolds. This work briefly describes the bone scaffolds and their anatomic structure, as well as their biological and mechanical characteristics. Furthermore, we reviewed the characteristics of metal materials, inorganic materials, organic polymer materials, and composite materials. The importance of the bionic design in preoperative diagnosis models and customized bone scaffolds was also discussed, addressing both the bionic structure design (macro and micro structure) and the bionic performance design (mechanical performance and biological performance). Materials and performance are the two main problems in the development of customized bone scaffolds. Bionic design is an effective way to solve these problems, which could improve the clinical application of bone scaffolds, by creating a balance between mechanical performance and biological performance. PMID:29039749

Bionic Design, Materials and Performance of Bone Tissue Scaffolds.

PubMed

Wu, Tong; Yu, Suihuai; Chen, Dengkai; Wang, Yanen

2017-10-17

Design, materials, and performance are important factors in the research of bone tissue scaffolds. This work briefly describes the bone scaffolds and their anatomic structure, as well as their biological and mechanical characteristics. Furthermore, we reviewed the characteristics of metal materials, inorganic materials, organic polymer materials, and composite materials. The importance of the bionic design in preoperative diagnosis models and customized bone scaffolds was also discussed, addressing both the bionic structure design (macro and micro structure) and the bionic performance design (mechanical performance and biological performance). Materials and performance are the two main problems in the development of customized bone scaffolds. Bionic design is an effective way to solve these problems, which could improve the clinical application of bone scaffolds, by creating a balance between mechanical performance and biological performance.

19 CFR Appendix C to Part 171 - Customs Regulations Guidelines for the Imposition and Mitigation of Penalties for Violations of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... entries or other documents relating to issues covered by 1-3. D. Customs business does not include: 1..., Penalties, and Forfeitures Officer) shall issue a written notice which advises the violator of the...—Conducting Customs Business Without a License (19 U.S.C. 1641(b)(6)) A. No person may conduct Customs...

Improving Patient Access by Determining Appropriate Staff Mix in the Family Practice Clinic of Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana Using an Animated Computer Simulation Model

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-07-01

result of customer dissatisfaction due to problems associated with access into Bayne-Jones Army community Hospital (BJACH). On a recent Military Health ...Training Center (JRTC) by delivering quality, accessible, patient oriented health care, while maintaining our preparedness to support the Army mission...family practice clinic at Bayne-Jones Army Community hospital has as its mission: To provide accessible, quality and customer oriented health care to

The role of complaint management in the service recovery process.

PubMed

Bendall-Lyon, D; Powers, T L

2001-05-01

Patient satisfaction and retention can be influenced by the development of an effective service recovery program that can identify complaints and remedy failure points in the service system. Patient complaints provide organizations with an opportunity to resolve unsatisfactory situations and to track complaint data for quality improvement purposes. Service recovery is an important and effective customer retention tool. One way an organization can ensure repeat business is by developing a strong customer service program that includes service recovery as an essential component. The concept of service recovery involves the service provider taking responsive action to "recover" lost or dissatisfied customers and convert them into satisfied customers. Service recovery has proven to be cost-effective in other service industries. The complaint management process involves six steps that organizations can use to influence effective service recovery: (1) encourage complaints as a quality improvement tool; (2) establish a team of representatives to handle complaints; (3) resolve customer problems quickly and effectively; (4) develop a complaint database; (5) commit to identifying failure points in the service system; and (6) track trends and use information to improve service processes. Customer retention is enhanced when an organization can reclaim disgruntled patients through the development of effective service recovery programs. Health care organizations can become more customer oriented by taking advantage of the information provided by patient complaints, increasing patient satisfaction and retention in the process.

Fostering employee service creativity: Joint effects of customer empowering behaviors and supervisory empowering leadership.

PubMed

Dong, Yuntao; Liao, Hui; Chuang, Aichia; Zhou, Jing; Campbell, Elizabeth M

2015-09-01

Integrating insights from the literature on customers' central role in service and the literature on employee creativity, we offer theoretical and empirical account of how and when customer empowering behaviors can motivate employee creativity during service encounters and, subsequently, influence customer satisfaction with service experience. Using multilevel, multisource, experience sampling data from 380 hairstylists matched with 3550 customers in 118 hair salons, we found that customer empowering behaviors were positively related to employee creativity and subsequent customer satisfaction via employee state promotion focus. Results also showed that empowering behaviors from different agents function synergistically in shaping employee creativity: supervisory empowering leadership strengthened the indirect effect of customer empowering behaviors on employee creativity via state promotion focus. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Customer value propositions in business markets.

PubMed

Anderson, James C; Narus, James A; van Rossum, Wouter

2006-03-01

Examples of consumer value propositions that resonate with customers are exceptionally difficult to find. When properly constructed, value propositions force suppliers to focus on what their offerings are really worth. Once companies become disciplined about understanding their customers, they can make smarter choices about where to allocate scarce resources. The authors illuminate the pitfalls of current approaches, then present a systematic method for developing value propositions that are meaningful to target customers and that focus suppliers' efforts on creating superior value. When managers construct a customer value proposition, they often simply list all the benefits their offering might deliver. But the relative simplicity of this all-benefits approach may have a major drawback: benefit assertion. In other words, managers may claim advantages for features their customers don't care about in the least. Other suppliers try to answer the question, Why should our firm purchase your offering instead of your competitor's? But without a detailed understanding of the customer's requirements and preferences, suppliers can end up stressing points of difference that deliver relatively little value to the target customer. The pitfall with this approach is value presumption: assuming that any favorable points of difference must be valuable for the customer. Drawing on the best practices of a handful of suppliers in business markets, the authors advocate a resonating focus approach. Suppliers can provide simple, yet powerfully captivating, consumer value propositions by making their offerings superior on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrating and documenting the value of this superior performance, and communicating it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer's business priorities.

31 CFR 10.8 - Customhouse brokers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Commissioner of Customs in accordance with the regulations prescribed therefor, in any customs district in... National Office of the Internal Revenue Service, to act as a representative in respect to any matters relating specifically to the importation or exportation of merchandise under the customs or internal...

14 CFR 1214.113 - Allocation of risk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Provisions Regarding Space Shuttle Flights of Payloads for Non-U.S. Government, Reimbursable Customers § 1214...-waiver of liability among the customer, other customers, related entities and NASA for all activities... insurance covering launch and on-orbit operations in an amount deemed appropriate by NASA. ...

14 CFR 1214.113 - Allocation of risk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Provisions Regarding Space Shuttle Flights of Payloads for Non-U.S. Government, Reimbursable Customers § 1214...-waiver of liability among the customer, other customers, related entities and NASA for all activities... insurance covering launch and on-orbit operations in an amount deemed appropriate by NASA. ...

14 CFR 1214.113 - Allocation of risk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Provisions Regarding Space Shuttle Flights of Payloads for Non-U.S. Government, Reimbursable Customers § 1214...-waiver of liability among the customer, other customers, related entities and NASA for all activities... insurance covering launch and on-orbit operations in an amount deemed appropriate by NASA. ...

12 CFR 550.60 - What other definitions apply to this part?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... advice for a fee regarding fiduciary assets, or making discretionary decisions regarding investment or..., contacting existing or potential customers, answering questions and providing information to customers related to their accounts, acting as liaison between you and your customer (for example, forwarding...

Fulfilment of administrative and professional organisational obligations and nurses' customer-oriented behaviours.

PubMed

Trybou, Jeroen; Gemmel, Paul

2016-07-01

The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between the perceived quality of organisational exchange and nurses' customer-oriented behaviours. Hospitals face increasing competitive market conditions. Registered nurses interact closely with patients and therefore play an important front-office role towards patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Registered nurses (n = 151) of a Belgian hospital received a questionnaire to assess the fulfilment of administrative and professional organisational obligations and their customer-oriented behaviours. We found a positive relationship between psychological contract fulfilment and nurses' customer-oriented behaviours. More precisely administrative and professional psychological contract fulfilment relates significantly to nurses' service delivery and external representation. In case of internal influence only administrative psychological contract fulfilment was significantly related. Nurses' perceptions of the fulfilment of administrative and professional obligations are important to their customer-oriented behaviours. Nurse managers must be aware of the impact of fulfilling both administrative and professional obligations of registered nurses in order to optimise their customer-oriented behaviours. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Problems of Implementing SCORM in an Enterprise Distance Learning Architecture: SCORM Incompatibility across Multiple Web Domains.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engelbrecht, Jeffrey C.

2003-01-01

Delivering content to distant users located in dispersed networks, separated by firewalls and different web domains requires extensive customization and integration. This article outlines some of the problems of implementing the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) in the Marine Corps' Distance Learning System (MarineNet) and extends…

Developing Deep Group Reflection within a Critical Reflection Action Learning Set

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepherd, Gary

2016-01-01

This account of practice describes how a manufacturing company in the North of England transformed their approach to problem-solving and action through the use of a Critical Reflection Action Learning (CRAL) methodology. The company, who had been in business for over 25 years, experienced problems due to a diminishing customer base and substantial…

From Slovenian to American: Immigrants in Cleveland's Public and Parochial Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gombach, Marlene

2006-01-01

In a Cleveland that was one of the most foreign of the country's cities, the Slovenian community struggled with the problem of maintaining its cultural ties while still adopting enough American customs to enable it to take advantage of the opportunities in a democratic, industrialized city. This article attempts to clarify some of the problems of…

Single tooth torque correction in the lower frontal area by a completely customized lingual appliance.

PubMed

Jacobs, Collin; Katzorke, Milena; Wiechmann, Dirk; Wehrbein, Heiner; Schwestka-Polly, Rainer

2017-10-10

Aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy and precision of the completely customized lingual appliance (CCLA) regarding the single tooth torque correction. The study also examined external apical root resorptions as possible side effects of torque correction and the changings of the periodontal situation. A case series of three patients were included. The patients showed a single tooth torque problem with a gingival recession and were treated with the CCLA. Plaster casts before and after treatment and plaster casts of the set up were scanned and superimposed. Deviations between the two plaster casts were analyzed at different points of interest. Changes of the gingival recession were compared before and after treatment. Relative root resorptions were measured by the orthopantomograms. Treatment times were assessed by the records of the patients. Results were presented descriptively. The mean change of the most apical part of the root reached by the orthodontic treatment was 1.8 ± 0.3 mm. The largest deviation between set up and final model was measured on the occlusal surface of the tooth 36 with 0.8 mm. Most measurement points showed a deviation of 0.5 mm or less. The depths of the gingival recession showed a significant reduction of 4.7 mm. The widths of the gingival recession were reduced by 1.1 mm. The average relative root resorption of the corrected teeth was 2.7 ± 1.5%. The average treatment time was 13.8 ± 4.5 months. This is the first study showing that the CCLA with its high precision is very effective in correcting single tooth torque problems. Orthodontic torque correction resulted in a significant reduction of gingival recessions and caused only negligible root resorptions.

Investigation into some characteristics of the mass-customized production paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapper, Jerome; Sundar, Pratap S.; Kamarthi, Sagar V.

2000-10-01

In recent times, while markets are reaching their saturation limits and customers are becoming more demanding, a paradigm shift has been taking place from mass production to mass- customized production (MCP). The concept of mass customization (MC) focuses on satisfying a customer's unique needs with the help of new technologies such as Internet, digital product realization, and re-configurable production facilities. In MC the needs of an individual customer are translated into design, accordingly produced, and delivered to the customer. In this research three hypothesis related to MCP are investigated by the data/information collected from ten companies, which are engaged in MCP. These three hypothesis are (1) mass-customized production systems can be classified into make-to-stock MCP, assemble-to-order MCP, make-to-order MCP, engineer-to-order MC, and develop-to-order MCP, (2) in mass-customized production systems the process of customization eliminates customer sacrifice, and (3) mass-customized production systems can deliver products at mass-production cost. The preliminary study indicates that while the first hypothesis is valid, MCP companies rarely fulfill what is stated in the other two hypotheses.

Rough Evaluation Structure: Application of Rough Set Theory to Generate Simple Rules for Inconsistent Preference Relation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gehrmann, Andreas; Nagai, Yoshimitsu; Yoshida, Osamu; Ishizu, Syohei

Since management decision-making becomes complex and preferences of the decision-maker frequently becomes inconsistent, multi-attribute decision-making problems were studied. To represent inconsistent preference relation, the concept of evaluation structure was introduced. We can generate simple rules to represent inconsistent preference relation by the evaluation structures. Further rough set theory for the preference relation was studied and the concept of approximation was introduced. One of our main aims of this paper is to introduce a concept of rough evaluation structure for representing inconsistent preference relation. We apply rough set theory to the evaluation structure, and develop a method for generating simple rules for inconsistent preference relations. In this paper, we introduce concepts of totally ordered information system, similarity class of preference relation, upper and lower approximation of preference relations. We also show the properties of rough evaluation structure and provide a simple example. As an application of rough evaluation structure, we analyze questionnaire survey of customer preferences about audio players.

Store manager performance and satisfaction: effects on store employee performance and satisfaction, store customer satisfaction, and store customer spending growth.

PubMed

Netemeyer, Richard G; Maxham, James G; Lichtenstein, Donald R

2010-05-01

Based on emotional contagion theory and the value-profit chain literatures, the present study posits a number of hypotheses that show how managers in the small store, small number of employees retail context may affect store employees, customers, and potentially store performance. With data from 306 store managers, 1,615 store customer-contact employees, and 57,656 customers of a single retail chain, the authors examined relationships among store manager job satisfaction and job performance, store customer-contact employee job satisfaction and job performance, customer satisfaction with the retailer, and a customer-spending-based store performance metric (customer spending growth over a 2-year period). Via path analysis, several hypothesized direct and interaction relations among these constructs are supported. The results suggest implications for academic researchers and retail managers. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers.

PubMed

Sussman, Steve; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Garcia, Jocelyn; Unger, Jennifer B; Cruz, Tess Boley; Garcia, Robert; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes

2016-01-01

The rising popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has been accompanied by the proliferation of vape shops in the United States. Vape shops are devoted to the sale of e-cigarettes and e-juices. This study aimed to describe the age, gender, and ethnicity of customers who frequent these shops, determine whether conversations transpire between retailers and customers, as well as identify the types of activities taking place while customers are inside the store. A naturalistic observation study of 186 customers in 59 vape shops in Southern California was completed in locations that were relatively high in Korean, Non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, or African American ethnicity. Across all shops, the average estimated age of customers was 30.29 years old (SD = 9.70), 53 % were estimated to be non-Hispanic white, and 79 % were males; few minors entered the shops. Conversations about vaping related topics were prevalent (e.g., sampling e-juices, receiving help on hardware, and talking about vaping). Purchases were commonly observed as well as customers lounging in the shop. Vape shops provide consumers a place to purchase and discuss e-cigarettes and offer an environment that serves as a place of recreation with customers lounging once inside. Findings should inform local tobacco control efforts and regulatory policies in the future.

14 CFR § 1214.113 - Allocation of risk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Provisions Regarding Space Shuttle Flights of Payloads for Non-U.S. Government, Reimbursable Customers § 1214...-waiver of liability among the customer, other customers, related entities and NASA for all activities... insurance covering launch and on-orbit operations in an amount deemed appropriate by NASA. ...

29 CFR 541.402 - Executive and administrative computer employees.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... planning, scheduling, and coordinating activities required to develop systems to solve complex business, scientific or engineering problems of the employer or the employer's customers. Similarly, a senior or lead...

Defeating feature fatigue.

PubMed

Rust, Roland T; Thompson, Debora Viana; Hamilton, Rebecca W

2006-02-01

Consider a coffeemaker that offers 12 drink options, a car with more than 700 features on the dashboard, and a mouse pad that's also a clock, calculator, and FM radio. All are examples of "feature bloat", or "featuritis", the result of an almost irresistible temptation to load products with lots of bells and whistles. The problem is that the more features a product boasts, the harder it is to use. Manufacturers that increase a product's capability--the number of useful functions it can perform--at the expense of its usability are exposing their customers to feature fatigue. The authors have conducted three studies to gain a better understanding of how consumers weigh a product's capability relative to its usability. They found that even though consumers know that products with more features are harder to use, they initially choose high-feature models. They also pile on more features when given the chance to customize a product for their needs. Once consumers have actually worked with a product, however, usability starts to matter more to them than capability. For managers in consumer products companies, these findings present a dilemma: Should they maximize initial sales by designing high-feature models, which consumers consistently choose, or should they limit the number of features in order to enhance the lifetime value of their customers? The authors' analytical model guides companies toward a happy middle ground: maximizing the net present value of the typical customer's profit stream. The authors also advise companies to build simpler products, help consumers learn which products suit their needs, develop products that do one thing very well, and design market research in which consumers use actual products or prototypes.

Fee-for-service as a business model of growing importance: the academic biobank experience.

PubMed

McDonald, Sandra A; Sommerkamp, Kara; Egan-Palmer, Maureen; Kharasch, Karen; Holtschlag, Victoria

2012-10-01

Biorepositories offer tremendous scientific value to a wide variety of customer groups (academic, commercial, industrial) in their ability to deliver a centralized, standardized service model, encompassing both biospecimen storage and related laboratory services. Generally, the scientific expertise and economies of scale that are offered in centralized, properly resourced research biobanks has yielded value that has been well-recognized by universities, pharmaceutical companies, and other sponsoring institutions. However, like many facets of the economy, biobanks have been under increasing cost pressure in recent years. This has been a particular problem in the academic arena, where direct support from grant sources (both governmental and philanthropic) typically now is more difficult to secure, or provides reduced financial support, relative to previous years. One way to address this challenge is to establish or enhance a well-defined fee-for-service model which is properly calibrated to cover operational costs while still offering competitive value to users. In this model, customers are never charged for the biospecimens themselves, but rather for the laboratory services associated with them. Good communication practices, proper assessment of value, implementation of best practices, and a sound business plan are all needed for this initiative to succeed. Here we summarize our experiences at Washington University School of Medicine in the expectation they will be useful to others.

The value of supply chain coordination under moral hazard: A case study of the consumer product supply chain

PubMed Central

Lee, Yumi; Song, Sang Hwa

2018-01-01

In this paper, we examine a real-world case related to the consumer product supply chain to analyze the value of supply chain coordination under the condition of moral hazard. Because of the characteristics of a buyback contract scheme employed in the supply chain, the supplier company’s sales department encourages retailers to order more inventory to meet their sales target, whereas retailers pay less attention to their inventory level and leftovers at the end of the season. This condition induces moral hazard problems in the operation of the supply chain, as suppliers suffer from huge returns of leftover inventory. This, in turn, is related to the obsolescence of returned inventory, even with penalty terms in the contract for the return of any leftovers. In this study, we show under the current buyback-based supply chain operation, the inventory levels of both the supplier and retailers exceed customer demand and develop vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system with base stock policy to remove any mismatch of supply and demand. A comparison of both systems shows that through the proper coordination of supply chain operations, both suppliers and retailers can gain additional benefits while providing proper services to end customers. PMID:29547625

Fuel cells for transport: can the promise be fulfilled? Technical requirements and demands from customers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaiber, Thomas

The paper discusses the technical requirements and the customer demands for vehicles that have an on-board methanol reformer and fuel cells. The research concentrates on the technical developmental risks which include minimizing volume, reducing weight and, at the same time, improving efficiency and system dynamics. Fuel cell powered vehicles with methanol reformers are not only suitable for a niche market but also these vehicles will compete with conventional vehicles. The greatest hindrance will be the price of the fuel cell. A possible progressive development of the number of fuel cell powered vehicles in conjunction with a reduction in costs will be discussed in the paper. When fuel cell vehicles come to the market it is necessary that an infrastructure for the fuel methanol or hydrogen is installed. Therefore, it will only be possible to introduce fuel cell vehicles into special markets, e.g. California. Such a process will need to be subsidized by additional incentives like tax concessions. Today there are many technical risks and unsolved problems relating to production technologies, infrastructure, and costs. Nevertheless, among the alternative power units, the fuel cell seems to be the only one that might be competitive to the conventional power unit, especially relating to emissions.

Unit-level voluntary turnover rates and customer service quality: implications of group cohesiveness, newcomer concentration, and size.

PubMed

Hausknecht, John P; Trevor, Charlie O; Howard, Michael J

2009-07-01

Despite substantial growth in the service industry and emerging work on turnover consequences, little research examines how unit-level turnover rates affect essential customer-related outcomes. The authors propose an operational disruption framework to explain why voluntary turnover impairs customers' service quality perceptions. On the basis of a sample of 75 work units and data from 5,631 employee surveys, 59,602 customer surveys, and organizational records, results indicate that unit-level voluntary turnover rates are negatively related to service quality perceptions. The authors also examine potential boundary conditions related to the disruption framework. Of 3 moderators studied (group cohesiveness, group size, and newcomer concentration), results show that turnover's negative effects on service quality are more pronounced in larger units and in those with a greater concentration of newcomers.

How do challenges increase customer loyalty to online games?

PubMed

Teng, Ching-I

2013-12-01

Despite the design of various challenge levels in online games, exactly how these challenges increase customer loyalty to online games has seldom been examined. This study investigates how such challenges increase customer loyalty to online games. The study sample comprises 2,861 online gamers. Structural equation modeling is performed. Analytical results indicate that the relationship between challenge and loyalty intensifies when customers perceive that overcoming challenges takes a long time. Results of this study contribute to efforts to determine how challenges and challenge-related perceptions impact customer loyalty to online games.

17 CFR 240.3a43-1 - Customer-related government securities activities incidental to the futures-related business of a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Customer-related government securities activities incidental to the futures-related business of a futures commission merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 240.3a43-1 Section 240.3a43-1 Commodity and Securities...

The customer has escaped.

PubMed

Nunes, Paul F; Cespedes, Frank V

2003-11-01

Every company makes choices about the channels it will use to go to market. Traditionally, the decision to sell through a discount superstore or a pricey boutique, for instance, was guided by customer demographics. A company would identify a target segment of buyers and go with the channel that could deliver them. It was a fair assumption that certain customer types were held captive by certain channels--if not from cradle to grave, then at least from initial consideration to purchase. The problem, the authors say, is that today's customers have become unfettered. As their channel options have proliferated, they've come to recognize that different channels serve their needs better at different points in the buying process. The result is "value poaching." For example, certain channels hope to use higher margin sales to cover the cost of providing expensive high-touch services. Potential customers use these channels to do research, then leap to a cheaper channel when it's time to buy. Customers now hunt for bargains more aggressively; they've become more sophisticated about how companies market to them; and they are better equipped with information and technology to make advantageous decisions. What does this mean for your go-to-market strategy? The authors urge companies to make a fundamental shift in mind-set toward designing for buyer behaviors, not customer segments. A company should design pathways across channels to help its customers get what they need at each stage of the buying process--through one channel or another. Customers are not mindful of channel boundaries--and you shouldn't be either. Instead, they are mindful of the value of individual components in your channels--and you should be, too.

Leveraging the NLM map from SNOMED CT to ICD-10-CM to facilitate adoption of ICD-10-CM.

PubMed

Cartagena, F Phil; Schaeffer, Molly; Rifai, Dorothy; Doroshenko, Victoria; Goldberg, Howard S

2015-05-01

Develop and test web services to retrieve and identify the most precise ICD-10-CM code(s) for a given clinical encounter. Facilitate creation of user interfaces that 1) provide an initial shortlist of candidate codes, ideally visible on a single screen; and 2) enable code refinement. To satisfy our high-level use cases, the analysis and design process involved reviewing available maps and crosswalks, designing the rule adjudication framework, determining necessary metadata, retrieving related codes, and iteratively improving the code refinement algorithm. The Partners ICD-10-CM Search and Mapping Services (PI-10 Services) are SOAP web services written using Microsoft's.NET 4.0 Framework, Windows Communications Framework, and SQL Server 2012. The services cover 96% of the Partners problem list subset of SNOMED CT codes that map to ICD-10-CM codes and can return up to 76% of the 69,823 billable ICD-10-CM codes prior to creation of custom mapping rules. We consider ways to increase 1) the coverage ratio of the Partners problem list subset of SNOMED CT codes and 2) the upper bound of returnable ICD-10-CM codes by creating custom mapping rules. Future work will investigate the utility of the transitive closure of SNOMED CT codes and other methods to assist in custom rule creation and, ultimately, to provide more complete coverage of ICD-10-CM codes. ICD-10-CM will be easier for clinicians to manage if applications display short lists of candidate codes from which clinicians can subsequently select a code for further refinement. The PI-10 Services support ICD-10 migration by implementing this paradigm and enabling users to consistently and accurately find the best ICD-10-CM code(s) without translation from ICD-9-CM. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Fasting practices in Tamil Nadu and their importance for patients with diabetes.

PubMed

Kannan, Subramanian; Mahadevan, Shriraam; Seshadri, Krishna; Sadacharan, Dhalapathy; Velayutham, Kumaravel

2016-01-01

Religious practices and cultural customs related to eating habits have a significant impact on lifestyle and health of the community. The Ramadan fasting in Muslims and its influence on various metabolic parameters such as diabetes have been reasonably studied. However, literature related to Hindu religious customs related to fasting and food patterns during various festivals and its effect on diabetes are scarce. This article is an attempt to describe the Hindu religious customs related to fasting and food practices from the State of Tamil Nadu (South India) and to raise the awareness among physicians about its relationship with diabetes which may help in managing their diabetic patients in a better way.

Fasting practices in Tamil Nadu and their importance for patients with diabetes

PubMed Central

Kannan, Subramanian; Mahadevan, Shriraam; Seshadri, Krishna; Sadacharan, Dhalapathy; Velayutham, Kumaravel

2016-01-01

Religious practices and cultural customs related to eating habits have a significant impact on lifestyle and health of the community. The Ramadan fasting in Muslims and its influence on various metabolic parameters such as diabetes have been reasonably studied. However, literature related to Hindu religious customs related to fasting and food patterns during various festivals and its effect on diabetes are scarce. This article is an attempt to describe the Hindu religious customs related to fasting and food practices from the State of Tamil Nadu (South India) and to raise the awareness among physicians about its relationship with diabetes which may help in managing their diabetic patients in a better way. PMID:27867892

78 FR 21218 - Disclosure of Consumer Complaint Data

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-10

... customer service and alleviate problems up front by helping consumers avoid ``bad actors.'' They further... Wire Jan. 31, 2013, available at http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130131006068/en/Arc-Analyzes...

Distribution network design under demand uncertainty using genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation approach: a case study in pharmaceutical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izadi, Arman; Kimiagari, Ali mohammad

2014-01-01

Distribution network design as a strategic decision has long-term effect on tactical and operational supply chain management. In this research, the location-allocation problem is studied under demand uncertainty. The purposes of this study were to specify the optimal number and location of distribution centers and to determine the allocation of customer demands to distribution centers. The main feature of this research is solving the model with unknown demand function which is suitable with the real-world problems. To consider the uncertainty, a set of possible scenarios for customer demands is created based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The coefficient of variation of costs is mentioned as a measure of risk and the most stable structure for firm's distribution network is defined based on the concept of robust optimization. The best structure is identified using genetic algorithms and 14% reduction in total supply chain costs is the outcome. Moreover, it imposes the least cost variation created by fluctuation in customer demands (such as epidemic diseases outbreak in some areas of the country) to the logistical system. It is noteworthy that this research is done in one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution firms in Iran.

Distribution network design under demand uncertainty using genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation approach: a case study in pharmaceutical industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izadi, Arman; Kimiagari, Ali Mohammad

2014-05-01

Distribution network design as a strategic decision has long-term effect on tactical and operational supply chain management. In this research, the location-allocation problem is studied under demand uncertainty. The purposes of this study were to specify the optimal number and location of distribution centers and to determine the allocation of customer demands to distribution centers. The main feature of this research is solving the model with unknown demand function which is suitable with the real-world problems. To consider the uncertainty, a set of possible scenarios for customer demands is created based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The coefficient of variation of costs is mentioned as a measure of risk and the most stable structure for firm's distribution network is defined based on the concept of robust optimization. The best structure is identified using genetic algorithms and 14 % reduction in total supply chain costs is the outcome. Moreover, it imposes the least cost variation created by fluctuation in customer demands (such as epidemic diseases outbreak in some areas of the country) to the logistical system. It is noteworthy that this research is done in one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution firms in Iran.

77 FR 49710 - Airworthiness Directives; Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Helicopters

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-17

... modifications, installation of a warning relay by following Sikorsky Customer Service Bulletin No. 76- 66-10B... helicopter. Related Service Information We have reviewed the following documents from Sikorsky: Customer... specifies installing an ERB warning relay kit; Customer Service Notice No. 76-113, dated June 1, 1983, which...

Engaging the Student as a Customer: A Relationship Marketing Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowden, Jana Lay-Hwa.

2011-01-01

Increasingly organizations are recognizing the value of establishing close relationships with their customers. Despite this, research has not deeply explored how the intangible aspects of relational exchange such as customer satisfaction, as well as affective commitment, calculative commitment, and trust, combine to determine loyalty in the…

12 CFR Appendix J to Part 222 - Interagency Guidelines on Identity Theft Detection, Prevention, and Mitigation

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., procedures, and other arrangements that control reasonably foreseeable risks to customers or to the safety... other suspicious activity related to, a covered account; and (5) Notice from customers, victims of... policies and procedures regarding identification and verification set forth in the Customer Identification...

76 FR 61761 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-05

... retained up to 3 years after the customer relationship ends. * * * * * 6. Records related to inquiries and.... These modifications reflect the changes that have been made in providing alternate access to customers... products and services when and where its customers want them. II. Rationale for Changes to USPS Privacy Act...

Branding and Positioning to Satisfy the Customer's Appetite: An Educational Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ham, Tim

2010-01-01

Rebranding and positioning a school district has become critical to satisfy the "customer's" appetite, enhance public relations, and advance consumer perceptions. A service design model provides a district with the framework to advance its position by identifying attributes and prompts to satisfy customer needs and increase student…

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Pittsburgh Livery Company Transports

Science.gov Websites

Customers in Alternative Fuel VehiclesA> Pittsburgh Livery Company Transports Customers in hybrid, propane, and natural gas vehicles to transport customers. For information about this project Television Related Videos Photo of a car Electric Vehicles Charge up at State Parks in West Virginia Dec. 9

78 FR 17454 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-21

... information barriers, that operate to prevent one trading unit from obtaining knowledge of customer orders... respect to customer orders involving securities for which there is limited pricing information or... Change Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders and Best Execution and Interpositioning Requirements...

12 CFR 40.7 - Form of opt out notice to consumers; opt out methods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., if the consumer agrees, electronically. (2) When a customer relationship terminates, the customer's... during or related to that relationship. If the individual subsequently establishes a new customer... opt out notice in writing or, if the consumer agrees, electronically. (d) Joint relationships. (1) If...

19 CFR 123.24 - Sealing of conveyances or compartments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Sealing of conveyances or compartments. 123.24 Section 123.24 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CBP RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Shipments in Transit Through Canada or Mexico...

Employee retention: a customer service approach.

PubMed

Gerson, Richard F

2002-01-01

Employee retention is a huge problem. There are staff shortages in radiology because not enough people are entering the profession; too many people are leaving the profession for retirement, higher-paying jobs or jobs with less stress; and there are not enough opportunities for career advancement. Staff shortages are exacerbated by difficulty in retaining people who enter the profession. While much work has been focused on recruitment and getting more people "in the front door," I suggest that the bulk of future efforts be focused on employee retention and "closing the back door." Employee retention must be an ongoing process, not a program. Approaches to employee retention that focus on external things, i.e., things that the company can do to or for the employee, generally are not successful. The truth is that employee retention processes must focus on what the employee gets out of the job. The process must be a benefits-based approach that helps employees answer the question, "What's in it for me?" The retention processes must be ongoing and integrated into the daily culture of the company. The best way to keep your employees is to treat them like customers. Customer service works for external customers. We treat them nicely. We work to satisfy them. We help them achieve their goals. Why not do the same for our employees? If positive customer service policies and practices can satisfy and keep external customers, why not adapt these policies and practices for employees? And, there is a service/satisfaction link between employee retention and higher levels of customer satisfaction. Customers prefer dealing with the same employees over and over again. Employee turnover destroys a customer's confidence in the company. Just like a customer does not want to have to "train and educate" a new provider, they do not want to do the same for your "revolving door" employees. So, the key is to keep employees so they in turn will help you keep your customers. Because the techniques of this process mirror the activities of customer service and customer relationship management, I call the combined process C/ERM for customer/employee relationship management. Both activities must be going on simultaneously to create a loyalty link that ensures customer satisfaction and retention through employee service, satisfaction and retention.

Understanding the relationship between Kano model's customer satisfaction scores and self-stated requirements importance.

PubMed

Mkpojiogu, Emmanuel O C; Hashim, Nor Laily

2016-01-01

Customer satisfaction is the result of product quality and viability. The place of the perceived satisfaction of users/customers for a software product cannot be neglected especially in today competitive market environment as it drives the loyalty of customers and promotes high profitability and return on investment. Therefore understanding the importance of requirements as it is associated with the satisfaction of users/customers when their requirements are met is worth the pain considering. It is necessary to know the relationship between customer satisfactions when their requirements are met (or their dissatisfaction when their requirements are unmet) and the importance of such requirement. So many works have been carried out on customer satisfaction in connection with the importance of requirements but the relationship between customer satisfaction scores (coefficients) of the Kano model and users/customers self-stated requirements importance have not been sufficiently explored. In this study, an attempt is made to unravel the underlying relationship existing between Kano model's customer satisfaction indexes and users/customers self reported requirements importance. The results of the study indicate some interesting associations between these considered variables. These bivariate associations reveal that customer satisfaction index (SI), and average satisfaction coefficient (ASC) and customer dissatisfaction index (DI) and average satisfaction coefficient (ASC) are highly correlated (r = 96 %) and thus ASC can be used in place of either SI or DI in representing customer satisfaction scores. Also, these Kano model's customer satisfaction variables (SI, DI, and ASC) are each associated with self-stated requirements importance (IMP). Further analysis indicates that the value customers or users place on requirements that are met or on features that are incorporated into a product influences the level of satisfaction such customers derive from the product. The worth of a product feature is indicated by the perceived satisfaction customers get from the inclusion of such feature in the product design and development. The satisfaction users/customers derive when a requirement is fulfilled or when a feature is placed in the product (SI or ASC) is strongly influenced by the value the users/customers place on such requirements/features when met (IMP). However, the dissatisfaction users/customers received when a requirement is not met or when a feature is not incorporated into the product (DI), even though related to self-stated requirements importance (IMP), does not have a strong effect on the importance/worth (IMP) of that given requirement/feature as perceived by the users or customers. Therefore, since customer satisfaction is proportionally related to the perceived requirements importance (worth), it is then necessary to give adequate attention to user/customer satisfying requirements (features) from elicitation to design and to the final implementation of the design. Incorporating user or customer satisfying requirements in product design is of great worth or value to the future users or customers of the product.

Ninety to Nothing: a PDSA quality improvement project.

PubMed

Prybutok, Gayle Linda

2018-05-14

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a successful quality improvement project in an acute care hospital focused on reducing the time of the total patient visit in the emergency department. Design/methodology/approach A multidisciplinary quality improvement team, using the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) Cycle, analyzed the emergency department care delivery process and sequentially made process improvements that contributed to project success. Findings The average turnaround time goal of 90 minutes or less per visit was achieved in four months, and the organization enjoyed significant collateral benefits both internal to the organization and for its customers. Practical implications This successful PDSA process can be duplicated by healthcare organizations of all sizes seeking to improve a process related to timely, high-quality patient care delivery. Originality/value Extended wait time in hospital emergency departments is a universal problem in the USA that reduces the quality of the customer experience and that delays necessary patient care. This case study demonstrates that a structured quality improvement process implemented by a multidisciplinary team with the authority to make necessary process changes can successfully redefine the norm.

Nearest greedy for solving the waste collection vehicle routing problem: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mat, Nur Azriati; Benjamin, Aida Mauziah; Abdul-Rahman, Syariza; Wibowo, Antoni

2017-11-01

This paper presents a real case study pertaining to an issue related to waste collection in the northern part of Malaysia by using a constructive heuristic algorithm known as the Nearest Greedy (NG) technique. This technique has been widely used to devise initial solutions for issues concerning vehicle routing. Basically, the waste collection cycle involves the following steps: i) each vehicle starts from a depot, ii) visits a number of customers to collect waste, iii) unloads waste at the disposal site, and lastly, iv) returns to the depot. Moreover, the sample data set used in this paper consisted of six areas, where each area involved up to 103 customers. In this paper, the NG technique was employed to construct an initial route for each area. The solution proposed from the technique was compared with the present vehicle routes implemented by a waste collection company within the city. The comparison results portrayed that NG offered better vehicle routes with a 11.07% reduction of the total distance traveled, in comparison to the present vehicle routes.

The Introduction of Custom Earplugs Aboard LCS-1

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-10

reports on the use of foam and custom HPDs, and provides interim recommendations. Custom-molded HPDs were judged by users to be superior in comfort...and able to be worn for longer periods of time than other devices ( foam ). Based on data from LCS and other related studies, the performance...acceptance, and cost of the custom-molded product are comparable, or better, than foam HPDs. The interim recommendation is to provide multiple types of

Getting even for customer mistreatment: the role of moral identity in the relationship between customer interpersonal injustice and employee sabotage.

PubMed

Skarlicki, Daniel P; van Jaarsveld, Danielle D; Walker, David D

2008-11-01

Research on the "dark side" of organizational behavior has determined that employee sabotage is most often a reaction by disgruntled employees to perceived mistreatment. To date, however, most studies on employee retaliation have focused on intra-organizational sources of (in)justice. Results from this field study of customer service representatives (N = 358) showed that interpersonal injustice from customers relates positively to customer-directed sabotage over and above intra-organizational sources of fairness. Moreover, the association between unjust treatment and sabotage was moderated by 2 dimensions of moral identity (symbolization and internalization) in the form of a 3-way interaction. The relationship between injustice and sabotage was more pronounced for employees high (vs. low) in symbolization, but this moderation effect was weaker among employees who were high (vs. low) in internalization. Last, employee sabotage was negatively related to job performance ratings.

Improving DLA Supply Chain Agility: Lead Times, Order Quantities, and Information Flow

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

effective inventory management. The dynamism of supply appears to be less than demand, with major problems from supply-side vola- tility not apparent...presents a challenge for efficient and effective inventory management. The dynamism of supply appears to be much less, with major problems from...a vehicle safety problem that newly appears. Or the lead time for the customer change of plan may be less than the lead time to procure the item. So

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Phillips, Monica

Monica Phillips discuss her role as an engineer at Savannah River National Laboratory. Her mission is to provide support to various customers on-site through engineered equipment and solutions, along with solving complex problems to help them meet their needs.

Palliative care - fear and anxiety

MedlinePlus

... about your illness Problems with family or friend relationships Spiritual concerns Signs and symptoms that your anxiety ... ADAM Health Solutions. About MedlinePlus Site Map FAQs Customer Support Get email updates Subscribe to RSS Follow ...

Making stronger causal inferences: Accounting for selection bias in associations between high performance work systems, leadership, and employee and customer satisfaction.

PubMed

Schmidt, Joseph A; Pohler, Dionne M

2018-05-17

We develop competing hypotheses about the relationship between high performance work systems (HPWS) with employee and customer satisfaction. Drawing on 8 years of employee and customer survey data from a financial services firm, we used a recently developed empirical technique-covariate balanced propensity score (CBPS) weighting-to examine if the proposed relationships between HPWS and satisfaction outcomes can be explained by reverse causality, selection effects, or commonly omitted variables such as leadership behavior. The results provide support for leader behaviors as a primary driver of customer satisfaction, rather than HPWS, and also suggest that the problem of reverse causality requires additional attention in future human resource (HR) systems research. Model comparisons suggest that the estimates and conclusions vary across CBPS, meta-analytic, cross-sectional, and time-lagged models (with and without a lagged dependent variable as a control). We highlight the theoretical and methodological implications of the findings for HR systems research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

35 Ways to Take a "Byte" out of Software Costs. Fund Raising Ideas from COMPress Customers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

COMPress, Wentworth, NH.

Based on a survey sponsored by COMPress Quarterly of various schools to determine the extent of the problem of lack of funds for purchasing computer software and how schools have coped with the problem, this booklet describes numerous ways to raise funds for software purchases. Nearly 1,000 questionnaires were returned and this booklet was…

An Adaptive Tabu Search Heuristic for the Location Routing Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows with a Theater Distribution Application

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

much easier to interpret . In this representation, only one depot (1) was selected and vehicle 10 27 traveled to customers 3 – 7 – 4 – 8 – 5 – 9...Problem ( HTP ). The last section reviews the literature relevant to the PDP. The objective of this section is to discuss methods that researchers have...Handicapped person Transportation Problem ( HTP ), and the Pick-up and Delivery Problem (PDP). The first two instances deal with the transportation of

A multi-period distribution network design model under demand uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabrizi, Babak H.; Razmi, Jafar

2013-05-01

Supply chain management is taken into account as an inseparable component in satisfying customers' requirements. This paper deals with the distribution network design (DND) problem which is a critical issue in achieving supply chain accomplishments. A capable DND can guarantee the success of the entire network performance. However, there are many factors that can cause fluctuations in input data determining market treatment, with respect to short-term planning, on the one hand. On the other hand, network performance may be threatened by the changes that take place within practicing periods, with respect to long-term planning. Thus, in order to bring both kinds of changes under control, we considered a new multi-period, multi-commodity, multi-source DND problem in circumstances where the network encounters uncertain demands. The fuzzy logic is applied here as an efficient tool for controlling the potential customers' demand risk. The defuzzifying framework leads the practitioners and decision-makers to interact with the solution procedure continuously. The fuzzy model is then validated by a sensitivity analysis test, and a typical problem is solved in order to illustrate the implementation steps. Finally, the formulation is tested by some different-sized problems to show its total performance.

Applications of Optimal Building Energy System Selection and Operation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marnay, Chris; Stadler, Michael; Siddiqui, Afzal

2011-04-01

Berkeley Lab has been developing the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) for several years. Given load curves for energy services requirements in a building microgrid (u grid), fuel costs and other economic inputs, and a menu of available technologies, DER-CAM finds the optimum equipment fleet and its optimum operating schedule using a mixed integer linear programming approach. This capability is being applied using a software as a service (SaaS) model. Optimisation problems are set up on a Berkeley Lab server and clients can execute their jobs as needed, typically daily. The evolution of this approach is demonstrated bymore » description of three ongoing projects. The first is a public access web site focused on solar photovoltaic generation and battery viability at large commercial and industrial customer sites. The second is a building CO2 emissions reduction operations problem for a University of California, Davis student dining hall for which potential investments are also considered. And the third, is both a battery selection problem and a rolling operating schedule problem for a large County Jail. Together these examples show that optimization of building u grid design and operation can be effectively achieved using SaaS.« less

System architecture of a gallium arsenide one-gigahertz digital IC tester

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fouts, Douglas J.; Johnson, John M.; Butner, Steven E.; Long, Stephen I.

1987-01-01

The design for a 1-GHz digital integrated circuit tester for the evaluation of custom GaAs chips and subsystems is discussed. Technology-related problems affecting the design of a GaAs computer are discussed, with emphasis on the problems introduced by long printed-circuit-board interconnect. High-speed interface modules provide a link between the low-speed microprocessor and the chip under test. Memory-multiplexer and memory-shift register architectures for the storage of test vectors are described in addition to an architecture for local data storage consisting of a long chain of GaAs shift registers. The tester is constructed around a VME system card cage and backplane, and very little high-speed interconnect exists between boards. The tester has a three part self-test consisting of a CPU board confidence test, a main memory confidence test, and a high-speed interface module functional test.

Tailored logistics: the next advantage.

PubMed

Fuller, J B; O'Conor, J; Rawlinson, R

1993-01-01

How many top executives have ever visited with managers who move materials from the factory to the store? How many still reduce the costs of logistics to the rent of warehouses and the fees charged by common carriers? To judge by hours of senior management attention, logistics problems do not rank high. But logistics have the potential to become the next governing element of strategy. Whether they know it or not, senior managers of every retail store and diversified manufacturing company compete in logistically distinct businesses. Customer needs vary, and companies can tailor their logistics systems to serve their customers better and more profitably. Companies do not create value for customers and sustainable advantage for themselves merely by offering varieties of goods. Rather, they offer goods in distinct ways. A particular can of Coca-Cola, for example, might be a can of Coca-Cola going to a vending machine, or a can of Coca-Cola that comes with billing services. There is a fortune buried in this distinction. The goal of logistics strategy is building distinct approaches to distinct groups of customers. The first step is organizing a cross-functional team to proceed through the following steps: segmenting customers according to purchase criteria, establishing different standards of service for different customer segments, tailoring logistics pipelines to support each segment, and creating economics of scale to determine which assets can be shared among various pipelines. The goal of establishing logistically distinct businesses is familiar: improved knowledge of customers and improved means of satisfying them.

Applying CBR to machine tool product configuration design oriented to customer requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Pengjia; Gong, Yadong; Xie, Hualong; Liu, Yongxian; Nee, Andrew Yehching

2017-01-01

Product customization is a trend in the current market-oriented manufacturing environment. However, deduction from customer requirements to design results and evaluation of design alternatives are still heavily reliant on the designer's experience and knowledge. To solve the problem of fuzziness and uncertainty of customer requirements in product configuration, an analysis method based on the grey rough model is presented. The customer requirements can be converted into technical characteristics effectively. In addition, an optimization decision model for product planning is established to help the enterprises select the key technical characteristics under the constraints of cost and time to serve the customer to maximal satisfaction. A new case retrieval approach that combines the self-organizing map and fuzzy similarity priority ratio method is proposed in case-based design. The self-organizing map can reduce the retrieval range and increase the retrieval efficiency, and the fuzzy similarity priority ratio method can evaluate the similarity of cases comprehensively. To ensure that the final case has the best overall performance, an evaluation method of similar cases based on grey correlation analysis is proposed to evaluate similar cases to select the most suitable case. Furthermore, a computer-aided system is developed using MATLAB GUI to assist the product configuration design. The actual example and result on an ETC series machine tool product show that the proposed method is effective, rapid and accurate in the process of product configuration. The proposed methodology provides a detailed instruction for the product configuration design oriented to customer requirements.

Optimal Electric Vehicle Scheduling: A Co-Optimized System and Customer Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maigha

Electric vehicles provide a two pronged solution to the problems faced by the electricity and transportation sectors. They provide a green, highly efficient alternative to the internal combustion engine vehicles, thus reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Secondly, they bear the potential of supporting the grid as energy storage devices while incentivising the customers through their participation in energy markets. Despite these advantages, widespread adoption of electric vehicles faces socio-technical and economic bottleneck. This dissertation seeks to provide solutions that balance system and customer objectives under present technological capabilities. The research uses electric vehicles as controllable loads and resources. The idea is to provide the customers with required tools to make an informed decision while considering the system conditions. First, a genetic algorithm based optimal charging strategy to reduce the impact of aggregated electric vehicle load has been presented. A Monte Carlo based solution strategy studies change in the solution under different objective functions. This day-ahead scheduling is then extended to real-time coordination using a moving-horizon approach. Further, battery degradation costs have been explored with vehicle-to-grid implementations, thus accounting for customer net-revenue and vehicle utility for grid support. A Pareto front, thus obtained, provides the nexus between customer and system desired operating points. Finally, we propose a transactive business model for a smart airport parking facility. This model identifies various revenue streams and satisfaction indices that benefit the parking lot owner and the customer, thus adding value to the electric vehicle.

76 FR 77034 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-09

... Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Change To Amend FINRA Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information) December... the Proposed Rule Change FINRA proposes to amend FINRA Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information) to... requires firms to maintain certain information relating to customer accounts, and it is based on existing...

12 CFR Appendix J to Part 41 - Interagency Guidelines on Identity Theft Detection, Prevention, and Mitigation

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... risks to customers or to the safety and soundness of the financial institution or creditor from identity... unusual use of, or other suspicious activity related to, a covered account; and (5) Notice from customers... policies and procedures regarding identification and verification set forth in the Customer Identification...

26 CFR 1.469-4T - Definition of activity (temporary).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... at the management office relate to transactions in which customers take physical possession at... fixed place of business or that are conducted at the customer's place of business are treated as part of... production of property at that location or to the transaction of business with customers at that location are...

16 CFR Appendix A to Part 681 - Interagency Guidelines on Identity Theft Detection, Prevention, and Mitigation

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... risks to customers or to the safety and soundness of the financial institution or creditor from identity... unusual use of, or other suspicious activity related to, a covered account; and (5) Notice from customers... policies and procedures regarding identification and verification set forth in the Customer Identification...

77 FR 75211 - Order Granting Conditional Exemptions Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in Connection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-19

... appropriate risk management and disclosure. In particular, the conditions seek to preserve customers' ability... customers that are affiliates of the BD/FCM--and relate to the risk management and other safeguards the BD... commingle and portfolio margin customer positions in cleared credit default swaps (``CDS''), which include...

77 FR 47591 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Plant Protection and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-09

... performance of its quality management system by monitoring information related to customer perception in relationship to customer requirements. PHP has determined that the best method for obtaining this information... by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), PHP would allow stakeholders and customers to complete...

19 CFR 123.26 - Transshipment of merchandise moving through Canada or Mexico.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... or Mexico. 123.26 Section 123.26 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Shipments in Transit Through Canada or Mexico § 123.26 Transshipment of merchandise moving through Canada or Mexico. (a...

19 CFR 123.63 - Examination of baggage from Canada or Mexico.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Examination of baggage from Canada or Mexico. 123...; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Baggage § 123.63 Examination of baggage from Canada or Mexico. (a) Opening vehicle or compartment to examine baggage. Customs officers are...

19 CFR 145.53 - Firearms and munitions of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Firearms and munitions of war. 145.53 Section 145.53 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF... munitions of war. Importations of firearms, munitions of war, and related articles are subject to the import...

19 CFR 123.23 - Train sheet for in-transit rail shipments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Train sheet for in-transit rail shipments. 123.23 Section 123.23 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CBP RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Shipments in Transit Through Canada or Mexico...

19 CFR 123.27 - Feeding and watering animals in Canada.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Feeding and watering animals in Canada. 123.27 Section 123.27 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CBP RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Shipments in Transit Through Canada or Mexico...

19 CFR 145.53 - Firearms and munitions of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Firearms and munitions of war. 145.53 Section 145.53 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF... munitions of war. Importations of firearms, munitions of war, and related articles are subject to the import...

19 CFR 145.53 - Firearms and munitions of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Firearms and munitions of war. 145.53 Section 145.53 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF... munitions of war. Importations of firearms, munitions of war, and related articles are subject to the import...

19 CFR 145.53 - Firearms and munitions of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Firearms and munitions of war. 145.53 Section 145.53 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF... munitions of war. Importations of firearms, munitions of war, and related articles are subject to the import...

19 CFR 145.53 - Firearms and munitions of war.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Firearms and munitions of war. 145.53 Section 145.53 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF... munitions of war. Importations of firearms, munitions of war, and related articles are subject to the import...

78 FR 72151 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request on Information Collection Tools Relating to Qualitative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-02

..., preferences, or experiences of customers or other stakeholders relating to existing or future services or... effective, efficient, and satisfying experience with the Agency's programs. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning...

Quality evaluation in health care services based on customer-provider relationships.

PubMed

Eiriz, Vasco; Figueiredo, José António

2005-01-01

To develop a framework for evaluating the quality of Portuguese health care organisations based on the relationship between customers and providers, to define key variables related to the quality of health care services based on a review of the available literature, and to establish a conceptual framework in order to test the framework and variables empirically. Systematic review of the literature. Health care services quality should not be evaluated exclusively by customers. Given the complexity, ambiguity and heterogeneity of health care services, the authors develop a framework for health care evaluation based on the relationship between customers (patients, their relatives and citizens) and providers (managers, doctors, other technical staff and non-technical staff), and considering four quality items (customer service orientation, financial performance, logistical functionality and level of staff competence). This article identifies important changes in the Portuguese health care industry, such as the ownership of health care providers. At the same time, customers are changing their attitudes towards health care, becoming much more concerned and demanding of health services. These changes are forcing Portuguese private and public health care organisations to develop more marketing-oriented services. This article recognises the importance of quality evaluation of health care services as a means of increasing customer satisfaction and organisational efficiency, and develops a framework for health care evaluation based on the relationship between customers and providers.

Centrifugal Compressor Aeroelastic Analysis Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keith, Theo G., Jr.; Srivastava, Rakesh

2002-01-01

Centrifugal compressors are very widely used in the turbomachine industry where low mass flow rates are required. Gas turbine engines for tanks, rotorcraft and small jets rely extensively on centrifugal compressors for rugged and compact design. These compressors experience problems related with unsteadiness of flowfields, such as stall flutter, separation at the trailing edge over diffuser guide vanes, tip vortex unsteadiness, etc., leading to rotating stall and surge. Considerable interest exists in small gas turbine engine manufacturers to understand and eventually eliminate the problems related to centrifugal compressors. The geometric complexity of centrifugal compressor blades and the twisting of the blade passages makes the linear methods inapplicable. Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are needed for accurate unsteady aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of centrifugal compressors. Most of the current day industrial turbomachines and small aircraft engines are designed with a centrifugal compressor. With such a large customer base and NASA Glenn Research Center being, the lead center for turbomachines, it is important that adequate emphasis be placed on this area as well. Currently, this activity is not supported under any project at NASA Glenn.

22 CFR 120.24 - Port Directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Port Directors. 120.24 Section 120.24 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS § 120.24 Port Directors. Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection means the U.S. Customs and Border...

22 CFR 120.24 - Port Directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Port Directors. 120.24 Section 120.24 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS § 120.24 Port Directors. Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection means the U.S. Customs and Border...

22 CFR 120.24 - Port Directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Port Directors. 120.24 Section 120.24 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS § 120.24 Port Directors. Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection means the U.S. Customs and Border...

22 CFR 120.24 - Port Directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Port Directors. 120.24 Section 120.24 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS § 120.24 Port Directors. Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection means the U.S. Customs and Border...

22 CFR 120.24 - Port Directors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Port Directors. 120.24 Section 120.24 Foreign Relations DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC IN ARMS REGULATIONS PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS § 120.24 Port Directors. Port Directors of U.S. Customs and Border Protection means the U.S. Customs and Border...

Ordinary or peculiar men? Comparing the customers of prostitutes with a nationally representative sample of men.

PubMed

Monto, Martin A; Milrod, Christine

2014-07-01

Recent media attention implies that prostitution seeking is widespread, an "ordinary" aspect of masculine sexual behavior. Other accounts suggest that customers are "peculiar," characterized by distinct qualities, perversions, or psychological impairments. Using the nationally representative General Social Survey (GSS), this study demonstrates that prostitution seeking is relatively uncommon. Only about 14% of men in the United States report having ever paid for sex, and only 1% report having done so during the previous year. Furthermore, this study dissects whether customers are ordinary or peculiar by comparing a new sample of active customers who solicit sex on the Internet with an older sample of arrested customers, a sample of customers from the GSS, and a nationally representative sample of noncustomers. The customers of Internet sexual service providers differed greatly from men in general and also from other customers. The remaining samples of customers differed slightly from noncustomers in general. We argue for a balanced perspective that recognizes the significant variety among customers. There is no evidence of a peculiar quality that differentiates customers in general from men who have not paid for sex. © The Author(s) 2013.

Cognitive-behavioral versus non-directive therapy for preschoolers with severe nighttime fears and sleep-related problems.

PubMed

Kahn, Michal; Ronen, Alon; Apter, Alan; Sadeh, Avi

2017-04-01

To compare the efficacy of a developmentally appropriate cognitive-behavioral therapy protocol for preschoolers with severe nighttime fears and sleep-related problems, with an active control treatment. Ninety children aged four to six years (63% boys) with severe nighttime fears and their parents were randomized to either cognitive-behavioral therapy including parent involved play (CBT-PIP) or to a structurally equivalent non-directive treatment (TEPT; triadic expressive play therapy). Treatment conditions were also equivalent in parent- and child-rated credibility and expectancy, and in therapist-rated compliance. Children and parents were assessed at baseline, during the first intervention week and four weeks after treatment. Measures included actigraphy, daily sleep logs, structured diagnostic interviews and parent questionnaires. Significant reductions were observed in nighttime fears and objectively and subjectively measured sleep disruptions in both intervention groups following treatment. Parent reports indicated more advantageous outcomes for CBT-PIP compared to TEPT, with greater reductions in sleep problems and co-sleeping as well as higher customer satisfaction in the former group. While CBT-PIP showed no significant advantage compared to the active control in reducing fears or in improving objectively measured sleep, it was significantly more beneficial in reducing the adverse behavioral features of nighttime fears. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The AskIT Service Desk: A Model for Improving Productivity and Reducing Costs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ashcraft, Phillip Lynn; Fogle, Blythe G.; Cummings, Susan M.

This was prepared for the business process improvement presentation to the Department of Energy. Los Alamos National Laboratory provides a single point of contact, the AskIT Service Desk, to address issues that impact customer productivity. At the most basic level, what customers want is for their calls to be received, to get a response from a knowledgeable analyst, and to have their issues resolved and their requests fulfilled. Providing a centralized, single point of contact service desk makes initiating technical or business support simple for the customer and improves the odds of immediately resolving the issue or correctly escalating themore » request to the next support level when necessary. Fulfilling customer requests through automated workflow also improves customer productivity and reduces costs. Finally, customers should be provided the option to solve their own problems through easy access to self-help resources such as frequently asked questions (FAQs) and how-to guides. To accomplish this, everyone who provides and supports services must understand how these processes and functions work together. Service providers and those who support services must “speak the same language” and share common objectives. The Associate Directorate for Business Innovation (ADBI) began the journey to improve services by selecting a known service delivery framework (Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL). From this framework, components that contribute significant business value were selected.« less

Internal marketing, customer orientation, and organizational commitment: moderating effects of work status.

PubMed

Huang, Meiju; Chen, Mei-Yen

2013-08-01

Associations among internal marketing, customer orientation, and organizational commitment were examined, particularly with regard to the moderating effects of work status on the relationships between internal marketing and customer orientation or organizational commitment, in a cross-sectional design with structural equation modeling. Two studies (Ns = 119 and 251) were conducted among full- and part-time service employees at Taipei Sports Centers. Internal marketing was associated with organizational commitment and customer orientation. Customer orientation was associated with organizational commitment and partially mediated the relation between internal marketing and organizational commitment. Furthermore, work status significantly moderated the relationships between internal marketing and customer orientation but not between internal marketing and organizational commitment. Implications and directions for future research were discussed.

Customer Dissatisfaction Index and its Improvement Costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lvovs, Aleksandrs; Mutule, Anna

2010-01-01

The paper gives description of customer dissatisfaction index (CDI) that can be used as reliability level characterizing factor. The factor is directly joined with customer satisfaction of power supply and can be used for control of reliability level of power supply for residential customers. CDI relations with other reliability indices are shown. Paper also gives a brief overview of legislation of Latvia in power industry that is the base for CDI introduction. Calculations of CDI improvement costs are performed in the paper too.

A Mechanism of Modeling and Verification for SaaS Customization Based on TLA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luan, Shuai; Shi, Yuliang; Wang, Haiyang

With the gradually mature of SOA and the rapid development of Internet, SaaS has become a popular software service mode. The customized action of SaaS is usually subject to internal and external dependency relationships. This paper first introduces a method for modeling customization process based on Temporal Logic of Actions, and then proposes a verification algorithm to assure that each step in customization will not cause unpredictable influence on system and follow the related rules defined by SaaS provider.

78 FR 73907 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-09

... Change Relating to the Customer Rebate Program December 3, 2013. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the... The Exchange proposes to amend the Customer Rebate Program in Section B of the Pricing Schedule. The..., the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to increase certain Customer rebates in the...

77 FR 33522 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-06

... transaction to customers who then trade on the basis of the information. The Front Running Policy is limited... member receives a customer's block order relating to both an option or security future and the underlying security and the member, in furtherance of facilitating the customer's block order, positions the other...

Managing Business-to-Business Relationships throughout the E-Commerce Procurement Life Cycle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archer, Norm; Yuan, Yufei

2000-01-01

Since the core of e-commerce is information and communications, support for managing customer relationships is available to those who know how to use it. Discusses how technology can be used to encourage and facilitate customer-business relationships. Shows through a customer relationship life cycle model how the management of related procurement…

19 CFR 123.28 - Merchandise remaining in or exported to Canada or Mexico.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Mexico. 123.28 Section 123.28 Customs Duties U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO Shipments in Transit Through Canada or Mexico § 123.28 Merchandise remaining in or exported to Canada or Mexico. (a) In-transit status...

Service Learning for Improvement of Customer Service Education in LIS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colón-Aguirre, Mónica

2017-01-01

This work explores the ways in which academic librarians specializing in areas related to user services consider the courses they took as part of obtaining their library and information science (LIS) degree prepared them to deal with issues of customer service in their current work. Effective customer service is a central aspect of accomplishing…

77 FR 22015 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-12

... Proposed Rule Change Relating to Customer Fees and Rebates in Penny Pilot Options April 6, 2012. Pursuant... proposes to amend the Penny Pilot \\3\\ Options (``Penny Options'') Customer Rebates to Add Liquidity and Penny Options Customer Fee for Removing Liquidity. The Exchange also proposes to make other minor...

78 FR 26828 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Granting...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-08

... simultaneously holding and working a customer order in that same stock. No-Knowledge Exception \\14\\ \\14\\ See... prevent the proprietary trading unit from obtaining knowledge of the customer orders that are held at a... Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1, Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders and Best...

Operation Desert Shield: Thunderstorms of Logistics: Did We Do Any Better During Post Cold War Interventions?

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-02-20

above hypothesis, we must examine the seams of the operation. They are force structuring, distribution management , logistics intelligence, and customer...Iron Mountains, which is exactly what happened. Distribution Management ALOC distribution management problems included an ineffective theater tracking...deployments later the problems remained the same. Force structure and distribution management issues, the use of manual “non-standard” requisition

A new three-dimensional manufacturing service composition method under various structures using improved Flower Pollination Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenyu; Yang, Yushu; Zhang, Shuai; Yu, Dejian; Chen, Yong

2018-05-01

With the growing complexity of customer requirements and the increasing scale of manufacturing services, how to select and combine the single services to meet the complex demand of the customer has become a growing concern. This paper presents a new manufacturing service composition method to solve the multi-objective optimization problem based on quality of service (QoS). The proposed model not only presents different methods for calculating the transportation time and transportation cost under various structures but also solves the three-dimensional composition optimization problem, including service aggregation, service selection, and service scheduling simultaneously. Further, an improved Flower Pollination Algorithm (IFPA) is proposed to solve the three-dimensional composition optimization problem using a matrix-based representation scheme. The mutation operator and crossover operator of the Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm are also used to extend the basic Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA) to improve its performance. Compared to Genetic Algorithm, DE, and basic FPA, the experimental results confirm that the proposed method demonstrates superior performance than other meta heuristic algorithms and can obtain better manufacturing service composition solutions.

Automated concept-level information extraction to reduce the need for custom software and rules development.

PubMed

D'Avolio, Leonard W; Nguyen, Thien M; Goryachev, Sergey; Fiore, Louis D

2011-01-01

Despite at least 40 years of promising empirical performance, very few clinical natural language processing (NLP) or information extraction systems currently contribute to medical science or care. The authors address this gap by reducing the need for custom software and rules development with a graphical user interface-driven, highly generalizable approach to concept-level retrieval. A 'learn by example' approach combines features derived from open-source NLP pipelines with open-source machine learning classifiers to automatically and iteratively evaluate top-performing configurations. The Fourth i2b2/VA Shared Task Challenge's concept extraction task provided the data sets and metrics used to evaluate performance. Top F-measure scores for each of the tasks were medical problems (0.83), treatments (0.82), and tests (0.83). Recall lagged precision in all experiments. Precision was near or above 0.90 in all tasks. Discussion With no customization for the tasks and less than 5 min of end-user time to configure and launch each experiment, the average F-measure was 0.83, one point behind the mean F-measure of the 22 entrants in the competition. Strong precision scores indicate the potential of applying the approach for more specific clinical information extraction tasks. There was not one best configuration, supporting an iterative approach to model creation. Acceptable levels of performance can be achieved using fully automated and generalizable approaches to concept-level information extraction. The described implementation and related documentation is available for download.

47 CFR 64.1600 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...) Aggregate information. The term “aggregate information” means collective data that relate to a group or category of services or customers, from which individual customer identities or characteristics have been...

47 CFR 64.1600 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...) Aggregate information. The term “aggregate information” means collective data that relate to a group or category of services or customers, from which individual customer identities or characteristics have been...

47 CFR 64.1600 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...) Aggregate information. The term “aggregate information” means collective data that relate to a group or category of services or customers, from which individual customer identities or characteristics have been...

Integrated model for pricing, delivery time setting, and scheduling in make-to-order environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garmdare, Hamid Sattari; Lotfi, M. M.; Honarvar, Mahboobeh

2018-03-01

Usually, in make-to-order environments which work only in response to the customer's orders, manufacturers for maximizing the profits should offer the best price and delivery time for an order considering the existing capacity and the customer's sensitivity to both the factors. In this paper, an integrated approach for pricing, delivery time setting and scheduling of new arrival orders are proposed based on the existing capacity and accepted orders in system. In the problem, the acquired market demands dependent on the price and delivery time of both the manufacturer and its competitors. A mixed-integer non-linear programming model is presented for the problem. After converting to a pure non-linear model, it is validated through a case study. The efficiency of proposed model is confirmed by comparing it to both the literature and the current practice. Finally, sensitivity analysis for the key parameters is carried out.

Analytic hierarchy process-based approach for selecting a Pareto-optimal solution of a multi-objective, multi-site supply-chain planning problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayadi, Omar; Felfel, Houssem; Masmoudi, Faouzi

2017-07-01

The current manufacturing environment has changed from traditional single-plant to multi-site supply chain where multiple plants are serving customer demands. In this article, a tactical multi-objective, multi-period, multi-product, multi-site supply-chain planning problem is proposed. A corresponding optimization model aiming to simultaneously minimize the total cost, maximize product quality and maximize the customer satisfaction demand level is developed. The proposed solution approach yields to a front of Pareto-optimal solutions that represents the trade-offs among the different objectives. Subsequently, the analytic hierarchy process method is applied to select the best Pareto-optimal solution according to the preferences of the decision maker. The robustness of the solutions and the proposed approach are discussed based on a sensitivity analysis and an application to a real case from the textile and apparel industry.

Employee customer orientation in context: how the environment moderates the influence of customer orientation on performance outcomes.

PubMed

Grizzle, Jerry W; Zablah, Alex R; Brown, Tom J; Mowen, John C; Lee, James M

2009-09-01

This empirical study evaluated the moderating effects of unit customer orientation (CO) climate and climate strength on the relationship between service workers' level of CO and their performance of customer-oriented behaviors (COBs). In addition, the study examined whether aggregate COB performance influences unit profitability. Building on multisource, multilevel data, the study's results suggest that the influence of employee CO on employee COB performance is positive when the unit's CO climate is relatively high and that the constructs are unrelated when unit CO climate is relatively low. In addition, the data reveal that unit COB performance influences unit profitability by enhancing revenues without a concomitant increase in costs. The study's results underscore the theoretical importance of considering cross-level influencers of employee-level relationships and suggest that managers should focus on creating a climate that is supportive of COBs if their units are to profit from the recruitment, hiring, and retention of customer-oriented employees.

76 FR 70206 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-10

... highly correlated relationship between long-short positions in CDS Indices and the underlying CDS Single... currently clear CDS Single Names for customer-related transactions. Accordingly, currently, there are no customer-related positions that would qualify for portfolio margining treatment. ICC does not believe that...

77 FR 64031 - United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-18

... CFR Parts 10, 24, 162, 163, and 178 [USCBP-2011-0043; CBP Dec. 12-18] RIN 1515-AD79 United States-Peru... tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement... other customs-related provisions of the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA). Please...

Load research manual. Volume 1. Load research procedures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brandenburg, L.; Clarkson, G.; Grund, Jr., C.

1980-11-01

This three-volume manual presents technical guidelines for electric utility load research. Special attention is given to issues raised by the load data reporting requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and to problems faced by smaller utilities that are initiating load research programs. In Volumes 1 and 2, procedures are suggested for determining data requirements for load research, establishing the size and customer composition of a load survey sample, selecting and using equipment to record customer electricity usage, processing data tapes from the recording equipment, and analyzing the data. Statistical techniques used in customer sampling are discussedmore » in detail. The costs of load research also are estimated, and ongoing load research programs at three utilities are described. The manual includes guides to load research literature and glossaries of load research and statistical terms.« less

SPACEHAB missions as pathfinders for ISS services development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamill, Doris; Jackson, Kenneth; Mirra, Carlo

2003-01-01

SPACEHAB, Inc. has established a commercial business model for providing access to space. The model, based on private initiative and investment, has offered "turn key" access to space including both launch and integration and operations services. Some features of this business model should be applied directly to providing service in the ISS era: offering packaged service at a fixed price; customer focus; private investment as the basis for offering services; and efficient and continually improving customer service. But International Space Station (ISS) will pose challenges that have not been pioneered in the STS era: a new base of customers must be developed; on-orbit hardware will be more difficult to modify; access to ISS is controlled by government space agencies. These problems will tax the ingenuity of those who wish to provide services in space on a commercial business model.

The effectiveness of supermarket posters in helping to find missing children.

PubMed

Lampinen, James Michael; Arnal, Jack; Hicks, Jason L

2009-03-01

One approach used to help find missing children is to place posters of them at the exits of supermarkets. The present research addresses the question of how effective that approach is likely to be. Posters of 8 missing children were displayed on a bulletin board at a cooperating grocery store. Customers leaving the store completed a survey and took a recognition memory test for the children. Most customers thought the problem of missing children was an important issue. However, the majority of customers also reported either not looking at the posters or only briefly looking at the posters. Recognition memory for children depicted in the posters did not reliably differ from chance. It appears that there is much room for improvement when it comes to increasing the attention paid to posters meant to help find missing children.

Determining customer satisfaction in anatomic pathology.

PubMed

Zarbo, Richard J

2006-05-01

Measurement of physicians' and patients' satisfaction with laboratory services has become a standard practice in the United States, prompted by national accreditation requirements. Unlike other surveys of hospital-, outpatient care-, or physician-related activities, no ongoing, comprehensive customer satisfaction survey of anatomic pathology services is available for subscription that would allow continual benchmarking against peer laboratories. Pathologists, therefore, must often design their own local assessment tools to determine physician satisfaction in anatomic pathology. To describe satisfaction survey design that would elicit specific information from physician customers about key elements of anatomic pathology services. The author shares his experience in biannually assessing customer satisfaction in anatomic pathology with survey tools designed at the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich. Benchmarks for physician satisfaction, opportunities for improvement, and characteristics that correlated with a high level of physician satisfaction were identified nationally from a standardized survey tool used by 94 laboratories in the 2001 College of American Pathologists Q-Probes quality improvement program. In general, physicians are most satisfied with professional diagnostic services and least satisfied with pathology services related to poor communication. A well-designed and conducted customer satisfaction survey is an opportunity for pathologists to periodically educate physician customers about services offered, manage unrealistic expectations, and understand the evolving needs of the physician customer. Armed with current information from physician customers, the pathologist is better able to strategically plan for resources that facilitate performance improvements in anatomic pathology laboratory services that align with evolving clinical needs in health care delivery.

Manage your human sigma.

PubMed

Fleming, John H; Coffman, Curt; Harter, James K

2005-01-01

If sales and service organizations are to improve, they must learn to measure and manage the quality of the employee-customer encounter. Quality improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma are extremely useful in manufacturing contexts, but they're less useful when it comes to human interactions. To address this problem, the authors have developed a quality improvement approach they refer to as Human Sigma. It weaves together a consistent method for assessing the employee-customer encounter and a disciplined process for managing and improving it. There are several core principles for measuring and managing the employee-customer encounter: It's important not to think like an economist or an engineer when assessing interactions because emotions inform both sides' judgments and behavior. The employee-customer encounter must be measured and managed locally, because there are enormous variations in quality at the work-group and individual levels. And to improve the quality of the employee-customer interaction, organizations must conduct both short-term, transactional interventions and long-term, transformational ones. Employee engagement and customer engagement are intimately connected--and, taken together, they have an outsized effect on financial performance. They therefore need to be managed holistically. That is, the responsibility for measuring and monitoring the health of employee-customer relationships must reside within a single organizational structure, with an executive champion who has the authority to initiate and manage change. Nevertheless, the local manager remains the single most important factor in local group performance. A local manager whose work group shows suboptimal performance should be encouraged to conduct interventions, such as targeted training, performance reviews, action learning, and individual coaching.

Performance improvement: one model to reduce length of stay.

PubMed

Chisari, E; Mele, J A

1994-01-01

Dedicated quality professionals are tired of quick fixes, Band-Aids, and other first-aid strategies that offer only temporary relief of nagging problems rather than a long-term cure. Implementing strategies that can produce permanent solutions to crucial problems is a challenge confronted by organizations striving for continuous performance improvement. One vehicle, driven by data and customer requirements, that can help to solve problems and sustain success over time is the storyboard. This article illustrates the use of the storyboard as the framework for reducing length of stay--one of the most important problems facing healthcare organizations today.

Improved artificial bee colony algorithm for vehicle routing problem with time windows

PubMed Central

Yan, Qianqian; Zhang, Mengjie; Yang, Yunong

2017-01-01

This paper investigates a well-known complex combinatorial problem known as the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW). Unlike the standard vehicle routing problem, each customer in the VRPTW is served within a given time constraint. This paper solves the VRPTW using an improved artificial bee colony (IABC) algorithm. The performance of this algorithm is improved by a local optimization based on a crossover operation and a scanning strategy. Finally, the effectiveness of the IABC is evaluated on some well-known benchmarks. The results demonstrate the power of IABC algorithm in solving the VRPTW. PMID:28961252

Problem-Solving Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

CBR Express software solves problems by adapting sorted solutions to new problems specified by a user. It is applicable to a wide range of situations. The technology was originally developed by Inference Corporation for Johnson Space Center's Advanced Software Development Workstation. The project focused on the reuse of software designs, and Inference used CBR as part of the ACCESS prototype software. The commercial CBR Express is used as a "help desk" for customer support, enabling reuse of existing information when necessary. It has been adopted by several companies, among them American Airlines, which uses it to solve reservation system software problems.

Challenges to counseling customers at the pharmacy counter--why do they exist?

PubMed

Kaae, Susanne; Traulsen, Janine Morgall; Nørgaard, Lotte Stig

2012-01-01

Challenges to engage pharmacy customers in medicine dialogues at the counter have been identified comprising a new and extended clinical role for pharmacists in the health care system. This article seeks to expand understanding of factors involved in successful interaction at the pharmacy counter between customers and pharmacy staff to develop their relationship further. Practical challenges to customer encounters experienced by community pharmacists are discussed using theory from the field of mainly inter-relational communication and particular studies on pharmacy communication. Preconceived expectation of customers, the type of question asked by pharmacy staff, and differences in perception of illness and medicines between staff and customers are discussed. Both staff and customer influence the outcome of attempts by pharmacy staff to engage customers in dialogue about their medicine use through a complex mechanism of interaction. It is recommended that practitioners and researchers begin to distinguish, both theoretically and practically, between the content of a conversation and the underlying relationship when exploring and further developing the therapeutic relationship between pharmacy personnel and customers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Revisiting software specification and design for large astronomy projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiant, Scott; Berukoff, Steven

2016-07-01

The separation of science and engineering in the delivery of software systems overlooks the true nature of the problem being solved and the organization that will solve it. Use of a systems engineering approach to managing the requirements flow between these two groups as between a customer and contractor has been used with varying degrees of success by well-known entities such as the U.S. Department of Defense. However, treating science as the customer and engineering as the contractor fosters unfavorable consequences that can be avoided and opportunities that are missed. For example, the "problem" being solved is only partially specified through the requirements generation process since it focuses on detailed specification guiding the parties to a technical solution. Equally important is the portion of the problem that will be solved through the definition of processes and staff interacting through them. This interchange between people and processes is often underrepresented and under appreciated. By concentrating on the full problem and collaborating on a strategy for its solution a science-implementing organization can realize the benefits of driving towards common goals (not just requirements) and a cohesive solution to the entire problem. The initial phase of any project when well executed is often the most difficult yet most critical and thus it is essential to employ a methodology that reinforces collaboration and leverages the full suite of capabilities within the team. This paper describes an integrated approach to specifying the needs induced by a problem and the design of its solution.

Modeling of market segmentation for new IT product development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasiopoulos, Dimitrios K.; Sakas, Damianos P.; Vlachos, D. S.; Mavrogianni, Amanda

2015-02-01

Businesses from all Information Technology sectors use market segmentation[1] in their product development[2] and strategic planning[3]. Many studies have concluded that market segmentation is considered as the norm of modern marketing. With the rapid development of technology, customer needs are becoming increasingly diverse. These needs can no longer be satisfied by a mass marketing approach and follow one rule. IT Businesses can face with this diversity by pooling customers[4] with similar requirements and buying behavior and strength into segments. The result of the best choices about which segments are the most appropriate to serve can then be made, thus making the best of finite resources. Despite the attention which segmentation gathers and the resources that are invested in it, growing evidence suggests that businesses have problems operationalizing segmentation[5]. These problems take various forms. There may have been a rule that the segmentation process necessarily results in homogeneous groups of customers for whom appropriate marketing programs and procedures for dealing with them can be developed. Then the segmentation process, that a company follows, can fail. This increases concerns about what causes segmentation failure and how it might be overcome. To prevent the failure, we created a dynamic simulation model of market segmentation[6] based on the basic factors leading to this segmentation.

Integrated resource scheduling in a distributed scheduling environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoch, David; Hall, Gardiner

1988-01-01

The Space Station era presents a highly-complex multi-mission planning and scheduling environment exercised over a highly distributed system. In order to automate the scheduling process, customers require a mechanism for communicating their scheduling requirements to NASA. A request language that a remotely-located customer can use to specify his scheduling requirements to a NASA scheduler, thus automating the customer-scheduler interface, is described. This notation, Flexible Envelope-Request Notation (FERN), allows the user to completely specify his scheduling requirements such as resource usage, temporal constraints, and scheduling preferences and options. The FERN also contains mechanisms for representing schedule and resource availability information, which are used in the inter-scheduler inconsistency resolution process. Additionally, a scheduler is described that can accept these requests, process them, generate schedules, and return schedule and resource availability information to the requester. The Request-Oriented Scheduling Engine (ROSE) was designed to function either as an independent scheduler or as a scheduling element in a network of schedulers. When used in a network of schedulers, each ROSE communicates schedule and resource usage information to other schedulers via the FERN notation, enabling inconsistencies to be resolved between schedulers. Individual ROSE schedules are created by viewing the problem as a constraint satisfaction problem with a heuristically guided search strategy.

78 FR 72949 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-04

... Conform to FINRA Rule 5320 Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders November 27, 2013. I. Introduction... Change The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 12.6, which limits trading ahead of customer orders by Members... proposed amendments to Rule 12.6 would prohibit Members from trading ahead of customer orders, subject to...

78 FR 72944 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-04

....6 To Conform to FINRA Rule 5320 Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders November 27, 2013. I... Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 12.6, which limits trading ahead of customer orders by... proposed amendments to Rule 12.6 would prohibit Members from trading ahead of customer orders, subject to...

76 FR 72652 - Basis Reporting by Securities Brokers and Basis Determination for Debt Instruments and Options

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-25

... when reporting the sale of securities to the IRS to include the customer's adjusted basis in the sold... sale of a covered security to include in the return the customer's adjusted basis in the security and.... Under the regulations, if a customer exercises a compensation-related option, a broker is permitted, but...

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78 FR 62828 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

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... To Conform to FINRA Rule 5320 Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders October 11, 2013. Pursuant... Exchange proposes to amend Rule 12.6, which limits trading ahead of customer orders by Members,\\3\\ to make... would prohibit Members from trading ahead of customer orders, subject to specified exceptions. The...

78 FR 62896 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Y-Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-22

....6 To Conform to FINRA Rule 5320 Relating to Trading Ahead of Customer Orders October 11, 2013... Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 12.6, which limits trading ahead of customer orders..., amended Rule 12.6 would prohibit Members from trading ahead of customer orders, subject to specified...

75 FR 20647 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX BX, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

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2010-04-20

... Relating to Chapter V, Section 7 (Customer Orders and Order Flow Providers) Date: April 13, 2010. Pursuant... 17 (Customer Orders and Order Flow Providers) of the Rules of the Boston Options Exchange Group, LLC... Exchange is proposing to amend Chapter V, Section 17 (Customer Orders and Order Flow Providers) of the BOX...

CRM done right.

PubMed

Rigby, Darrell K; Ledingham, Dianne

2004-11-01

Disappointed by the high costs and elusive benefits, early adopters of customer relationship management systems came, in the post dot-com era, to view the technology as just another overhyped IT investment whose initial promise would never be fulfilled. But this year, something unexpected is happening. System sales are rising, and executives are reporting satisfaction with their CRM investments. What's changed? A wide range of companies are successfully taking a pragmatic, disciplined approach to CRM. Rather than use it to transform entire businesses, they've directed their investments toward solving clearly defined problems within their customer relationship cycle. The authors have distilled the experiences of these CRM leaders into four questions that all companies should ask themselves as they launch their own CRM initiatives: Is the problem strategic? Is the system focused on the pain point? Do we need perfect data? What's the right way to expand an initial implementation? The questions reflect a new realism about when and how to deploy CRM to best advantage. Understanding that highly accurate and timely data are not required everywhere in their businesses, CRM leaders have tailored their real-time initiatives to those customer relationships that can be significantly enhanced by "perfect" information. Once they've succeeded with their first targeted CRM project, they can use it as a springboard for solving additional problems. CRM, in other words, is coming to resemble any other valuable management tool, and the keys to successful implementation are also becoming familiar: strong executive and business-unit leadership, careful strategic planning, clear performance measures, and a coordinated program that combines organizational and process changes with the application of new technology.

Factors related to condom use behavior among club-working women in South Korea: importance of subjective norms and customer-related attitudes.

PubMed

Jeong, Heon-Jae; Jo, Heui-Sug; Jung, Su-Mi; Lee, Ja-young

2014-03-01

The primary aim of this study was to understand factors associated with condom use behavior among club-working women and identify the most influential factors to be addressed in future health programs. A total of 158 club-working women were surveyed from 3 midsize cities in South Korea from July to September 2004. Survey questionnaires were developed based on the theory of planned behavior. A total of 7 distinct themes emerged: Health aspects, Customer related, Pleasure related, Finance related, Societal norm, Occupational norm, and Perceived control. The results indicated that the Customer-related theme, Societal norm, and Occupational norm were statistically significant factors affecting condom use. On the other hand, self-related factors such as health, pleasure, and finance are not significantly related to the condom use behavior of club-working women in South Korea, suggesting that the currently used knowledge-focused education programs may not be sufficient for this population.

Full 3-D OCT-based pseudophakic custom computer eye model

PubMed Central

Sun, M.; Pérez-Merino, P.; Martinez-Enriquez, E.; Velasco-Ocana, M.; Marcos, S.

2016-01-01

We compared measured wave aberrations in pseudophakic eyes implanted with aspheric intraocular lenses (IOLs) with simulated aberrations from numerical ray tracing on customized computer eye models, built using quantitative 3-D OCT-based patient-specific ocular geometry. Experimental and simulated aberrations show high correlation (R = 0.93; p<0.0001) and similarity (RMS for high order aberrations discrepancies within 23.58%). This study shows that full OCT-based pseudophakic custom computer eye models allow understanding the relative contribution of optical geometrical and surgically-related factors to image quality, and are an excellent tool for characterizing and improving cataract surgery. PMID:27231608

Fee-For-Service as a Business Model of Growing Importance: The Academic Biobank Experience

PubMed Central

Sommerkamp, Kara; Egan-Palmer, Maureen; Kharasch, Karen; Holtschlag, Victoria

2012-01-01

Biorepositories offer tremendous scientific value to a wide variety of customer groups (academic, commercial, industrial) in their ability to deliver a centralized, standardized service model, encompassing both biospecimen storage and related laboratory services. Generally, the scientific expertise and economies of scale that are offered in centralized, properly resourced research biobanks has yielded value that has been well-recognized by universities, pharmaceutical companies, and other sponsoring institutions. However, like many facets of the economy, biobanks have been under increasing cost pressure in recent years. This has been a particular problem in the academic arena, where direct support from grant sources (both governmental and philanthropic) typically now is more difficult to secure, or provides reduced financial support, relative to previous years. One way to address this challenge is to establish or enhance a well-defined fee-for-service model which is properly calibrated to cover operational costs while still offering competitive value to users. In this model, customers are never charged for the biospecimens themselves, but rather for the laboratory services associated with them. Good communication practices, proper assessment of value, implementation of best practices, and a sound business plan are all needed for this initiative to succeed. Here we summarize our experiences at Washington University School of Medicine in the expectation they will be useful to others. PMID:23386922

The Marriage of Fax and Online.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basch, Reva

1995-01-01

Discusses the use of fax transmissions. Highlights include searching by fax, including online service, print and electronic publishing, and database producers; customer service, including documentation updates, new product announcements, and marketing materials; document delivery; problems; and fax messaging. (four references) (LRW)

Recent Weather Technologies Delivered to America's Space Program by the Applied Meteorology Unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauman, WIlliam, H., III; Crawford, Winifred

2009-01-01

The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) is a unique joint venture of NASA, the Air Force and the National Weather Service (NWS) and has been supporting the Space Program for nearly two decades. The AMU acts as a bridge between the meteorological research community and operational forecasters by developing, evaluating and transitioning new technology and techniques to improve weather support to spaceport operations at the Eastern Range (ER) and Kennedy Space Center. Its primary customers are the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), the Spaceflight Meteorology Group at Johnson Space Center and the National Weather Service Office in Melbourne, FL. Its products are used to support NASA's Shuttle and ELV programs as well as Department of Defense and commercial launches from the ER. Shuttle support includes landing sites beyond the ER. The AMU is co-located with the Air Force operational forecasters at CCAFS to facilitate continuous two-way interaction between the AMU and its operational customers. It is operated under a NASA, Air Force, and NWS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by a competitively-selected contractor. The contract, which is funded and managed by NASA, provides five full time professionals with degrees in meteorology or related fields, some of whom also have operational experience. NASA provides a Ph.D.- level NASA civil service scientist as Chief of the AMU. The AMU is tasked by its customers through a unique, nationally recognized process. The tasks are limited to development, evaluation and operational transition of technology to improve weather support to spaceport operations and providing expert advice to the customers. The MOU expressly forbids using the AMU resources to conduct operations or do basic research. The presentation will provide a brief overview of the AMU and how it is tasked by its customers to provide high priority products and services. The balance of the presentation will cover a sampling of products delivered over the last 18 years that are currently in operational use. Each example will describe the problem to be solved, the solution provided, and the operational benefits of implementing that solution.

Managing hospital quality performance in two related areas: patient care and customer service.

PubMed

Dwore, R B

1993-01-01

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's new emphasis on continuous quality improvement provides hospitals with an opportunity to enhance both customer service as well as patient care. Both are expected by patients and delivered by providers. Patient care is the core product; customer service augments it by adding value and providing the opportunity for a competitive advantage. This article discusses issues for administrators to consider before including customer service as a component of continuous quality improvement and then presents methods for bringing about change.

Apprendre par le dialogue : le cas des pharmaciens d'officine en interaction avec leurs clients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen-Scali, Valérie; Ramsamy-Prat, Padma

2015-12-01

Learning through dialogue: the case of retail pharmacists' interactions with their customers - This article seeks to highlight certain identity processes that are mobilized through dialogue in the workplace and that promote learning (or information gathering) in this context. These processes are studied in the population of retail pharmacists, much of whose work centres on interactions with customers. Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans' theory of the dialogical self is used as a theoretical framework. The main hypothesis developed in the article is that to understand the problems of the customers who come into their pharmacies and adapt to their requests, pharmacists must adopt a series of I positions in their dialogues with them. French pharmacists in Paris and the Paris region were observed and interviewed. The four dialogue extracts studied here underline the diversity of I-positions implemented in pharmacist-customer dialogues. The diversity of registers that pharmacists are able to deploy in their interactions appears to be inherent to their professionalism and a necessary aspect of their work. These results open up perspectives for further research into the association of workplace learning and identity transformation.

Optimal routing and buffer allocation for a class of finite capacity queueing systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Towsley, Don; Sparaggis, Panayotis D.; Cassandras, Christos G.

1992-01-01

The problem of routing jobs to K parallel queues with identical exponential servers and unequal finite buffer capacities is considered. Routing decisions are taken by a controller which has buffering space available to it and may delay routing of a customer to a queue. Using ideas from weak majorization, it is shown that the shorter nonfull queue delayed (SNQD) policy minimizes both the total number of customers in the system at any time and the number of customers that are rejected by that time. The SNQD policy always delays routing decisions as long as all servers are busy. Only when all the buffers at the controller are occupied is a customer routed to the queue with the shortest queue length that is not at capacity. Moreover, it is shown that, if a fixed number of buffers is to be distributed among the K queues, then the optimal allocation scheme is the one in which the difference between the maximum and minimum queue capacities is minimized, i.e., becomes either 0 or 1.

A medical digital library to support scenario and user-tailored information retrieval.

PubMed

Chu, W W; Johnson, D B; Kangarloo, H

2000-06-01

Current large-scale information sources are designed to support general queries and lack the ability to support scenario-specific information navigation, gathering, and presentation. As a result, users are often unable to obtain desired specific information within a well-defined subject area. Today's information systems do not provide efficient content navigation, incremental appropriate matching, or content correlation. We are developing the following innovative technologies to remedy these problems: 1) scenario-based proxies, enabling the gathering and filtering of information customized for users within a pre-defined domain; 2) context-sensitive navigation and matching, providing approximate matching and similarity links when an exact match to a user's request is unavailable; 3) content correlation of documents, creating semantic links between documents and information sources; and 4) user models for customizing retrieved information and result presentation. A digital medical library is currently being constructed using these technologies to provide customized information for the user. The technologies are general in nature and can provide custom and scenario-specific information in many other domains (e.g., crisis management).

Natural gas use is taking off

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kauffmann, B.G.

1995-07-01

The paper describes an infrared radiant heat process to de-ice aircraft. A typical 727 aircraft de-icing costs $2000--3000 using the current glycol method. The natural gas powered heater would only cost $400 per aircraft and would not pose the environmental problems that the glycol does. It is estimated that one Infratek system could consume 3.8 million cubic feet of natural gas each year during the de-icing season. Large airports might have as many as 10 units. 3.8 million cu. ft. of gas is equal to about 40 New York residential customers or eight New York commercial customers.

Antenna pattern study, task 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harper, Warren

1989-01-01

Two electromagnetic scattering codes, NEC-BSC and ESP3, were delivered and installed on a NASA VAX computer for use by Marshall Space Flight Center antenna design personnel. The existing codes and certain supplementary software were updated, the codes installed on a computer that will be delivered to the customer, to provide capability for graphic display of the data to be computed by the use of the codes and to assist the customer in the solution of specific problems that demonstrate the use of the codes. With the exception of one code revision, all of these tasks were performed.

The ALMA OT in early science: supporting multiple customers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bridger, Alan; Williams, Stewart; McLay, Stewart; Yatagai, Hiroshi; Schilling, Marcus; Biggs, Andrew; Tobar, Rodrigo; Warmels, Rein H.

2012-09-01

The ALMA Observatory is currently operating 'Early Science' observing. The Cycle0 and Cycle1 Calls for Proposals are part of this Early Science, and in both the ALMA Observing Tool plays a crucial role. This paper describes how the ALMA OT tackles the problem of making millimeter/sub-millimeter interferometry accessible to the wider community, while allowing "experts" the power and flexibility they need. We will also describe our approach to the challenges of supporting multiple customers, and explore the lessons learnt from the Early Science experiences. Finally we look ahead to the challenges presented by future observing cycles.

Service quality in community pharmacy: an exploration of determinants.

PubMed

White, Lesley; Klinner, Christiane

2012-01-01

Although various instruments have been developed to measure customer satisfaction with community pharmacy services, there is limited research regarding pharmacy staffs' understanding of service quality and its determinants. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of pharmacy staff regarding the factors that constitute a high level of service quality using the service quality determinants proposed by the Conceptual Model of Service Quality. Structured interviews were conducted with 27 pharmacy assistants and 6 pharmacists in 3 community pharmacies in Sydney. The interview questions focused on the participants' perceptions of consumer expectations, the translation of these perceptions into service quality specifications, the actual service delivery, and the communication to customers. From the pharmacy staff perspective, service quality is significantly limited by insufficient internal communication and control processes that impede role clarity and the resolution of conflicting role expectations among customer service personnel. Participants indicated that these problems could be alleviated through the implementation of more transparent, realistic, measurable, and accepted quality specifications by pharmacy management. The study indicates that the extent to which pharmacy management sets, maintains, and communicates service quality specifications to staff directly affects role clarity, role conflict, and organizational commitment among customer service staff, which in turn directly influence the level of service quality provided to the customers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The development and validation of the Incivility from Customers Scale.

PubMed

Wilson, Nicole L; Holmvall, Camilla M

2013-07-01

Scant research has examined customers as sources of workplace incivility, despite evidence suggesting that mistreatment is more common from organizational outsiders, including customers, than from organizational members (Grandey, Kern, & Frone, 2007; Schat & Kelloway, 2005). As an important step in extending the literature on customer incivility, we conducted two studies to develop and validate a measure of this construct. Study 1 used focus groups of retail and restaurant employees (n = 30) to elicit a list of uncivil customer behaviors, based on which we wrote initial scale items. Study 2 used a correlational survey design (n = 439) to pare down the number of scale items to 10 and to garner reliability and validity evidence for the scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses show that the scale is unidimensional and distinguishable from measures of the related, but distinct, constructs of interpersonal justice and psychological aggression from customers. Reliability analyses show that the scale is internally consistent. Significant correlations between the scale and individuals' job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and general and job-specific psychological strain provide evidence of criterion-related validity. Hierarchical regression analyses show that the scale significantly predicts three of four organizational and personal strain outcomes over and above a workplace incivility measure adapted for customer incivility, providing some evidence of incremental validity. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Ontology-based configuration of problem-solving methods and generation of knowledge-acquisition tools: application of PROTEGE-II to protocol-based decision support.

PubMed

Tu, S W; Eriksson, H; Gennari, J H; Shahar, Y; Musen, M A

1995-06-01

PROTEGE-II is a suite of tools and a methodology for building knowledge-based systems and domain-specific knowledge-acquisition tools. In this paper, we show how PROTEGE-II can be applied to the task of providing protocol-based decision support in the domain of treating HIV-infected patients. To apply PROTEGE-II, (1) we construct a decomposable problem-solving method called episodic skeletal-plan refinement, (2) we build an application ontology that consists of the terms and relations in the domain, and of method-specific distinctions not already captured in the domain terms, and (3) we specify mapping relations that link terms from the application ontology to the domain-independent terms used in the problem-solving method. From the application ontology, we automatically generate a domain-specific knowledge-acquisition tool that is custom-tailored for the application. The knowledge-acquisition tool is used for the creation and maintenance of domain knowledge used by the problem-solving method. The general goal of the PROTEGE-II approach is to produce systems and components that are reusable and easily maintained. This is the rationale for constructing ontologies and problem-solving methods that can be composed from a set of smaller-grained methods and mechanisms. This is also why we tightly couple the knowledge-acquisition tools to the application ontology that specifies the domain terms used in the problem-solving systems. Although our evaluation is still preliminary, for the application task of providing protocol-based decision support, we show that these goals of reusability and easy maintenance can be achieved. We discuss design decisions and the tradeoffs that have to be made in the development of the system.

19 CFR 123.41 - Truck shipments transiting Canada.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... OF THE TREASURY CUSTOMS RELATIONS WITH CANADA AND MEXICO United States and Canada In-Transit Truck... port of departure. The Customs officer receiving the manifest shall validate it by stamping each copy...

78 FR 4926 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-23

... on the proposed rule change from interested persons. \\1\\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). \\2\\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4. I....'' Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the Customer Rebate Program, Select Symbols,\\5\\ Simple and Complex... Category D to the Customer Rebate Program relating to Customer Simple Orders in Select Symbols. The...

Exact solutions for the collaborative pickup and delivery problem.

PubMed

Gansterer, Margaretha; Hartl, Richard F; Salzmann, Philipp E H

2018-01-01

In this study we investigate the decision problem of a central authority in pickup and delivery carrier collaborations. Customer requests are to be redistributed among participants, such that the total cost is minimized. We formulate the problem as multi-depot traveling salesman problem with pickups and deliveries. We apply three well-established exact solution approaches and compare their performance in terms of computational time. To avoid unrealistic solutions with unevenly distributed workload, we extend the problem by introducing minimum workload constraints. Our computational results show that, while for the original problem Benders decomposition is the method of choice, for the newly formulated problem this method is clearly dominated by the proposed column generation approach. The obtained results can be used as benchmarks for decentralized mechanisms in collaborative pickup and delivery problems.

Comparison of oral impacts experienced by patients treated with labial or customized lingual fixed orthodontic appliances.

PubMed

Wu, Abby; McGrath, Colman; Wong, Ricky W K; Wiechmann, Dirk; Rabie, A Bakr M

2011-06-01

Our objective was to compare the oral impacts experienced by patients treated with labial or customized lingual fixed orthodontic appliances. This was an age- and sex-matched prospective longitudinal study of 60 adult patients treated with either labial or customized lingual fixed orthodontic appliances over a 3-month period. Ratings of oral impacts experienced and satisfaction were made on visual analog scales at 3 time points after appliance fixation. Variations in oral impacts and satisfaction over the trajectory of treatment were assessed. Area-under-the-curve analyses were conducted to assess variations in oral impacts and satisfaction between the groups. All patients experienced oral impact disturbances, although these disturbances decreased over time (P < 0.001). Patients treated with customized lingual appliances reported more oral discomfort (P < 0.001), dietary changes (P < 0.001), swallowing difficulty (P < 0.001), speech disturbances (P < 0.001), and social problems (P < 0.001) than did those in the other group. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding ratings of oral self-care, mastication, and satisfaction level of treatment (P > 0.05). The findings indicate that oral impacts are commonly experienced during both labial and customized lingual fixed orthodontic therapies. However, the oral impacts decreased over the observational period. Patients treated with customized lingual appliances experienced more oral impacts. Both groups had similar levels of treatment satisfaction. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Smart customers, dumb companies.

PubMed

Locke, C

2000-01-01

Customers today are being bombarded with an overwhelming array of choices. To alleviate customer frustration, say Steven Cristol and Peter Sealey in Simplicity Marketing, companies should stop creating new brands and product extensions. Better to consolidate product and service functions by following a four R approach: replace, repackage, reposition, and replenish. That's an outmoded, dictatorial view of markets, says Christopher Locke. Far from being stymied by choices, customers are rapidly becoming smarter than the companies that pretend to serve them. In this networked economy, people are talking among themselves, and that changes everything. Locke predicts we'll see a growing number of well-defined micromarkets--groups of customers converging in real time around entertaining and knowledgeable voices--such as NPR's car guys and the Motley Fool investment site. "Micromedia" Web sites will replace traditional advertising because they'll provide credible user-supplied news about products and services. Locke contends that an open exchange of information solves the "problem" of choice much better than manipulative strategies like simplicity or even permission marketing. Companies can participate in micromarkets through what Locke dubs "gonzo marketing." If Ford, for example, discovers that a subset of its employees are organic gardeners, it may offer support to a big independent organic-gardening Web site with donations and employee volunteers. This marketing effort would be driven not by advertising managers but by people with genuine interest in each micromarket, so it would have credibility with customers. With gonzo marketing, both companies and their markets will benefit.

Discovering Patterns in Interarrival Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Roger W.

2017-01-01

It is suggested that students collect interarrival data for customers arriving at a queue. Two common features will often occur across these various datasets. Some data collection hints, some problems for students to pursue and a few pointers to the literature are given.

Love of Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shugart, Sanford C.

2002-01-01

Argues that a central problem in higher education may be the "commoditization" of learning, or the idea of student as customer. Contends that learning-centered colleges must address the issue of passion for learning as they develop strategic plans for improving outcomes of education. (NB)

Fabrication of custom-shaped grafts for cartilage regeneration.

PubMed

Koo, Seungbum; Hargreaves, Brian A; Gold, Garry E; Dragoo, Jason L

2010-10-01

to create a custom-shaped graft through 3D tissue shape reconstruction and rapid-prototype molding methods using MRI data, and to test the accuracy of the custom-shaped graft against the original anatomical defect. An iatrogenic defect on the distal femur was identified with a 1.5 Tesla MRI and its shape was reconstructed into a three-dimensional (3D) computer model by processing the 3D MRI data. First, the accuracy of the MRI-derived 3D model was tested against a laser-scan based 3D model of the defect. A custom-shaped polyurethane graft was fabricated from the laser-scan based 3D model by creating custom molds through computer aided design and rapid-prototyping methods. The polyurethane tissue was laser-scanned again to calculate the accuracy of this process compared to the original defect. The volumes of the defect models from MRI and laser-scan were 537 mm3 and 405 mm3, respectively, implying that the MRI model was 33% larger than the laser-scan model. The average (±SD) distance deviation of the exterior surface of the MRI model from the laser-scan model was 0.4 ± 0.4 mm. The custom-shaped tissue created from the molds was qualitatively very similar to the original shape of the defect. The volume of the custom-shaped cartilage tissue was 463 mm3 which was 15% larger than the laser-scan model. The average (±SD) distance deviation between the two models was 0.04 ± 0.19 mm. This investigation proves the concept that custom-shaped engineered grafts can be fabricated from standard sequence 3-D MRI data with the use of CAD and rapid-prototyping technology. The accuracy of this technology may help solve the interfacial problem between native cartilage and graft, if the grafts are custom made for the specific defect. The major source of error in fabricating a 3D custom-shaped cartilage graft appears to be the accuracy of a MRI data itself; however, the precision of the model is expected to increase by the utilization of advanced MR sequences with higher magnet strengths.

Rethinking Human-Centered Computing: Finding the Customer and Negotiated Interactions at the Airport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wales, Roxana; O'Neill, John; Mirmalek, Zara

2003-01-01

The breakdown in the air transportation system over the past several years raises an interesting question for researchers: How can we help improve the reliability of airline operations? In offering some answers to this question, we make a statement about Huuman-Centered Computing (HCC). First we offer the definition that HCC is a multi-disciplinary research and design methodology focused on supporting humans as they use technology by including cognitive and social systems, computational tools and the physical environment in the analysis of organizational systems. We suggest that a key element in understanding organizational systems is that there are external cognitive and social systems (customers) as well as internal cognitive and social systems (employees) and that they interact dynamically to impact the organization and its work. The design of human-centered intelligent systems must take this outside-inside dynamic into account. In the past, the design of intelligent systems has focused on supporting the work and improvisation requirements of employees but has often assumed that customer requirements are implicitly satisfied by employee requirements. Taking a customer-centric perspective provides a different lens for understanding this outside-inside dynamic, the work of the organization and the requirements of both customers and employees In this article we will: 1) Demonstrate how the use of ethnographic methods revealed the important outside-inside dynamic in an airline, specifically the consequential relationship between external customer requirements and perspectives and internal organizational processes and perspectives as they came together in a changing environment; 2) Describe how taking a customer centric perspective identifies places where the impact of the outside-inside dynamic is most critical and requires technology that can be adaptive; 3) Define and discuss the place of negotiated interactions in airline operations, identifying how these interactions between customers and airline employees provided new insights into design problems in the airline system; 4) Show how taking a customer-centric perspective influences the HCC design of an airline system and make recommendations for new architectures and intelligent devices that will enable airline systems to adapt flexibly to delay situations, supporting both customers and airline employees.

Customizing a rangefinder for community-based wildlife conservation initiatives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ransom, Jason I.

2011-01-01

Population size of many threatened and endangered species is relatively unknown because estimating animal abundance in remote parts of the world, without access to aircraft for surveying vast areas, is a scientific challenge with few proposed solutions. One option is to enlist local community members and train them in data collection for large line transect or point count surveys, but financial and sometimes technological constraints prevent access to the necessary equipment and training for accurately quantifying distance measurements. Such measurements are paramount for generating reliable estimates of animal density. This problem was overcome in a survey of Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area, Mongolia, by converting an inexpensive optical sporting rangefinder into a species-specific rangefinder with visual-based categorical labels. Accuracy trials concluded 96.86% of 350 distance measures matched those from a laser rangefinder. This simple customized optic subsequently allowed for a large group of minimally-trained observers to simultaneously record quantitative measures of distance, despite language, education, and skill differences among the diverse group. The large community-based effort actively engaged local residents in species conservation by including them as the foundation for collecting scientific data.

77 FR 15943 - United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-19

...This rule amends the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations on an interim basis to implement the preferential tariff treatment and other customs-related provisions of the United States- Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Development of S-ARIMA Model for Forecasting Demand in a Beverage Supply Chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mircetic, Dejan; Nikolicic, Svetlana; Maslaric, Marinko; Ralevic, Nebojsa; Debelic, Borna

2016-11-01

Demand forecasting is one of the key activities in planning the freight flows in supply chains, and accordingly it is essential for planning and scheduling of logistic activities within observed supply chain. Accurate demand forecasting models directly influence the decrease of logistics costs, since they provide an assessment of customer demand. Customer demand is a key component for planning all logistic processes in supply chain, and therefore determining levels of customer demand is of great interest for supply chain managers. In this paper we deal with exactly this kind of problem, and we develop the seasonal Autoregressive IntegratedMoving Average (SARIMA) model for forecasting demand patterns of a major product of an observed beverage company. The model is easy to understand, flexible to use and appropriate for assisting the expert in decision making process about consumer demand in particular periods.