Holiday Season Research Articles

Spatio-temporal characteristics of particulate matter in Delhi, India due to the combined effects of fireworks and crop burning during pre-COVID festival seasons

Spatio-temporal characteristics of particulate matter in Delhi, India due to the combined effects of fireworks and crop burning during pre-COVID festival seasons

Unlocking Inventory Efficiency: Harnessing Machine Learning for Sales Surge Prediction

Purpose: Sales forecasting plays a crucial role in inventory optimization for retail stores, especially during special events such as promotions, advertisements, holiday season, weather, social and economic situations etc. These events drive significant changes in customer buying patterns. Some of these events are captured in the current forecasting models as part of trend, seasonality, and cyclicality. But many times, unexpected local events such as extreme weather conditions, riots, and regional events such as marathons, concerts have a significant impact on sales surges which are usually not captured in the sales forecast. This leads to inventory being out of stock and store managers placing last-minute manual orders. By accurately predicting these sales pattern changes, retailers can make informed decisions, ensuring optimal inventory levels and maximizing profits. Methodology: In this paper, a data-driven solution was discussed that leverages machine learning models to predict sales pattern changes and surges during local events in a specific geographical location. Web scraping can be used to gather data on local events from a range of online sources, including Google News, local news channels, and social media platforms. By extracting pertinent details about upcoming events, it is possible to compile a thorough database of local happenings. Findings: Data Analysis of historical sales data mapped to its local events can provide insights on key department-categories where there is a surge in sales. Machine learning models can be used to analyze, experiment and train historical sales data in conjunction with the events data. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Machine learning models would be trained to capture the complex relationships between different local events and their impact on sales. Therefore the study recommends using the machine learning approaches specified to consider various factors, such as event type, location, duration, and historical sales patterns, our models can effectively predict sales fluctuations during specific events.

Santa Claus is coming!

This research delves into the "seasonal fixed bonus" phenomenon in Mexico, Spain, the United States, and Canada, examining how employees prefer receiving payments during the Christmas season or evenly distributed throughout the year. Two hypotheses explore biases arising from bounded rationality: Hypothesis 1 suggests Mexican/Spanish workers may resist receiving the bonus dispersed throughout the year, while Hypothesis 2 posits American/Canadian workers may resist a reduction in monthly payments for a seasonal bonus. Using a utopic international competition, the study reveals that Mexican/Spanish participants exhibit a preference for end-of-year rewards, partially supporting Hypothesis 1, whereas American/Canadian participants lean towards immediate rewards, partially supporting Hypothesis 2. Statistical significance is found in Mexico and Spain, aligning with mental accounting principles, while the U.S. and Canada show similar trends but lack significance. This implies a potential status quo bias among American and Canadian workers regarding seasonal bonuses.

Seasonality and regional disparity in attention to homelessness in UK newspapers between 2001 and 2020

ABSTRACT This research examined the amount of media attention to homelessness in 11 UK newspapers with two main research questions: (1) Does the media coverage exhibit seasonal cyclical patterns in their attention to homelessness? (2) Do England's nine regions differ in the attention they receive after adjusting for their relative homelessness levels? Time series of all 4105 news reports with the keyword “homeless*” in their headline between 2001 and 2020 were tested for meteorological and monthly seasonal effects, revealing significantly greater attention in winter but decreased coverage in spring and summer. Contrary to expectation, further analysis suggested that the increased winter coverage was not related to the colder months but to the Christmas period. Regarding regional differences, London received the highest mentions in the news but after adjusting for the relative burden of homelessness, the North West emerged as receiving the most relative coverage. The East Midlands and East of England had the lowest adjusted attention scores. As suggested by the public arenas model, the findings of this research suggest that media focus on social problems like homelessness be culturally patterned with key events like Christmas shaping issue-prominence. Similarly, regional imbalances in attention may reflect a systemic bias in news reporting.

Association between holiday and weekend admissions and mortality outcomes among patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving percutaneous coronary intervention in Taiwan.

There is a lack of studies that concurrently differentiate the effect of the holiday season from the weekend effect on mortality risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We evaluated the mortality risk among patients admitted with AMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Adult AMI patients admitted during January and February between 2013 and 2020 were enrolled and classified into the holiday season (using the Chinese New Year holiday seasons as an indicator) (n = 1729), weekend (n = 4725), and weekday (n = 14,583) groups according to the first day of admission. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the risk. With the weekday group or the weekend group as the reference, the holiday season group did not have increased risks of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.15; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.93-1.42 or aOR 1.23; 95% CI 0.96-1.56) and 7-day mortality (aOR 1.20; 95% CI 0.90-1.58 or aOR 1.24; 95% CI 0.90-1.70). Stratified and subgroup analyses showed similar trends. We conclude that holiday season-initiated admissions were not associated with higher mortality risks in AMI admission cases than weekday or weekend admissions.

The Evolution of Internet Shopping and Its Effect on Retail Market

An attempt has been made in this review article to emphasize that importance between the expanding online shopping tendency throughout the different physical businesses. An greater portion of the population is dependent on retailers, who employ a sizable number of people. This investigation also examines the consequence that the growing popularity of buying goods online has had on numerous organizations' profitability. These days, people have many cultures. People find it difficult and time-consuming to make complete demands. Therefore, online shopping is a blessing because it saves a ton of time. The act of customers buying goods, services, etc. straight from the vendor via the Internet without the involvement of a middleman is known as online shopping. Visitors can peruse e-commerce sites while lounging in their houses or in front ahead of a computing device. Internet shops in fact often available obtainable around-the-clock, and numerous guests possess internet connectivity at home additionally during work. For this reason, many consider internet shopping to be genuinely accessible. Particularly during the holiday season, online shopping can be genuinely pleasant since it eliminates the need to wait i standing in huge queues or going from store to store search within a specific component. An enormous array of products is offered by online retailers. Consequently, the researcher is curious to find out what the preferences of the consumer are. In order to learn more about the respondents' preferences for online shopping, fifty respondents were gathered. Keyword: Trend, online shopping, physical stores, profitability, Convenience, fixed retailers, impact on businesses, consumer preferences, profit-margin, customers, internet.

The Influence of Entrepreneurial Spirituality and Social Media Adoption on the Sustainability of MSME Performance Mediated by Innovation Capability (Survey on MSMEs in the Tourism Area Sunan Drajat Lamongan)

Technological advancements, computerization, and globalization have made businessescompetitiveacrossallindustries. Micro, small, and medium-sizedenterprises (MSMEs) continue to encounter difficulties with resource scarcity and technology adoption, although accounting for over 80% of employment and contributing to 61.97% of the GDP (gross domestic product). The Sunan Drajat Lamongan Religious Tourism Area is a home to hundreds of MSMEs, ranging in size from apparel and souvenir shops to restaurants. The number of visitors rises dramatically throughout the holiday season before becoming quiet, as is common with tourism in general. Entrepreneurship is a key factor in economic growth and serves as the primary driving force for innovative and long-term growth. By leveraging social media to enhance a company’s competitive advantage throughout the entrepreneurship and operation phases, entrepreneurs who possess an entrepreneurial mindset can aid their organizations in efficiently adapting their organizational framework and processes, thereby mitigating environmental conflicts and tensions within the intricate framework of a dynamic business environment. By using social media, MSMEs may reach their target audience with content and information without having to personally meet them. Social media also offers information in the form of customer reviews of goods, services, and even new ideas for sustainable MSMEs. This study aimed to determine how MSMEs’ use of social media and their ability for innovation can impact their success in Sunan Drajat Lamongan’s religious tourism industry. The data were obtained from 132 small and medium-sized enterprises using questionnaires. Path Least Square (PLS) and descriptive analysis were the methods utilized to analyze the data.
 Keywords: entrepreneurial spirituality, social media adoption, innovation capability, sustainability of MSMEs performance

АРХИТЕКТУРНО-ГРАДОСТРОИТЕЛЬНОЕ РАЗВИТИЕ УЛИЦЫ СИМФЕРОПОЛЬСКОЙ В ГОРОДЕ ЕВПАТОРИЯ

Abstract. The relevance of the development of Simferopolskaya Street in the city of Yevpatoria, Republic of Crimea, is due to the increased need to improve the quality of the coastal urban environment. Recently, the western part of the Crimean coast has been gaining increasing interest among tourists. One of the most popular tourist cities is Evpatoria. The main architectural and urban planning problems of the coastal zone in the area of the street have been identified. Simferopolskaya: obsolescence of low-rise residential buildings, unattractive aesthetic appearance of the facades of buildings and structures, lack of an embankment and comfortable landscaping of the territory. Currently, in the improvement of the territory under consideration, there is no single architectural style - a harmonious appearance of the street. The work analyzes theoretical and practical materials related to the object of research, and analyzes world analogues. Scientific principles and practical recommendations for the reconstruction of Simferopolskaya Street with the adjacent seaside area - the embankment and the beach - are proposed. To test the research results, an experimental design model was developed.
 Subject: Reconstruction of the territory within the boundaries of Simferopolskaya Street in the city of Evpatoria, landscaping.
 Materials and methods: During the study, an analysis of projects of world analogues was used. To identify the historical pattern of development of the territory, a comparative analysis of coastal territories of the Soviet period and at present is used. In the process of selecting materials on the topic of publication and analysis of the urban planning situation, the following methods were used: deduction, theoretical analysis and synthesis, the method of analogy, field surveys, photographic recording, critical and urban planning analysis, experimental design.
 Results: To increase the duration of the holiday season and increase the attractiveness of the study area, the main indicators have been identified: the formation of an identifying architectural image of the coastal strip of Simferopolskaya Street in the city of Evpatoria, attracting investors to implement projects, expanding the scope of services provided to tourists.
 It is proposed to apply the developed scientific principles for the development of the street and adjacent coastal areas:
 - the principle of integrity of the structure of space;
 - ecological principle;
 - principle of investment attractiveness;
 - the principle of increasing positive factors in the use and development of existing building functions and territory;
 - the principle of preservation and renewal;
 - the principle of continuity;
 - the principle of architectural and artistic expressiveness and functional diversity.
 The formation and transformation of urban public recreational zones of coastal areas must have a well-thought-out strategy for the systematic, phased implementation of work on the construction of facilities and improvement of coastal areas. To comply with the above principles, it is necessary to develop a strategy or concept for the development of the territory and adhere to it when reconstructing the territory.
 Conclusions: Based on the results of the analysis of global and domestic design and reconstruction of embankments, current trends in the formation of urban recreational zones of coastal territories were identified, which should also be applied to the city of Evpatoria:
 1) development of pedestrian traffic infrastructure through the development of the coastal strip as a system of pedestrian spaces in contact with the shoreline of water bodies;
 2) the maximum possible distance of water bodies from intense traffic flows, giving preference to pedestrian spaces;
 3) improvement of the green zone as an infrastructure of coastal areas, by forming an integral, continuous strip or islands of greenery;
 4) the formation within the boundaries of coastal territories of a multifunctional system that unites recreational areas and public spaces, the interaction of pedestrian, green, and water infrastructures as a single whole;
 5) development of coastal areas as complex objects of urban culture.
 The practical application of the developed principles and recommendations embedded in the experimental design model - the concept of reconstruction of the seaside street of Simferopol in the city of Yevpatoria will contribute to the qualitative development of the urban environment.

Visual Communication of Festive Shop Window Displays with Customers

The object of the authors’ research was the festive Christmas window displays of brick-and-mortar retail stores. The main objective of the research was to identify the dominant colours, symbols and signage of Christmas festive displays of retail brick-and-mortar stores across different product categories and countries around the world. A total of 229 retail Christmas window displays, from 14 countries around the world, across 11 assortment categories, ready for the Christmas season in 2020, 2021 and 2022, were examined. The theme of Christmas resonates in retail store windows from the beginning of November until 24 December. After this date, the issue of sales dominates the window displays. The main method of the research was the content analysis used to analyse the documents in order to determine the frequency of occurrence of the pre-given categories. Given that our interpretation of Christmas is based on its Christian foundation, it is not surprising that the main universal colours and symbols of interpretation identified are rooted in Christianity, while other, complementary ones (e.g. Santa Claus with a reindeer sleigh, a snowy landscape, or a gingerbread house) and the signage are the result of changes in popular culture over time.

Pacemaker remote monitoring challenges in pediatric population: Single center long term experience.

Remote monitoring (RM) of cardiac implantable electronic devices for adults offers improved treatment efficacy and, consequently, better patient clinical outcomes. There is scant data on the value and prognosis of RM in the pediatric population. The goal of this study was to determine the efficacy of RM by analyzing the connectivity of bedside transmitters, adherence to planned automatic follow-ups, and occurrence of alert-based events. We evaluated the pediatric population with implanted pacemakers for congenital AV block or after surgically corrected congenital heart diseases. A total of 69 patients were included in our study. The median (Q1-Q3) patient age was 6.0 (2.0-11.0) years. All patients received bedside transmitters and were enrolled in the RM system. Among them, 95.7% of patients had their first scheduled follow-up successfully sent. Patients were followed up remotely over a median time of 33.0 (13-45) months. Only 42% of patients were continuously monitored, and all scheduled transmissions were delivered on time. Further analysis revealed that 34.8% of patients missed transmissions between June and September (holiday season). Alert-based events were observed in 40.6% patients, mainly related to epicardial lead malfunction and arrhythmic events. Overall compliance was also compromised by socioeconomic factors. Our findings are in concordance with recently published results by PACES regarding a high level of compliance in patient enrollment to RM and time to initial transmission. However, a lower level of adherence was observed during the holiday season due to interrupted connectivity of bedside transmitters. Importantly, a relatively low occurrence of alert transmissions was observed, mainly related to epicardial lead malfunction and arrhythmic events.

Cookie cravings – Examining the impact of sugar content information on Christmas treat preferences via mobile eye-tracking

BackgroundDiets high in added sugar can promote the development of overweight. Especially during the Holiday season, when high-sugar food is abundant, people overeat and gain more weight than during other times of the year. The present study with mobile eye-tracking glasses (Pupil Labs Invisible) investigated how sugar content information affects food preference (liking/wanting) and visual attention (where and how long one is looking) in a buffet-like situation. MethodsFifty-eight participants who were well acquainted with the local Christmas traditions and foods (38 female, 19 male, one diverse; mean age = 25 years, SD = 6.3 years; mean body mass index = 22.2 kg/m2, SD = 3.2 kg/m2) were presented with four cookies and two non-food items (wrapped presents) in a free viewing task. Two of the displayed cookies were ‘Christmas cookies’ (cookies that are traditionally eaten only during the Holiday season) and two cookies had no Christmas association. The cookies were either labeled as cookies made with or without sugar, resulting in a 3 (Category: cookies with sugar, cookies without sugar, non-food) by 2 (Christmas association: yes, no) repeated-measures design. ResultsAnalyses of variance indicated that participants reported higher wanting and liking for cookies with sugar, particularly Christmas cookies (interaction effect for wanting: p = .047, ηp2 = .059; interaction effect for liking: p = .017, ηp2 = .084). Sugar-free cookies were fixated more often (p = .028; d = 0.35) and shorter (p < .001; d = 0.64) than sugar cookies. ConclusionAssuming that cookies are sugar-free reduced the reported preference for this product, which was associated with a more detail-oriented (critical) viewing pattern. The study's findings have potential implications for public health and can aid in developing targeted interventions to promote healthier food choices during festive periods. The new strategies should not focus on the sugar content of foods.

Ocular Firework Injuries among Patients Presented to the Emergency Department During Festival Season in a Tertiary Eye Hospital.

Fireworks can cause severe ocular injuries which can be prevented if used with proper precautions. It causes not only mechanical injuries but also thermal and chemical injuries. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of ocular firework injuries among patients presented to the emergency department during festival season in a tertiary eye hospital. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study done among patients presenting in the emergency department of a tertiary eye hospital after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. Data of patients from medical records between 26 October 2021 to 28 November 2021 and 15 October 2022 to 17 November 2022 was collected. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at a 95% Confidence Interval. Among 132 patients, the prevalence of ocular firework injuries was seen in 73 (55.30%) (46.82-63.78, 95% Confidence Interval). Closed globe injury was mostly observed in 56 (76.71%) patients with ocular injuries. The most common age group affected was those less than 30 years old 54 (73.97%). The prevalence of ocular firework injuries was found to be lower than other studies done in similar settings. Protective measures should be used to prevent ocular injuries. A public awareness program needs to be launched before such festivals. festivals; injuries; prevalence.

Impact of Online Discount on Indian Shoppers During Festive Seasons: An Analytical Study

With the increasing preference of Indians to shop online instead of visiting physical stores, the retail sector in the country is undergoing significant transformation. Several factors are fueling the rapid rise in popularity of online shopping in India. These include the increasing internet penetration, a growing number of internet-savvy consumers, a larger labour force, a wide range of online stores offering goods from around the globe, and improved web accessibility. The concept of "e-tailing" refers to the business model where products are bought and sold through an online platform. India's retail sector is currently undergoing a significant transformation due to the transition from traditional stores to online marketplaces. During the festival season, online retailers are currently offering a variety of deals to attract more customers. In recent years, the popularity of online shopping has soared, allowing consumers to easily purchase a wide range of products, from everyday essentials to cutting-edge technology. Online shopping and digital shops are becoming increasingly popular in rural areas, reaching beyond the confines of city life. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, such as increasing incomes, a stronger economy, a wide range of choices for consumers, and the active involvement of lenders in promoting digitalization and online shopping. The festival shopping sector is a significant driver behind the growth of e-commerce platforms. During holiday seasons, companies frequently offer promotions and significant discounts on both new and used products. In addition, they offer additional incentives such as cash-back deals and buy-one-get-one sales. At this time, companies would organise sales events with distinctive names such as "Big Billion Days" on Flipkart, "Flash Sales" on Myntra, and "Great Festive Sale" on Amazon. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of virtual shopping festivals on local communities and individual shoppers.

Are Holidays or Festive Periods to blame for Seasonal Spikes in Road Traffic Accidents in Nigeria?

Over the years, citizens have characteristically viewed festive and holiday seasons in Nigeria as a period when there are spikes in traffic and road crashes. These spike in road crashes have been ascribed to some spiritual or mystical powers which often possess the road ways especially the intercity or highways within the country. The paper examined the impact of holiday and festive periods on the recorded road traffic accident cases in Nigeria for a period ten years (2012 – 2021) using weekly data obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps Office, the research adopted exploratory data analysis conducted on the Road Traffic accidents data suggests that the data is not normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk = 0.94, p = .002) hence Kruskal-Wallis test -a non-parametric statistics equivalent of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was adopted for test of difference. The aim was to isolate the actual period when road accidents occurred most between ordinary day, non-festive holiday and festive holiday periods. National holiday and festive dates were marked on the data sheet and a hypothesis was tested. A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to compare the median ranks of three groups: Festive Holiday, Non- holiday, and Non Festive Holiday. The test revealed a significant difference among the groups (χ2(2) = 11.02, p = .004.). Post hoc tests using the Dunn-Bonferroni method showed that Festive Holiday (FH) and Non-holiday (NH) groups had a significantly different median rank (KW = 58.38, Mdn_FH = 220, Mdn_NH = 180, adj.p = .007). Similarly, the Festive Holiday and Non Festive Holiday (NFH) groups had a significantly different median rank (KW = 84.16, Mdn_FH = 220, Mdn_NFH = 177.5, adj. p = .017). However, there was no significant difference in median rank (Mdn) between Non-holiday and Non Festive Holiday groups (KW = 25.77, Mdn_NH = 180, Mdn_NFH = 177.5, adj. p = .948). The study concluded that most road traffic accidents occur during festive holidays.

Spatio-temporal clustering analysis of COVID-19 cases in Johor

At the end of the year 2019, a virus named SARS-CoV-2 induced the coronavirus disease, which is very contagious and quickly spread around the world. This new infectious disease is called COVID-19. Numerous areas, such as the economy, social services, education, and healthcare system, have suffered grave consequences from the invasion of this deadly virus. Thus, a thorough understanding of the spread of COVID-19 is required in order to deal with this outbreak before it becomes an infectious disaster. In this research, the daily reported COVID-19 cases in 92 sub-districts in Johor state, Malaysia, as well as the population size associated to each sub-district, are used to study the propagation of COVID-19 disease across space and time in Johor. The time frame of this research is about 190 days, which started from August 5, 2021, until February 10, 2022. The clustering technique known as spatio-temporal clustering, which considers the spatio-temporal metric was adapted to determine the hot-spot areas of the COVID-19 disease in Johor at the sub-district level. The results indicated that COVID-19 disease does spike in the dynamic populated sub-districts such as the state's economic centre (Bandar Johor Bahru), and during the festive season. These findings empirically prove that the transmission rate of COVID-19 is directly proportional to human mobility and the presence of holidays. On the other hand, the result of this study will help the authority in charge in stopping and preventing COVID-19 from spreading and become worsen at the national level.

JINGLE BELLS IN THE HISTORICAL WAYS OF CAROL SONGS

Carols traditionally held a central place in the celebration of the Christmas season. It is believed that the angels sang the first carol on the day of Jesus' birth on the first Christmas night. But Carols before the birth of Jesus come to our attention as we travel through history. The beginning of the carol is detailed in history as it was part of the Winter Solstice celebration. There was also a time when carols were written and sung for all four seasons. May carols, Harvest carols etc. were celebrated. Thus in the beginning, Christmas carols were more secular rather than sacred and religious. The secularization didn’t destroy the significance of this carols, it only took the celebration back to its roots and reminded us of the social significance of early secular carols. However, it is a fact that the tradition of singing carols at Christmas only continued later. Many carols today have little to do with Christmas. Are they good signs that carols are becoming secular like in the early days? In the world of music, many songs have been composed about Sacrifice, Love and Peace. How Christmas carols have lasted so long, remaining in people’s minds for centuries and millennia? A study in search of the roots of the Christmas Carols is intended here. An attempt has also been made to associate the immortal Christmas Carols to the centuries in which they were born.

P1030 Inflammatory Bowel Disease helpline contact trends in a real-world Australasian cohort: Crohn’s Colitis Cure (CCC) data insight’s program

Abstract Background For optimal outcomes, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) necessitates lifelong engagement in care. Specialized-IBD-nurse-led helplines improve access to care and reduce associated costs1,2. Despite this evidence, IBD nurses and helplines receive variable funding and little is known about their use across care sites. We therefore analysed IBD-helpline usage in a large, multi-site real-world Australasian cohort. Methods Crohn’s Colitis Care (CCCare), is a cloud-based IBD-specific electronic medical record used in Australia and New Zealand. It includes a "Helpline" tab to support helpline encounter documentation during the point of contact. All entered data feed into an associated, de-identified clinical quality registry (CQR). Helpline-associated data fields, including contact reason and type, were extracted from CCCare’s CQR in November 2023. Data from 6 large adult care sites across Australia and New Zealand were analysed. Results In 2022, a total of 6,717 helpline encounters were documented. There was a roughly equal split in contact type; phone accounting for 50.9% (n=3,416) and email for 49.1% (n=3301). The most common reasons for contact were related to medications (n=2,577; 38.4%), investigations (n=1,719; 25.6%) and clinical (n=1,060; 15.8%). More encounters were seen in 2023 (to date of data extract), with 7,540 helpline entries to date (Figure 1). In 2023, the most common form of patient contact was email (70.3%), with phone contact accounting for only (29.8%). The most common reasons for contact were again related to medications (n=2,577; 31.1%), investigations (n=1,162; 22.0%) and clinical (n=1,439; 19.1%). In both years, helpline activity was lowest in January and February, perhaps corresponding to the Holiday season (southern hemisphere summer). Conclusion A number of helpline entries were recorded across these 2 years, with activity lowest each summer. The data show a shift in the predominant mode of contact from phone to email in 2023, reflecting evolving communication preferences and making scheduling of helpline support easier. 1 - Nicolaides S, Vasudevan A, Van Langenberg D. Inflammatory Bowel Disease Helpline Reduces Subsequent Inpatient Admission Rates. J Crohns Colitis. 2020 Feb 10;14(2):281. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjz141. PMID: 31374121. 2 - Karimi N, Sechi AJ, Harb M, Sawyer E, Williams AJ, Ng W, Connor SJ. The effect of a nurse-led advice line and virtual clinic on inflammatory bowel disease service delivery: an Australian study. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Dec 1;33(1S Suppl 1):e771-e776. doi: 10.1097/MEG.0000000000002249. PMID: 34402467.

Important Aspects of Food Home-Business Sales Based on Customer Review in Shopee

Business opportunities are expanding on e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, and e-Bay. However, the Shopee app has the highest user statistics in Malaysia, making it the most suitable platform for small traders like B40 (bottom 40% income) women in Malaysia. Many B40 women experience problems identifying suitable products for sale, as well as improving their product quality. A study of customer reviews to identify the most important attributes of online food products was conducted. A Shopee scraper tool was built to acquire a home-business product dataset. Fourteen attributes were analyzed, and the top five most influential attributes were identified for both positive and negative reviews. The results show that the attributes that have the highest overall impact on online home-business food sales are taste, price, appearance, and texture as well as package condition, delivery service, and free gifts. It is noted that daily snacks and side dishes to go with main meals are suitable for year-round sales, while seasonal cookies are usually in demand only during festive seasons.

CMercury: Finding Returns in Precision Marketing

This case stems from a 2019 scenario at Caspar Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a rapidly growing digital marketing and automation service provider in India. CEO Jacob faced concern after presenting to a major client, Pragati, the founder of Villuvia.com, one of India’s top online jewellery brands. While email marketing had been a core strategy since the beginning, its return on investment had dwindled compared to social media advertising, exacerbated by a recent overhaul introducing a new digital marketing team. They excelled in social media but were new to email marketing software. Caspar Technologies unveiled cMercury, an AI-based technology to streamline email marketing campaigns. Although initial tests showed promise, it came at a five-fold cost compared to traditional email management software, which demanded extensive manual intervention. Jacob considered offering Villuvia a discount for the festive season but awaited Pragati’s decision. This would determine whether their budget would be allocated to email marketing, social media, or offline expansion. This case allows students to delve into email marketing intricacies, assess metrics and make quantitative evaluations. It also presents a platform for qualitative discussions on managerial dilemmas, like evaluating the digital team’s capabilities, prioritizing customer acquisition or retention and gauging the long-term viability of AI-powered email communication.

December top picks: festive season at The BMJ.

December top picks: festive season at The BMJ.