Perceived Quality of an Intermediary and Its Relations with Image and Perceived Value

Whilst globalisation has offered a fertile ground for businesses to offer several services from all sides of the compass, it appears that this landscape has attracted new avenues for service provisions and transactions. All these aspects have resulted in dramatic shift in consumers' purchase decision making process. This research presents some insights of customers' perception of quality offered by intermediaries working in networked environments. The principal hypotheses are that, after experiencing services delivered by an intermediary, customers synthesise their perceptions, in terms of the quality perceived. Furthermore, this assessment will determine its image and the perceived value. A quantitative survey was conducted in an airline alliance context, to verify if the hypotheses are acceptable. A structural equation modelling tested using the PLS-SEM method demonstrates the influence of alliance wide perceived quality on airline alliances' image and perceived value.

Factors Influencing Passenger Choice in a Multiple Airport System

The purpose of this article is to examine factors that influence passengers' decision in selecting an airport in a multiple airport system (MAS). This article focuses on a MAS in China consisting of two airports that directly compete with each other in serving domestic and international passengers in the same area. A survey was conducted in the Beijing area to collect the data, and a logistic regression was used to test the effects of these factors on the passenger choice. The results indicate that airfare is the most significant determinant of Beijing passengers' airport choice, followed by flight delay.

Information Technology for the Coordinated Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Teams Based on the Scenario-Case Approach

The authors present a dynamic scenario-case approach to coordinated control of heterogeneous ensembles of unmanned aerial vehicles, which use coordination patterns of activity in similar situations described as spatial configurations affected by observed events. The method of obtaining deviations for approximate spatial configurations, which allows obtaining elements of the safe vehicle's trajectories. The method of qualitative safety assessment is presented. It uses a soft level topology to obtaining blurred boundaries of dynamic safety domains using fuzzy soft level sets and allows finding suitable compensations of vehicles' activity scenarios that can both keep the spatial configuration and satisfy all safety restrictions. The authors demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly reduces the computational complexity of problem solving and provides the acceptable performance.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Applications for Military GIS Task Solutions

In the chapter, the authors present the results of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications for military geoinformation system (GIS) task solutions. The results of the visual modelling of the revealing process of invisible military objects from one of point of observation on the mountainous terrain of the Azerbaijan Republic by using UAV are presented. The observation conditions between two points of the selected mountain terrain during battle operation have been investigated using GIS technology. The quantitative method of the invisible area assessment and military objects in mountainous terrain are developed and offered by using UAVs. The numerical estimation method of a task support success of UAV reconnaissance flight in mountainous battle conditions has been offered and considered. Using UAVs for the purpose of orthophotomap making of the terrain and combat control the detailed 3D-model has been constructed.

Ground Control to Major Tom

In this chapter I explore satellite seeing in the convergence of global visual culture as a human-satellite co-figuration. Satellites, Global Positioning Systems, and mobile devices are engaged as prosthetic extensions of an embodied experience that can augment the potential of place-based learning. I engage this co-figuration through Mirzoeff's (2000/2006) notion of intervisuality and diaspora, the work of contemporary artists Trevor Paglen and Jeremy Wood, and my experiences with graduate students in Helsinki, Finland in an intensive course that developed understandings of the city as a site of geographic and cultural identity while exploring ideas of public space and performative interventionist practices in art making. The relations of the human-satellite co-figuration give insight as to the convergence of the local as a scale of the global, imprinted with transcultural pathways for understanding how we are located in the world.

Drones in Healthcare

This chapter discusses the use of drones in healthcare with a specific focus on humanitarian logistics. Drones have already been used in healthcare in different aspects, including transfer of blood products, search and rescue missions, or collecting different types of data including aerial photographs, air quality, or radiation levels. Even though the published research evidence in the area of “drones in healthcare” is almost 1% of the broader area of “drones,” the progress in public acceptance, regulations, as well as technology is undeniable. This chapter summarizes the different aspects regarding the use of drones in healthcare, while specifically focusing on humanitarian logistics. The SWOT analysis indicate that the strengths and opportunities weigh more than the weaknesses and threats, suggesting that drones will revolutionize the way medical supplies are delivered within the coming years.

Analysis and Optimization of Diagnostic Procedures for Aviation Radioelectronic Equipment

In this chapter, the authors present the questions of aviation radioelectronic equipment operation. The structure of operation system is considered based on processes approach with adaptable control principles usage. Operation system contains processes of diagnostics and health monitoring. The authors consider the direct problem of efficiency estimation for diagnostics process, and main attention is paid to probability density function calculation for diagnostics duration. Simulation results were used for adequacy testing of these calculations. The authors also take into account the possibility of first and second kind errors presence. The inverse problem for diagnostics is defined and solved for mathematical expectation of repair time. In general case, the inverse problem can be solved for seven options of optimization.

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are present in our lives, and although they are mostly connected to military purposes, they are becoming more present in the commercial and civilian sector. Possible applications of UAVs in the commercial and civilian sector will open new possibilities for further research and development of UAVs. This movement can bring new investment and new jobs, but at the same time, it will influence the way some activities are being done now. The use of UAVs brings savings in the production cycles and improve current operations in various industrial sectors. The chapter gives a definition and explains different types and potential applications of unmanned aerial vehicles in the word as well as the potential economic impact of their development and use. In the second part, the chapter analyzes the application of drones in Turkey and Croatia. Although different in terms of their size and the number of inhabitants, both countries are at the same level in relation to UAV application. Applications in both countries are compared, and after that, a conclusion is drawn.

Data Science Tools Application for Business Processes Modelling in Aviation

Successful business involves making decisions under uncertainty using a lot of information. Modern modeling approaches based on data science algorithms are a necessity for the effective management of business processes in aviation. Data science involves principles, processes, and techniques for understanding business processes through the analysis of data. The main goal of this chapter is to improve decision making using data science algorithms. There are sets of frequently used algorithms described in the chapter: linear, logistic regression models, decision trees as a classical example of supervised learning, and k-means and hierarchical clustering as unsupervised learning. Application of data science algorithms gives an opportunity for deep analyses and understanding of business processes in aviation, gives structuring of problems, provides systematization of business processes. Business processes modeling, based on the data science algorithms, enables us to substantiate solutions and even automate the processes of business decision making.

Stochastic Evaluation of Capacity and Demand Management of the Airline Industry

In the airline industry, the term load factor defined as the percentage of seats filled by revenue passengers and is used to measure efficiency and performance. This metric evaluates the airlines capacity and demand management. This paper applies stochastic models to analyse the load factor of the Association European Airlines (AEA) for flights of Europe - North Africa and Europe- Sub Saharan Africa. The estimation result prevails that the airlines have better demand management in the flights of Europe- Sub Saharan Africa than in the flight of Europe - North Africa. However, the capacity management of the airlines is poor for both regional flights. The autocorrelation structures for the load factor for both regional flights have both periodic and serial correlations. Consequently, the use of ordinal panel data models is inappropriate to capture the necessary variation of the load factor of the regional flights. Therefore, in order to control for the periodic autocorrelation, the author introduces dynamic time effects panel data regression model. Furthermore, in order to eliminate serial correlation the author applies the Prais–Winsten methodology to fit the model. Finally, the author builds realistic and robust forecasting model of the load factor of the Europe- North Africa and Europe-Sub Saharan Africa flights.