The support of a set A is the crisp subset of A with nonzero membership grades. Similarly, the core of a set A is the crisp subset of A with membership grade equal to one. So, supp(A) = {x|μA(x) > 0} and core(A) = {x|μA(x) = 1}. (1.1.4) The α-cut Aα of a set A is the crisp subset of A with membership grades of at least α. So, Aα = α-cut(A) = {x|μA(x) ≥ α}. (1.1.5) Note that core(A) = 1-cut(A). ...

Article Accepted Version Richards, A. and Sen, B. (2013) An investigation into the viability of LibraryThing for promotional and user engagement purposes in libraries. It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from the work. Structured abstract Purpose: LibraryThing is a Web 2.0 tool allowing users to catalogue books using data drawn from sources such as Amazon a...

The effects of different levels of dietary cellulose on colonic crypt mitotic activity and colon carcinogenesis were studied in 190 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were divided into groups and fed a basal fiber-free diet supplemented with either 0, 5, or 15% pure cellulose (w/w), for periods of 10 weeks (initiation stage) or 32 weeks (promotional stage). Half of the rats in each group were given...

Guidelines for e-commerce website design deal well with the more objective aspects of page design, but have less to say about overall site structure and users' emotional responses. In this study we used a semiotic approach to investigate how several fashion websites provide affordances for navigation and produce affective responses. We gained some interesting insights into how users interpret t...

Price promotions are used extensively in marketing for one simple reason—consumers respond. The sales increase for a brand on promotion could be due to consumers accelerating their purchases (i.e., buying earlier than usual and/or buying more than usual) and/or consumers switching their choice from other brands. Purchase acceleration and brand switching relate to the primary demand and secondar...

OBJECTIVE To identify what features of social media - promotional messaging or peer networks - can increase physical activity. METHOD A 13-week social media-based exercise program was conducted at a large Northeastern university in Philadelphia, PA. In a randomized controlled trial, 217 graduate students from the University were randomized to three conditions: a control condition with a basic...

Teacher enthusiasm and its impact on students’ learning and emotions have remained unnoticed in the realm of second language learning and teaching. This study aimed at exploring the possibility of boosting language teacher enthusiasm and its potential relationship with language learners’ effort and attitude for language learning. In order to foster teacher enthusiasm, the highly novel concept o...