Analyzing the discriminative attributes of products using text mining focused on cosmetic reviews

Consumers evaluate products through online reviews, in addition to sharing their product experiences. Online reviews affect product marketing, and companies use online reviews to investigate consumer attitudes and perceptions of their products. However, when analyzing a review, it is often the case that specific contexts are not taken into consideration and meaningful information is not obtained from the analysis results. This study suggests a methodology for analyzing reviews in the context of comparing two competing products. In addition, by analyzing the discriminative attributes of competing products, we were able to derive more specific information than an overall product analysis. Analyzing the discriminative attributes in the context of comparing competing products provides clarity on analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of competitive products and provides realistic information that can help the company's management activities. Considering this purpose, this study collected a review of the BB Cream product line in the cosmetics field. The analysis was sequentially carried out in three stages. First, we extracted words that represent discriminative attributes by analyzing the percentage difference of words. Second, different attribute words were classified according to the meaning used in the review by using latent semantic analysis. Finally, the polarity of discriminative attribute words was analyzed using Labeled-LDA. This analysis method can be used as a market research method as it can extract more information than a traditional survey or interview method, and can save cost and time through the automation of the program.     

The present state and future trends of blended learning in workplace learning settings across five countries

This article reports survey findings related to the current status and future trends of blended learning in workplace learning settings from diverse cultures. This particular survey was conducted of 674 training and human resource development professionals from five different countries, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region (i.e., China, South Korea, Taiwan, United States, and the United Kingdom). The results show that blended learning will become a popular delivery method in the future of workplace learning not only in Western countries but also in Asian countries. Still, the respondents indicated that there were several barriers to blended learning; one of the most noticeable issues was their lack of understanding of blended learning. There is a pressing need, therefore, to provide practitioners with guidance on how to implement blended learning in their organizations. Additionally, among the countries surveyed, the results of the present study revealed that there were significant differences in the current level of adoption of blended learning, the respondents’ attitudes toward and perceptions of blended learning, and the content areas taught by blended learning. Respondents’ predictions related to emerging instructional strategies, technologies, and evaluation techniques for blended learning are also reported.     

ECT Internship: Experiencing Privilege,Opportunity, and the Spirit of Giving

ect Cornerstone

ECT Internship: Experiencing Privilege, Opportunity, and the Spirit of Giving     

Trends in Female Authorships, Editorial Board Memberships, and Editorships in Educational Psychology Journals from 2003 to 2008

Robinson, McKay, Katayama, and Fan (Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 331–343, 1998) reported that women were underrepresented in terms of authorships, editorial board memberships, and editorships in the field of educational psychology based on membership trends. More recently, Evans, Hsieh, and Robinson (Educational Psychology Review, 17, 263–271, 2005) reported that women had made gains as editors but had not kept pace with organizational membership in terms of authorships and editorial board memberships. Our goal in this paper was to further examine women’s participation in educational psychology journals by extending the datasets of Robinson et al. and Evans et al. The number of female authors per article, particularly those from non-US institutions, has continued to increase. However, consistent with Evans et al., although females are continuing to make numerical gains in both authorships—both primary and secondary—and editorial board memberships, their involvement has not kept pace in relation to membership trends.     

Action research approach on mobile learning design for the underserved

This paper discusses an action research study focused on developing a mobile learning model of literacy development for underserved migrant indigenous children in Latin America. The research study incorporated a cyclical action model with four distinctive stages (Strategize, Apply, Evaluate, and Reflect) designed to guide constituencies involved in the study to design, test, and enhance a mobile learning model. The findings, to date, reveal some of the contextual phenomena that create both challenges and opportunities for a mobile learning model. From this, design strategies are evolving focused on sustained literacy exposure for extremely marginalized (economically, educationally, geographically, and technologically) migrant indigenous children who have no consistent access to a formal education system.     

Requirements for electronic note taking systems: A field study of note taking in university classrooms

Note taking is the core activity for students in a classroom. There has been a large amount of research conducted, both from industry and from academia, into facilitating the note-taking process. There is evidence that shows that note taking can be beneficial for the students’ educational growth. There are also many available systems for taking notes electronically (e.g. Tablet PCs, PDAs). However, what has not been given as much attention is how these electronic devices affect (or support) the note taking task. In this paper, we study university students’ current note taking behavior and the changes caused by the use of electronic systems for this activity. The goal of our work is to identify issues that should be considered when evaluating electronic note taking systems and to formulate requirements for future electronic note-taking systems. Our findings show that while the technological support for writing with pens on electronic surfaces is quite advanced, the task of note taking in the classroom is not well supported. We identify the limitations of typical note taking systems and discuss the implications for the design of future note taking systems. Our work consisted of three parts: a survey of current note-taking practices, an observational study in a classroom environment, and a semester long case study of students using electronic note-taking devices. All of these activities took place at a large 4-year university. We found that the people reacted to note-taking devices very differently and that their current practices were not always well supported. The users all wanted to input information as fast as possible, in the manner they wanted but they were not always able to achieve that. Hardware limitations (i.e. screen size, responsiveness) added to this issue. We also found that the features that are well supported in an electronic medium (i.e. modification, reorganizing, multiple pen colors/styles, handwriting recognition, sharing) were not commonly used or wanted.     

Density-dependent separation of encapsulated cells in a microfluidic channel by using a standing surface acoustic wave

This study presents a method for density-based separation of monodisperse encapsulated cells using a standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW) in a microchannel. Even though monodisperse polymer beads can be generated by the state-of-the-art technology in microfluidics, the quantity of encapsulated cells cannot be controlled precisely. In the present study, mono-disperse alginate beads in a laminar flow can be separated based on their density using acoustophoresis. A mixture of beads of equal sizes but dissimilar densities was hydrodynamically focused at the entrance and then actively driven toward the sidewalls by a SSAW. The lateral displacement of a bead is proportional to the density of the bead, i.e., the number of encapsulated cells in an alginate bead. Under optimized conditions, the recovery rate of a target bead group (large-cell-quantity alginate beads) reached up to 97% at a rate of 2300 beads per minute. A cell viability test also confirmed that the encapsulated cells were hardly damaged by the acoustic force. Moreover, cell-encapsulating beads that were cultured for 1 day were separated in a similar manner. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that a SSAW can successfully separate monodisperse particles by their density. With the present technique for separating cell-encapsulating beads, the current cell engineering technology can be significantly advanced.     

Polyester μ-assay chip for stem cell studies

The application of microfluidic technologies to stem cell research is of great interest to biologists and bioengineers. This is chiefly due to the intricate ability to control the cellular environment, the reduction of reagent volume, experimentation time and cost, and the high-throughput screening capabilities of microscale devices. Despite this importance, a simple-to-use microfluidic platform for studying the effects of growth factors on stem cell differentiation has not yet emerged. With this consideration, we have designed and characterized a microfluidic device that is easy to fabricate and operate, yet contains several functional elements. Our device is a simple polyester-based microfluidic chip capable of simultaneously screening multiple independent stem cell culture conditions. Generated by laser ablation and stacking of multiple layers of polyester film, this device integrates a 10 × 10 microwell array for cell culture with a continuous perfusion system and a non-linear concentration gradient generator. We performed numerical calculations to predict the gradient formation and calculate the shear stress acting on the cells inside the device. The device operation was validated by culturing murine embryonic stem cells inside the microwells for 5 days. Furthermore, we showed the ability to maintain the pluripotency of stem cell aggregates in response to concentrations of leukemia inhibitory factor ranging from 0 to ∼1000 U/ml. Given its simplicity, fast manufacturing method, scalability, and the cell-compatible nature of the device, it may be a useful platform for long-term stem cell culture and studies.     

Output stabilization of a class of second-order linear time-delay systems: An eigenvalue approach

This paper studies linear time-invariant systems with an input delay and two repeated or distinct real poles. The closed-loop system eigenvalue-loci with respect to the output feedback controller gain are investigated by using the Lambert function and root-locus construction techniques. Output feedback stabilization conditions and stability robustness with respect to the delay time uncertainty are established. Also, the response performance is discussed. Three examples and related simulations are presented to illustrate the analysis results.     

Knowledge complementarity and knowledge exchange in supply channel relationships

Existing literature on knowledge exchange in inter-organizational relationships (e.g., a supply channel) reveals two opposing forces at work: (1) collaborative behavior and (2) opportunistic behavior. A concurrent assessment of the opposing perspectives and the contingencies under which each is relevant for supply channel performance can add valuable insights about the dynamics of knowledge exchange. We juxtapose the two behavior patterns using social capital theory and transaction cost economics (TCE) respectively as the explicators and employ knowledge complementarity as the contingency to reconcile the opposing behavior patterns. The choice of knowledge complementarity in this role stems from ample theoretical and empirical support in prior literature about the criticality of this factor in inter-firm knowledge exchange.