Business, Enterprise & Management
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Item A deep learning pipeline for age prediction from vocalisations of the domestic feline(Nature Research, 2025-10-03) van Toor, Astrid; Qazi, Nadeem; Paladini, StefaniaAccurate age estimation is essential for advancing interspecies communication but remains a challenge across non-human species. This study presents the first dataset of domestic feline vocalisations specifically designed for age prediction and introduces a novel deep learning pipeline for this purpose. By applying transfer learning with models like VGGish, YAMNet, and Perch, we demonstrate the potential for automated age classification, with VGGish achieving the best results. Our findings hold significant potential for applications in veterinary care and wildlife conservation, building on existing research and pushing forward the boundaries of automated age classification within digital bioacoustics. Future work could explore improving model generalisability and robustness, potentially expanding its application across species.Item Impact of Forensic Marketing on Consumer Behavior: Evidence From Beauty Products` Purchase Decision(Academic Research and Publishing UG (i. G.), 2024-04-03) Abdulsalam, Tajudeen Alaburo; Tajudeen, Rofiat Bolanle; Ogungbemi, Samuel Seun; Francis, EnyiMarketing firms navigate a dynamic environment characterized with volatility and complexity, where survival hinges upon adaptability and responsiveness to external forces. The pursuit of rapid growth, profit and competitive advantage in the cosmetics market often leads some companies to engage in unlawful and unethical practices, including copyright and trademark infringement and misleading marketing, which creates problems for honest consumers and the entire industry’s sustainability and leads to legal cases of fraud. This has led to the emergence of a specific type of marketing ‒ forensic marketing, characterised by a thorough check (often in a legal context) of all the facts and data accompanying marketing policy. This study examines how forensic marketing dimension influence the consumer behavior using the case study of 3 skincare products in Nigeria, including the impact of copyright violation on brand awareness, trademark infringement on consumer patronage, and the impact of misleading advertising on consumer loyalty. In solving this problem, the article analyses the provisions of the Theory of Buyer Behaviour, the Nicosia Model and the Psychoanalytic Model. The study is based on the results of an online survey of 384 Nigerian consumers of cosmetic skincare products (a five-point Likert scale was used for answers, Bill Golden technique was used to determine the sample size, Cronbach’s Alpha test was used to confirm reliability, and SmartPLS software was used for data processing). Descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and skewness) and inferential (structural equation modelling (SEM) by utilising the partial least squares (PLS) version) analyses were carried out. The modelling empirically confirms the validity of all three hypotheses: 1) respondents perceive copyright infringement as having a significant relationship with brand awareness, with the strongest impact on a product idea, moderate impact on brand name, and weak impact on promotion strategy; 2) trademark infringement practices have a significant impact on consumer patronage, with design having the strongest impact, signs and symbols having a moderate impact, and colour having a weak impact; 3) deceptive marketing practices have a significant impact on customer loyalty, with advertising having the most significant impact, product quality having a moderate impact, and labelling and packaging having a weak impact. The article emphasises the importance of regularly informing consumers about the quality and features of products, as well as encouraging whistleblowers through reward systems. By adopting ethical marketing practices, companies can build a reputation that will ultimately benefit society, strengthen their reputation, and influence consumer purchasing decisions.Item Near Space Instability. Geopolitical Tensions, Debris Crisis, and Cyberattacks(Springer Nature, 2025-05-14) Paladini, Stefania; Jahankhani, Hamid; Issac, BijuNever before Near Space, that portion of outer space closest to Earth and crucial for human activities, has been under threat like in present days. There are several factors responsible for the current status of things, but three of them (geopolitics, debris and cyberthreats) are emerging as the most critical in terms of impact and long-term implications. What is more important, those factors are now colliding, with state-sponsored cyberattacks in outer space that risks exacerbating the debris crisis. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how geopolitical tensions are pushing existing criticalities such as the debris crisis in the Earth Orbit and the growing threat of cyberattacks to satellite and ground space infrastructure toward an unprecedent level of tensions. Building on the analysis of existing datasets, it will present some cases for discussion and attempts a scenario analysis for the short-medium term.Item Unlocking Scotland’s Tourism Potential: How Perceived Value Drives Traveler Satisfaction and Visit Intentions(International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 2025-04-09) Chaichi, Kamelia; Gladwell, Cecilia; Peschken-Holt, ThomasThis study explores the critical factors influencing traveller satisfaction and visit intentions to Scotland’s renowned tourism destinations, focusing on perceived value dimensions: conditional, emotional, functional, social, and epistemic. As Scotland's tourism sector shows promising recovery post-pandemic, understanding the drivers of visitor behaviour is essential for leveraging its economic potential. By applying the Consumption Value Theory, this research addresses key gaps in existing literature, offering a detailed analysis of how perceived value dimensions influence satisfaction and the likelihood of revisiting. Data were collected from 267 tourists visiting major destinations such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands and analysed using Smart-PLS software. Findings suggest that enhancing these value dimensions can significantly boost satisfaction and revisit intentions. Practical recommendations include leveraging Scotland’s distinctive experiential offerings, optimising resource use, and integrating social media influencers into marketing strategies. The study provides valuable insights for improving service quality and fostering economic growth through increased visitor satisfaction and visit intentions.Item Oltre le telecomunicazioni. Sfide e Opportunita’ della New Space Economy”(Callive-Giano Editore, 2025-02) Paladini, StefaniaItem Case Study: Managing delivery of a suite of programmes in a language other than English(The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2024-12) Adamson, Sheila; Espie, Ailsa; Makellaraki, VickyAccording to the most recent data (HESA AOR, 2022-23), Europe remains the UK’s second largest TNE market after Asia. The number of UK TNE students in Europe is increasing and the strongest growth rate amongst the top 5 TNE host countries was in Greece. The partnership between Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh and Metropolitan College (MC) in Greece dates back to 2000. MC is the largest private provider of post-secondary education in Greece delivering transnational programmes across eight different campuses. Starting initially with one programme the partnership has grown to include eleven undergraduate programmes accounting for over 3000 students in academic year 2023-24. MC also operates partnerships with other UK universities (University of East London, Solent University, Oxford Brookes University) as well as having relationships with educational institutions from around the world. The suite of programmes is now delivered entirely in Greek. This case study explains the rationale for this and describes the measures put in place to manage delivery in a language other than English. A brief evaluation of the impact of changing to delivery in Greek is provided.Item Contribution of tourism to economic development in selected European countries(Toplica Academy of Applied Studies, Department of Business Studies Blace, 2024-12-24) Pantovic, Danijela; Chaichi, Kamelia; Pavlović, SanjaThe aim of the study is to explore the interplay between fundamental indicators related to tourism's contribution to economic development. These indicators encompass Total contribution to Employment, Direct contribution to Employment, Total contribution to GDP, Direct contribution to GDP, Capital Investment, and Visitor Exports - Foreign Spending. A cluster analysis of the 30 studied countries was formed based on the entropy results as a measure of equality. The research relies on data from the TTDI Index for the year 2019, as published by the World Economic Forum. The Kruskal-Wallis test highlighted the differences between the clusters. The entropy results support the the cluster analysis, as the coastal countries show the highest values of these indicators.The contribution of tourism to the European economy is imperative for countries to develop strategies for the exploitation of natural and cultural assets.The practical implications emphasize the need for greater investment and foreign spending.Item SohoNet: A Novel Social Honeynet Framework for Detecting Social Bots in Online Social Networks(AKADEMIA BARU PUBLISHING (M) SDN BHD, 2024-12-16) Ong, Yew Chuan; Paladini, Stefania; Alifan, Belal; Sambas, Aceng; Alwi, Sharifah Sumayyah Engku; Sedek, Nur Syakirah MohdOnline social networks (OSNs) are increasingly threatened by social bots – software-controlled accounts that mimic human users for various purposes. In this paper, we propose SohoNet, a novel social honeynet designed to identify, monitor, and detect these malicious entities. This innovative approach improves upon existing research by integrating multiple honeypots with a semi-automatic label engine, thereby significantly enhancing the accuracy of social bot detection. We deployed SohoNet on Platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to analyze activities during the 2022 Malaysian general election over a 14-day campaigning period. Our results show that the semi-automatic label engine successfully auto-labeled 73% of the profiles captured by SohoNet with a moderately high True Positive Rate (TPR) (0.75). Furthermore, SohoNet's overall performance (0.856), measured based on precision and capture rates, surpassed that of existing social honeypots. These findings demonstrate that SohoNet is an effective tool for detecting social bots, particularly in politically sensitive environments. However, the policy of cutting access to X API, along with the costly paid tiers introduced, poses significant challenges for future research as it restricts access to vital data and diminishes the ability to track and analyze bot behavior over time. Future work will aim to extend SohoNet's application across various OSNs to enhance its adaptability and utility.Item Scottish Food Practices: Household food practices and the use of dietary information(University of Hertfordshire, 2020-08-18) Wills, Wendy; Vaghi, Francesca; Geddes, Kevin; Hamilton, LauraThis report presents findings from The Scottish Food Practices study, designed to investigate what and how households across Scotland use dietary information (if at all) when cooking/eating at home, shopping for food and eating outside the home.The study aims to inform the work of Food Standards Scotland (FSS) as they develop new dietary guidance that is accessible and suitable for different population groups in Scotland. The study explores the extent to which dietary information was available, and how it was perceived and taken into account by households when cooking, eating and purchasing food, both in and outside of the home.The study adopted an in-depth qualitative approach with ten households, including those on low incomes, families with younger and older children, single-person households and older adults. Participants were recruited via networks of third sector and food advocacy organisations, as well as via NHS and FSS contacts. Fieldwork with participating households took place between January and March 2020; it ended earlier than planned, due to the social distancing restrictions put in place to control the COVID-19 outbreak.The research design comprised of three visits with each household.1. A semi-structured interview was carried out with the key participant (and other household members if they wished), followed by a photographic ‘kitchen tour’. Participants were asked about their typical patterns of cooking/eating at home, food shopping, and eating outside the home, with particular reference to dietary information.2. A video-recorded food shopping trip was conducted with the household member who was primarily responsible for food shopping in each household.3. An observation took place with one or more household members when ‘eating out of home’.Across households, participants reported having a good general understanding of dietary information. Nonetheless, this knowledge seemed to be inconsistently or rarely applied by households when purchasing food, or when eating in and out of the home. This was a consequence of participants’ apparent misunderstanding of some of the information available to them, contradictions in guidance as perceived by participants, and participants’ reliance on knowledge gained through their own lives or experiences (experiential knowledge). Price was the key deciding factor informing participants’ food purchasing decisions, except in cases where health conditions and/or special dietary requirements made it essential to pay closer attention to dietary information on food packaging.The research provides some pointers for FSS regarding the development of dietary guidance in terms of clarity of information required by consumers. This relates to addressing the interpretation of traffic light labelling and the incorporation of guidance into a healthy diet for those living with/shopping for specific health conditions, allergies, intolerances or preferences. Using price and ‘value for money’ could be a way to leverage healthier food choices in Scotland. Experiential, ‘common sense’ knowledge is important to households therefore an understanding and awareness of this, including among health care professionals, is important when considering the acceptability and efficacy of dietary guidance or information. COVID-19 has impacted on many aspects of food and eating for people in Scotland, perhaps especially so for those whose income, health or vulnerability has been affected in some way. Finding ways to support households to manage their physical and mental health and dietary preferences/needs, despite these ongoing challenges, therefore continues to be important.Item ‘Common Sense Slimming’ - How the contribution of Joan Robins, television’s ‘afternoon cook’, was not the perfect-fit for the culture of the BBC in the 1950s(SAGE, 2022-05-18) Geddes, KevinCooking on television after WWII mainly addressed ‘the housewife’ audience, while women themselves were presenting television cooking programmes. History has largely forgotten the presenter Joan Robins, who appeared alongside Philip Harben and Marguerite Patten on BBC broadcasts of the late 1940s and 1950s. Robins specialised in ‘common-sense’ cookery, nutrition, and health, including a controversial slimming programme that featured advice that was later disputed by the British Medical Association. Robins’ ideas and innovations were not always welcomed by the BBC, who preferred more straightforward cookery demonstrations, resulting in her turning her back on broadcasting to concentrate on her other careers.