Perceived Risk and Self-Efficacy as Motivators: Understanding Individuals' Long-Term Use of Health Information

Using Witte's (1992) extended parallel process model, this study identifies 4 groups of individuals according to their perceived risk and self-efficacy: responsive (high perceived risk, high efficacy), proactive (low perceived risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high perceived risk, low efficacy), and indifference (low perceived risk, low efficacy). Membership in these groups is hypothesized to influence motivation to think about cardiovascular diseases (CVD), use of CVD-related information, and knowledge acquisition. In the cross-sectional data waves, there was a significant interaction between risk perception and self-efficacy on individuals' (a) motivation to think about CVD issues, (b) use of health information, and (c) knowledge acquisition. This study also found similar results longitudinally over a 2-year and a 6-year period.     

Participating in Health Issue‐Specific Social Networking Sites to Quit Smoking: How Does Online Social Interconnectedness Influence Smoking Cessation Self‐Efficacy?

This study examined members of health issue-specific social networking sites (SNSs) for smoking cessation, hypothesizing that social identification, bridging and bonding social capital, perceived subjective norms, and social support would impact the relationship between participation and smoking cessation self‐efficacy. Results (N = 252) of an online questionnaire revealed that participation significantly influenced each social factor, which in turn resulted in greater smoking cessation self-efficacy. By applying and extending traditional peer influence theories, a structural model predicting 5 underlying mechanisms of social interconnectedness that influence perceived behavioral control for quitting smoking was tested and supported. Implications for future research on health issue-specific SNSs are discussed.     

X波段行波管阳极控制电子枪设计

大功率电子枪设计中的主要问题是如何构成强流电子束和使电子枪中电子束聚焦。利用差值计算的方法初步确定了电子枪几何尺寸参数,进而应用数值模拟的方法计算了电子枪的结构及束流特性,设计了应用于X波段连续波大功率行波管的阳极控制电子枪。该电子枪设计参数为：阳极调制,导流系数为0．44μP,射程大于37mm,注腰半径为1mm。结果表明,该电子枪可完全满足x波段连续波大功率行波管对互作用电子束的要求。     

Toward a direct measure of video quality perception using EEG

An approach to the direct measurement of perception of video quality change using electroencephalography (EEG) is presented. Subjects viewed 8-s video clips while their brain activity was registered using EEG. The video signal was either uncompressed at full length or changed from uncompressed to a lower quality level at a random time point. The distortions were introduced by a hybrid video codec. Subjects had to indicate whether they had perceived a quality change. In response to a quality change, a positive voltage change in EEG (the so-called P3 component) was observed at latency of about 400-600 ms for all subjects. The voltage change positively correlated with the magnitude of the video quality change, substantiating the P3 component as a graded neural index of the perception of video quality change within the presented paradigm. By applying machine learning techniques, we could classify on a single-trial basis whether a subject perceived a quality change. Interestingly, some video clips wherein changes were missed (i.e., not reported) by the subject were classified as quality changes, suggesting that the brain detected a change, although the subject did not press a button. In conclusion, abrupt changes of video quality give rise to specific components in the EEG that can be detected on a single-trial basis. Potentially, a neurotechnological approach to video assessment could lead to a more objective quantification of quality change detection, overcoming the limitations of subjective approaches (such as subjective bias and the requirement of an overt response). Furthermore, it allows for real-time applications wherein the brain response to a video clip is monitored while it is being viewed.     

Using a serious game to communicate risk and minimize psychological distance regarding environmental pollution

Persuading individuals to engage in pro-environmental behavior is challenging. Interactive media, such as virtual environments and video games, present opportunities to minimize psychological distance and bolster perceived risks associated with environmental threats. In this experiment, we tested the effects of a serious game that allowed users to engage in environmental cleanup. In the virtual environment, participants (N = 190) navigated down a polluted river that was described as geographically and temporally close or distant. The affordance of interactivity, specifically contingency, was also manipulated. Results revealed that feeling psychologically close to the environment led to greater risk perception, which in turn led to more environmental behavior and greater support for environmental policy in the days following the experiment. In terms of interactivity, higher perceptions of contingency led to greater self-efficacy, which also led to more environmental behavior and greater support for environmental policy after the experiment. We discuss implications for environmental communication, science communication, and other prosocial persuasion efforts using interactive media such as serious games and virtual reality.     

Is Usage a Missing Link in Explaining the Perceived Learning Outcome of Technology-Mediated Learning?

Information systems (IS) researchers have demonstrated that usage is a key variable in explaining the performance impact of information technology. However, existing technology-mediated learning (TML) studies have not examined the influence of usage on learning outcome and the factors that determine the usage of TML. To address this research gap, our study presents and tests a TML model by drawing insights from two research streams. First, following the IS literature, we incorporate the impact of technology usage on individual performance. Second, building on the social cognitive theory, we study the influences of self-efficacy beliefs (system and subject domain) and affective responses (affect and anxiety) on technology usage. Based on 503 matched responses collected using two-stage questionnaire surveys, our analyses confirm the significance of usage in mediating the effects of system self-efficacy and anxiety on perceived learning outcome, but not in mediating the effects of affect and subject-domain self-efficacy. We find strong support for the influences of self-efficacy beliefs on affective responses. Self-efficacy beliefs of the users are also observed to change over time and perceived learning outcome plays a significant role in explaining this change. Our research enhances the existing TML theory by producing useful insights regarding the influence of social cognitive factors of learners on the usage of TML and how usage mediates the influence of these variables on perceived learning outcome.     

Domain-specific innovativeness and new product adoption: A case of wearable devices

Wearable technology has recently started gaining mass market attention, but the actual adoption of the technology is not up to expectations. The current study examines the effects of consumers’ domain-specific innovativeness (DSI) on the adoption of wearable technology. In this study, consumer DSI is first conceptualized to have two dimensions namely, product-possessing innovativeness (PPI) and information-possessing innovativeness (IPI). The effects of PPI and IPI on perceived attributes of wearable technology (relative advantage, social image, aesthetics, and novelty) are then examined, which influence purchase intention. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on a survey data from young consumers. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the proposed research model. Results demonstrate that 1) the DSI construct must be examined in the two dimensions so that it can properly measure the nature and characteristics of DSI, 2) IPI plays an important role, having a positive effect on all four perceived attributes of IT innovations, 3) PPI has a positive effect on perceived social image and perceived novelty, and finally 4) all perceived attributes of IT innovations have a positive effect on consumers’ purchase intention of wearable devices. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Safety Evaluation of Construction Based on the Improved AHP-Grey Model

The construction industry plays a major role in Chinese economy, but associated with a disproportionately high number of injuries and fatalities. In this paper, we proposed a improved AHP-Grey Model which has 4 limitations before. A safety hierarchical framework was established and attributes were identified through reason analysis method of Accident Chain Reaction Theory and 4M Theory; attributes weights were determined by Interval Analytic Hierarchy Process instead of AHP, and the safety checklist was also improved; grey relative Euclid weighted correlation degrees were calculated for safety level ordering instead of Deng’s grey correlation degree. The improved model can better reflect the actual safety condition of the construction.     

Ferroelectric memories for security and identification purposes

Magnetically encoded cards are currently being utilized for train tickets and for door (access) keys to restricted areas. This implementation suffers from numerous serious deficiencies, of which the worst is the ease with which the magnetically coded information may be altered or copied. Alteration may be accidental or with intent to defraud. Security may be questionable depending upon the sophistication required to determine the encoded information. Ferroelectric encoded cards also provide information coding for security and identification, but this is not readily subject to compromise. These cards are immune to accidental modification of their encoded information and such information is not readily ascertained. As with all innovations, there are excellent attributes and those not so desirable. These are discussed in the paper.     

煤矿矿井安全培训仿真系统

在煤矿管理和生产中,要降低事故风险和减少事故死亡人数,就要求管理人员和井下工作人员能够熟练掌握安全生产和防灾避灾的知识和技能,要达到这样的要求,经济、高效的安全培训是必不可少的,而仿真训练是最好的方法。针对上述问题,在此讨论了现有安全培训系统存在的问题,并提出具体的解决方案,基于VisualC＋＋开发工具,开发了煤矿矿井安全培训仿真系统,实现了井下巷道系统模块、灾害再现系统模块和工作安全培训模块等功能,很好地解决了上述问题。     

Third-Person Effect and Internet Pornography: The Influence of Collectivism and Internet Self-Efficacy

Within the context of Internet pornography, a survey of both U.S. and South Korean college students ( N = 232) examined the influence of individualism-collectivism and media self-efficacy on the third-person effect. Two findings emerged: First, this study demonstrates the third-person effect of the Internet for the first time within Western culture. Participants perceived that Internet pornography's negative effect was greater on others than themselves, and this third-person perception predicted support for Internet censorship. Second, although prior research failed to support conjecture that culture shapes third-person perception, these data show culture as an important antecedent; collectivism diminished third-person perception and subsequent support for Internet pornography censorship. The impact of Internet self-efficacy was not substantial. The influence of collectivism on the third-person effect generally and public perceptions of Internet pornography in particular signals its import to scholars interested in social policy and social influence.     

A scan-conversion tube utilizing fiber-optics photon transfer

Scan-conversion tubes utilizing fiber-optics photon transfer (FOPT) are currently being developed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation under contract from the United States Army Electronics Research and Development Laboratory. The tubes consist of three major components: a reading electron gun, a writing electron gun and an interjacent scan-conversion target. The targets consist of a fiber-optics disc coated on one side with a phosphor and on the other with a photoconductor, the reading gun is similar to the low velocity gun of a vidicon and the writing gun is a high velocity cathode-ray tube gun. The majority of targets tested have incorporated a long storage Permachon type photoconductor and a short persistence phosphor; however, other photoconductors and phosphors can be used to perform a variety of video conversions and/or signal enhancements. Operation of these scan-conversion tubes requires only the circuitry normally associated with the driving of a cathode-ray tube and a vidicon; no RF or other type of cancelling circuitry is required to separate the written and read-out signals.     

A non-cooperative quality optimization game for scalable video delivery over MANETs

Non-cooperative game theory has found many important applications in engineering. In networking research community, this theory has been adopted to represent the selfish behaviour of the network users. In video transmission over Mobile Ad hoc NETworks (MANETs), video sources try to optimize their perceived video quality unilaterally. On the other hand, network providers try to set some prices on the scarce network resources such that their associated income is maximized. In the current paper, a non-cooperative quality game framework has been introduced in which by exploiting a related quality metric, scalable video users try to optimize their perceived quality in a distributed manner. The existence of a Nash Equilibrium (NE) has been proved and the stability of the distributed resource allocation strategy has been investigated. In the proposed resource assignment game, the utility functions of all competing scalable video sources converge to some optimal value which is dictated by the resulting Nash equilibrium in the allocated rates. In this optimal point, no player (video source) can enhance its utility unilaterally without compromising other players’ utility. The assigned rates in the game can be considered as rate-feedbacks for on-line rate adaptation of a moderate scalable video encoder such as H.264/MPEG4 AVC. Some numerical analysis have been presented to validate the theoretical results and to verify the claims.     

Defect visibility and content importance: effects on perceived impairment

In this paper, we describe the results of a series of psychophysical experiments that investigated the relationships among defect visibility, content importance, and perceived impairment in digital video. Various types of controlled defects were inserted into normal video and shown to our test subjects. The defects varied in their strength, location, appearance, size, and duration. We measured three specific subjective quantities: the defect detection probabilities, the perceived impairment, and the content importance. Impairment was found to be tightly related to defect visibility but only weakly related to content importance.     

Performance modeling of FEC‐based unequal error protection for H.264/AVC video streaming over burst‐loss channels

Unequal error protection systems are a popular technique for video streaming. Forward error correction (FEC) is one of error control techniques to improve the quality of video streaming over lossy channels. Moreover, frame‐level FEC techniques have been proposed for video streaming because of different priority video frames within the transmission rate constraint on a Bernoulli channel. However, various communication and storage systems are likely corrupted by bursts of noise in the current wireless behavior. If the burst losses go beyond the protection capacity of FEC, the efficacy of FEC can be degraded. Therefore, our proposed model allows an assessment of the perceived quality of H.264/AVC video streaming over bursty channels, and is validated by simulation experiments on the NS‐2 network simulator at a given estimate of the packet loss ratio and average burst length. The results suggest a useful reference in designing the FEC scheme for video applications, and as the video coding and channel parameters are given, the proposed model can provide a more accurate evaluation tool for video streaming over bursty channels and help to evaluate the impact of FEC performance on different burst‐loss parameters. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅谈枪支(弹药)库室电子技防测试

一个完整枪支(弹药)库室的安全防范由管理要求、物防要求、技防要求及人防要求完美的结合而成,其中技防要求是需要根据枪支(弹药)库室现场实体情况采取的一项电子技术手段,是起到安全预报警的最佳方式。本文就枪支(弹药)库室安全防范在技防要求方面按现行GA 1016-2012标准在检测中存在的问题做一些探讨、建议,以期为需要枪支(弹药)库室的建设单位、施工单位提供参考。     

基于视频质量评价的时域失真测量

视频质量评价(VQA)对于视频处理应用有着重要影响.人眼视觉特性的时域掩蔽效应和时域失真波动是视频质量感知评价的关键因子.在已有的视频质量评价研究中,很少有考虑到时域失真波动对视频主观感知质量的影响.改进了传统的时域分析算法,并证明了视频质量评价算法中时域失真的有效性.     

一种基于麦克风阵列的声源定位算法研究

麦克风阵列声源定位广泛应用于视音频会议系统及枪声定位系统等领域。提出了一种基于最小熵值（ME）的麦克风阵列声源定位新方法,其特点在于利用最小熵值方法对麦克风阵列进行时延估计,并与离散网格方法相结合,对声源进行空间搜索。实验结果表明,在同等混响或噪声条件下,该方法定位优于广义互相关-相位变换方法（GCC-PHAT）。     

What do people perceive in watching video game streaming? Eliciting spectators’ value structures

This study attempts to offer new insights into viewers’ perceptual process of watching video game streaming to uncover their value structures with a qualitative method of soft laddering interviews based on means-end chain (MEC) theory. A total of 60 experienced spectators in Taiwan were recruited via snowball sampling. The laddering interviews identified viewers’ perceptions of 9 attributes, 9 consequences, and 8 values that construct a hierarchical value map (HVM) consisting of salient attribute-consequence-value chains. The results show that fun and enjoyment of life as well as warm relationships with others are two major values perceived by game streaming viewers. In addition, this study preliminarily compared viewers’ laddering chains of different preferences for male and female streamers at the attribute level and found a slight divergence. The findings complement the existing literature in the game streaming field and provide practical implications for streamers to more closely meet viewers’ needs.     

Bit-Rate Efficiency of H.264 Encoders Measured With Subjective Assessment Techniques

In this study we evaluated the bit-rate efficiency of current hardware H.264 encoders as compared to that of established MPEG-2 hardware encoders. To estimate bit-rate efficiency, we measured the subjective video quality of MPEG-2 encoded material processed at three bit rates: 8, 12, and 16 Mbps, and determined the bit-rate at which H.264 encoded material produced similar subjective video quality. The MPEG-2 and H.264 bit rates that resulted in the same perceived video quality were used to estimate bit-rate efficiency.