Keith Kirkpatrick is the principal of 4K Research & Consulting, LLC, a provider of qualitative and quantitative research and consulting services to US businesses.
Developing Unbreakable Phone Screens
Mobile device displays have come a long way from the basic liquid-crystal displays used on the earliest handheld devices, such as the original Apple Newton or Palm Pilot. The screens on today's smartphones, tablets, and laptops can display a dizzying array of colors, reproduce fast-motion sequences with little or no blur, and in some cases, can even be treated to work in bright sunlight.
The key issue that still haunts many users is the fear of scratching or breaking a phone's screen, which c...
Frontier Airlines Eliminates Live Agent Customer Support
Many companies have tried to shift the bulk of their customer support operations to digital channels to allow live agents to handle only the most complex or critical calls. But as the busy travel season shifted into high gear, Frontier Airlines…
Some recent airline and airport announcements have focused on technologies that definitely provide some futuristic “Wow” moments. However, these technologies will have the most success in improving customer experience if airlines keep in mind…
This pa...
Get an Edge in Retail With These VoC Strategies - Quoted as Expert Source
In order to provide consumers with the products they want and to provide better CX, forward-thinking retailers are relying heavily on their voice of the customer (VoC) programs.
Today customers shop on a variety of channels, leave product ratings and reviews and expect retailers to pay attention and respond quickly. Many retailers are ensuring a smooth customer journey through the constantly growing data stream by using VoC programs.
To further boost the effectiveness of VoC programs in retai...
Applying the Metaverse
Trying to distill and describe what is being called the metaverse today is a bit like trying to describe the Internet to people in the 1970s or 1980s: the framework and building blocks were there, but few pundits were able to accurately encompass, delineate, and predict the applications that gained traction, the wide-ranging technological achievements that would occur, and how everyday life has been impacted via the commercial use of a worldwide network of computer se...
Securing the Enterprise When Employees are Remote
Permitting workers to split their time between their home and office can improve job satisfaction and, in some cases, productivity. However, hybrid work arrangements can introduce additional layers of complexity and risk to an organization's technology systems and data. As such, IT departments need to consider several security technologies, processes, and policies to guard against cybersecurity threats that can be more easily exploited by workers that are on the go, or are working in unsecure...
Found in Space
The July 12 release of the images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captivated and excited everyone from schoolchildren to space buffs, thanks to the vivid colors and crisp captures of the distant reaches of space. The images from the telescope, which is the largest, most complex and powerful space telescope ever constructed, brought into focus thousands of galaxies, both known and unknown, as well as so-called "cosmic cliffs" of dust and gas, and even a dying star.
The telesc...
Using Employee Advocacy to Support CX Efforts
Customer advocates are extremely useful for recommending and actively promoting a brand, its products, and even the experiences they have interacting with a company. If a company makes a concerted effort to treat customers properly, many customers…
Customer experience policies are rules that cover product returns, changes, warranties, refunds, and access to information and resources, and are used by companies as they interact with their customers. With goals such as increasing efficiency and…...
AI in Contact Centers
Customer contact centers are most efficient when they are able to automate routine tasks and quickly route callers to human agents who can solve issues in a timely and courteous fashion. In years past, rules-based decision matrices (such as "press 1 for sales, press 2 for technical support") were the de facto standard for "intelligent" customer service systems, and often left customers frustrated and angry by the time they reached a live human being.
Advances in artificial intelligence are yi...
Across the Language Barrier
The greatest obstacle to international understanding is the barrier of language," wrote British scholar and author Christopher Dawson in November 1957, believing that relying on live, human translators to accurately capture and reflect a speaker's meaning, inflection, and emotion was too great of a challenge to overcome. More than 60 years later, Dawson's theory may finally be proven outdated, thanks to the development of powerful, portable real-time translation devices.
Borders in the Cloud
10.1145/3237072
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Computing services in the cloud, which provide access to compute capabilities, applications, and data from nearly anywhere with an Internet connection, have made it possible for both individuals and organizations to improve the efficiency of their computing operations, reduce infrastructure costs, and enhance the accessibility and availability of services and data.
However, the growth of cybercrime, most notably large data breaches that have exposed the personal infor...
Technology Brings Online Education in Line with Campus Programs
When you cheat, you only cheat yourself," is an oft-repeated pearl of wisdom from teachers, parents, and enlightened students alike. Nevertheless, 6575% percent of college-age students have admitted to cheating at one time or another, according to surveys conducted in the early 1960s, and recent studies indicate cheating still remains rampant. Indeed, Harvard University forced out 70 students for cheating during a May 2012 final exam, and in 2015, more than 60 Dartmouth College students were ...
A Speed Bump on the Road to 5G?
2020 was supposed to be the year that 5G, new fifth-generation wireless communications technology designed to provide data-speed enhancements of anywhere from 10 to 100 times what 4G can provide, along with lower latency and greater user capacity, was supposed to go mainstream, thanks to 5G-enabled devices and networks finally coming to market.
However, as lockdowns designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus were enacted around the world, they were projected to negatively impact productio...
The Effectiveness of Coding Camps
Andrew Sorensen has been working as a software engineer for technology company Expedia for the past 16 months, but unlike many programmers, the former car salesman didn't spend years toiling away at a university studying computer science. Instead, lured by the promises of a good salary, Sorensen enrolled in 2015 as a student at Coding Dojo, a 14-week, intensive coding school that emphasizes a narrow focus on hands-on programming techniques, and wound up landing a job at the travel website com...
Weaponizing Robots
Science fiction writers often envision a future in which battles are fought not only by human soldiers, but also by automated robot armies that can enhance firepower while reducing humans’ exposure to injury or death. A world filled with Terminator¬-style killing machines remains highly unlikely – outside of Hollywood blockbusters – but robots equipped with serious firepower are being developed today, with an eye on battlefield integration in the not-to-distant future.
Indeed, in October 2013...
Cuny Tutor Program Highlights Math, CS Careers to Nyc Students
While there certainly are exceptions to the rule, many New York City public middle and high school students have not received support and encouragement to focus on math and computer science subjects. That is likely to be a major impediment to these students as they progress through their academic careers, as the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) occupations are growing at 17% per year, while other occupations are growing at a 9...