The paradox of technology innovativeness and risk perceptions – A profile of Asian smartphone users

Risk perceptions and technology innovativeness are the two primary factors related to the adoption of mobile technologies. The current study examines the role of technology innovativeness and risk perceptions on smartphone use and dependence in an Asian context. A total of 9086 participants were recruited through online surveys from ten Asian countries. Ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed the effects of technology innovativeness, information security, privacy concern, and their interactions on smartphone use and dependence. Moreover, based on users’ smartphone usage patterns and perceptions, this paper identified four homogeneous groups using cluster analysis. Results shows that Asian smartphone users can be segmented into four groups: innovators, conservatives, moderators, and laggards. The four clusters show significant differences in demographic features. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on these findings.     

Increasing inequalities in what we do online: A longitudinal cross sectional analysis of Internet activities among the Dutch population (2010 to 2013) over gender,age, education,and income

We investigate types of Internet activities among a representative sample of the Dutch population from 2010 to 2013. We examined usage patterns of seven types of Internet activities (i.e., information, news, personal development, commercial transaction, social interaction, leisure, and gaming) and related these patterns with gender, age, education, and income. Activities related to news, personal development, commercial transaction, and social interaction increased in popularity. For most capital enhancing activities, men, younger people, higher educated people, and people with higher than average incomes were prominent. These observations, however, are subject to change. The Internet seems to provide increasingly more capital-enhancing opportunities for those with higher education and income, which would accordingly reinforce their already strong positions in society.     

Determinants of social gratifications obtained by older adults moderated by public supports for Internet access in Spain

As the standard of living constantly improves, and as life expectancy increases in developed countries, the number of adults who want to have a gratifying life increases as well. Furthermore, although the Internet offers a world of potentially rewarding experiences, there is much heterogeneity among older people with respect to those who are able to benefit from its use. To reduce this gap, public access and digital literacy programs have been implemented. The aim of the study was to find out the extent to which these programs moderate the effects of age and socioeconomic status on social access to and use of the Internet in a sample of older users in Spain. Through quota sampling of retired users over 54 years of age in Spain (N = 560), who were regular users of public supports for Internet access, a structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis was conducted. The data showed a staggered association of access indicators (physical access, digital skills and social e-activities) on the social gratifications obtained, as well as the moderating role of institutional supports. This study provides empirical evidence of the ability of public supports to moderate the effect of socioeconomics inequalities on access and social exploitation of the Internet by older people. The findings point to the need to strengthen digital literacy actions, especially in supports that are more sensitive to the effect of age and socio-economic status.     

Rainbow over the Internet: How Internet use curtails homophobia in China

China, despite its rapid economic modernization and the lack of powerful conservative institutions, is not known for embracing diverse sexual orientation. The present study investigates whether and how Internet use, a increasingly important part of contemporary people's daily life, leads to changes in people's attitudes toward homosexuality in China, and relevant policy implications. Analyzing the Chinese General Social Survey data from 2010 to 2015, this paper develops an ordered probit model to quantify the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance, adopts a substitution variable method to conduct the robustness check, and utilizes instrument variables to address the potential endogeneity in the regressions. The results show that Internet use has a significant positive impact on Chinese people's homosexuality tolerance. Further studies have found that the influence of Internet use on homosexuality tolerance is also heterogeneous to different populations. Besides, compared with traditional media, the Internet has a more significant impact on homosexuality tolerance. This paper provides some explanations for the rise in China's homosexuality tolerance from 2010 to 2015, and additional impetus for the international community to push for a liberal Internet policy in China.     

Towards zero carbon design in offices: Integrating smart facades,ventilation, and surface heating and cooling

This paper discusses an overall strategy for reducing energy demand in non-domestic buildings, mainly focusing on office developments. It considers four areas: reducing internal heat loads; addressing passive design through the building construction; using efficient and responsive HVAC systems and focusing on chilled (heated) surface systems; integrating renewable energy supply systems into the building design. The impact on energy use and carbon dioxide emissions will be discussed. The paper will draw from a range of design projects carried out in Europe, where this integrated approach has been applied, and then explore the benefits in relation to applications in the Middle East and China. Energy modeling results, to inform the design process will be presented, using energy simulation for three case study locations, in Zurich, the Chongqing and Abu Dhabi.     

A household dishwasher heated by a heat pump system using an energy storage unit with water as the heat source

Electricity usage by a household dishwasher can be reduced by using a heat pump system to heat the dishwasher cabinet, dishware and washing water. The evaporator obtains the energy from an energy storage unit which consists of a container filled with water which freezes to ice. The majority of the heat transfer from the energy storage to the evaporator occurs when ice is created in the energy storage unit. A transient simulation model of a dishwasher with a heat pump system was developed and compared to an experimental setup with good agreement. A simulation study of the compressor cylinder volume and the compressor operating time was performed. The results showed a 24% reduction in total electricity use compared to a dishwasher cycle using a traditional electric element.     

Estimation of a preference map of new consumers for spatial load forecasting simulation methods using a spatial analysis of points

The paper presents a spatial analysis of points especially suited to estimate a preference map for new consumers, which is then used as an analytical tool in spatial electric load forecasting. This approach is an exploratory spatial data analysis used to discover useful point patterns in the spatial location of distribution transformers to calculate a preference value for each area, rating it with respect to a hypothetical load change that may occur. We consider the locations of distribution transformers occupied land. Random points are generated in the study area where the new loads are expected; these points are referred to as unoccupied land. The method uses a generalized additive model (GAM) to estimate the probability of unoccupied land becoming occupied land. We test the approach with data from a real distribution system in a mid-size city in Brazil; the result is a preference map that shows the areas where new consumers are most likely to be allocated. The main advantage of this method is the ability work with a small-scale resolution, which enables the use of a resolution suitable for spatial load forecasting method chosen. We test the calculated probabilities in a spatial load forecasting simulation, yielding results with lower spatial error when compared with the heuristic technique.     

Analyzing negative SNS behaviors of elementary and middle school students in Korea

With the growing speed of SNS accelerated recently, there are increasing concerns about the possibility of young students doing negative SNS behavior. This study tried to discover the relationship between various variables such as gender, grade, SNS usage time, motives to use SNS, degree of using advanced functions of SNS, SNS dependency, and perceptions about SNS with negative SNS behaviors among elementary and middle school students. The analyses revealed that regardless of gender and grade, the most frequently committed negative behavior is ‘stealing others’ private information’ and the least is ‘cyber bullying’, while ‘contacting strangers’ showing the most significant increase with the age. With the seriousness of negative SNS behaviors classified into four levels, it was found that the biggest significant difference across the levels appears on illegal use of photos and videos, followed by on verbal abuse and on cyber bullying. It was also found that a significant positive correlation exists between each of the factors considered and the negative SNS behavior. Based on these findings, a regression analysis was conducted to successfully extract several factors as significant predictors of the negative SNS behaviors. Furthermore, factors distinguishing the lowest level from the highest level of the negative SNS behaviors were identified to be gender, SNS dependency, utilization of advanced SNS functions, and grade, with its accuracy rate reaching as high as 85.6%.     

Petroleum substitution, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and environmental benefits from the development of natural gas vehicles in China

This study develops a bottom-up model to quantitatively assess the comprehensive effects of replacing traditional petroleum-powered vehicles with natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in China based on an investigation of the direct energy consumption and critical air pollutant (CAP) emission intensity, life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of NGV fleets. The results indicate that, on average, there are no net energy savings from replacing a traditional fuel vehicle with an NGV. Interestingly, an NGV results in significant reductions in direct CAP and life-cycle GHG emissions compared to those of a traditional fuel vehicle, ranging from 61% to 76% and 12% to 29%, respectively. Due to the increasing use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel in China (i.e. approximately 28.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2015), the total petroleum substituted with natural gas was approximately 23.8 million tonnes (Mt), which generated a GHG emission reduction of 16.9 Mt of CO₂ equivalent and a CAP emission reduction of 1.8 Mt in 2015. Given the significant contribution of NGVs, growing the NGV population in 2020 will further increase the petroleum substitution benefits and CAP and GHG emission reduction benefits by approximately 42.5 Mt of petroleum-based fuel, 3.1 Mt of CAPs and 28.0 Mt of GHGs. By 2030, these benefits will reach 81.5 Mt of traditional petroleum fuel, 5.6 Mt of CAPs and 50.5 Mt of GHGs, respectively.     

Assessing political second screening behavior and personality traits: The roles of economic development,freedom of expression and monochromatic vs. polychromatic cultures

This study focuses on an emerging media multitasking phenomenon called second screening or dual screening. Employing two-wave panel-data from 19 countries, we test whether the Big Five personality traits help explain the use of an additional screen or device while watching political content on TV to discuss the program with others or to look up for additional information. Results show that extraversion positively predicts political second screening. In contrast, agreeableness and openness to new experience are negatively related to political second screening. Moreover, multilevel analysis is performed to test whether the between-country variation is related to economic, political and cultural indicators.