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To expand existing literature on loyalty schemes, the impact of stand-alone vs. multi-partner programs on customer loyalty was evaluated. In addition, the effects of store satisfaction, membership in competing programs, as well as various shopper characteristics were tested. Therefore, interviews were conducted with loyalty executives and a survey was carried out with 1,150 German customers of two fuel station chains. Stand-alone programs were found to outperform multi-partner schemes in their ability to trigger behavioral loyalty (e.g. share-of-wallet), attitudinal loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth. While program members showed significantly higher levels of loyalty than non-members, those of the stand-alone solution did so to an even greater extent than those of the coalition scheme. «Best Dissertation of 2011» by the WU – Vienna University of Economics and Business and Winner of the «Outstanding Award 2011» by the ECR Austria.

Abstract. One of the quickest means of tsunami evacuation is transfer to higher ground soon after strong and long ground shaking. Ground shaking itself is a good initiator of the evacuation from disastrous tsunami. Longer period seismic waves are considered to be more correlated with the earthquake magnitude. We investigated the possible application of this to tsunami hazard alarm using single-site ground motion observation. Information from the mass media is sometimes unavailable due to power failure soon after a large earthquake. Even when an official alarm is available, multiple information sources of tsunami alert would help people become aware of the coming risk of a tsunami. Thus, a device that indicates risk of a tsunami without requiring other data would be helpful to those who should evacuate. Since the sensitivity of a low-cost MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) accelerometer is sufficient for this purpose, tsunami alarm equipment for home use may be easily realized. Amplitude of long-period (20 s cutoff) displacement was proposed as the threshold for the alarm based on empirical relationships among magnitude, tsunami height, hypocentral distance, and peak ground displacement of seismic waves. Application of this method to recent major earthquakes indicated that such equipment could effectively alert people to the possibility of tsunami.

In order to enhance levels of security and reliability of power systems, allowing for advanced remote diagnostics, Merging Units (MUs) play a key role. Some of the benefits are a more efficient transmission of electricity and a better integration with renewable energy systems. In this paper an implementation of a Stand Alone Merging Unit (SAMU), compliant with the IEC 61850-9-2 standard and based on a low cost ARM microcontroller, is described. It acquires two signals, one voltage and one current, and it sends the samples over the Ethernet connection. A high-resolution analog to digital converter (ADC), synchronized to the Universal Time coordinated (UTC) through a Global Positioning System (GPS) disciplined oscillator, is used. The results of the characterization of the ADC are presented. ; The work reported here has received support from the EMPIR programme co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union's