Computer-assisted yoga training system

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Self-training is essential in sports exercise. However, without the instruction of a coach, a practitioner may progress to a limited extent. Improper postures...     

Exploring Factors Affecting the Adoption of Internet of Things Services

The Internet of things (IoT) is seen as a potentially effective means of integrating multiple technologies to improve the quality of life. However, little attention has been paid to factors that may have a significant effect on a user’s intention to use the IoT services. This study applies the value-based adoption model to examine the influences of benefits (i.e. perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment) and sacrifices (i.e. perceived privacy risk and perceived costs) on the user’s perceived value of and intention to use the IoT services. A structural equation modeling approach is applied to a survey of 489 IoT users, with results indicating that perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly affect behavioral intention through perceived value. Moreover, perceived privacy risk also plays a key factor in determining IoT adoption. The implications of this study are discussed.     

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of novel hyperelastic micro-motion manipulator for water conserving device

Microsystem Technologies - The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel water-conserving micro-motion manipulator (manipulator) for application in the fluid flow rate regulator of a faucet through...     

Technology executives in the changing accounting information environment: Impact of IFRS adoption on CIO compensation

Accounting regulatory changes that affect the information technology (IT) infrastructure of firms have prompted Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to take the lead in aligning IT changes with new reporting requirements. This study investigates the associations between the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and CIO compensation. We find a significant increase in CIO compensation in the post-IFRS period, which is higher in non-IT firms than in IT firms. Moreover, pay is at a premium for CIOs equipped with more educational background in business. We discuss the implications of our study and offer suggestions for future research.     

Lightweight and flexible key distribution schemes for secure group communications

Wireless Networks - Key distribution is one of the most fundamental cryptographic primitives that can establish secure group communications in both centralized and distributed networks. A one-time...     

An investigation of the impact of cognitive absorption on continued usage of social media in Taiwan: the perspectives of fit

Information processing view explains the fit between information processing need and information processing capability to achieve optimal performance. This research observes that the model of users’ needs-functional capabilities fits by two perspectives of holistic and reductionistic in the context of social media usage. Through an online survey of 310 Facebook users in Taiwan, the findings provide the holistic and reductionistic perspectives of the fit between users’ needs and functional capabilities as having a significant impact on users’ cognitive absorption. Thus, social media providers must emphasise managing the fit between users’ needs and functional capabilities for their products and services development.     

Information technology adoption for sustainable development: green e-books as an example*

ABSTRACT

In recent years, due to increasing awareness of the need for environmental protection, there have been significant efforts to improve consumers’ acceptance of green information technology(IT) products for sustainable development. This study first investigated how knowledge about a green IT product (e-books) influences consumers’ planning processes by using the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior. Data from 320 respondents were analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships in the research model. Results show that perceived usefulness, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have a significant and positive impact on the intention to purchase e-books. Results also show the moderating effect of consumers’ knowledge about the environmental friendliness of e-books on their intention to buy e-books. Finally, important implications of the findings are discussed, and directions for future research are also provided in this paper.     

MEASUREMENT OF LIQUID FILM THICKNESS ON THE SURFACE OF A PARTIALLY IMMERSED VERTICAL ROTATING DISK USING A GAMMA CAMERA

The liquid film thickness on the surface of a partially immersed vertical rotating disk was determined using a gamma camera imaging system to measure the amount and spatial distribution of a dissolved 99m-Technetium pertechneiate radionuclide tracer. The method allows simultaneous measurement of film thickness in individual regions having a projected surface area of less than 1 cm² and distributed over the entire exposed surface of the disk. Measurement accuracy is limited only by counting statistics, and for these studies was better than ±4% of the absolute film thickness.

Experiments were conducted with a 31.5 cm diameter aluminum disk rotating from 18 to 99 revolutions per minute; seven aqueous solutions of glycerol and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) within the viscosity range 1 to 19.7 cp were used. The average film thickness varied between 0.045 and 0.45 mm, and was a function of solution viscosity and disk angular velocity. Local film thickness was dependent on both radial and angular position, and varied from 0.5 to 3.0 times the average thickness. This variation may be important to the characterization of mass transfer when diffusion through the film is a rate limiting step     

The Gel-Crystallization of 1-Phenylalanine and Aspartame from Aqueous Solutions

It was observed that 1-phenylalanine and aspartame form thermoreversible gels in aqueous solutions (which include crystals) through nonagitated crystallization. FT-IR spectra of aspartame gel-crystals indicated that the possible interactions involved in gel formation are hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl and the amine groups and electrostatic interactions between NH 3 + and COO - . For gel-crystals of 1-phenylalanine, the main interaction involved was electrostatic interaction between NH 3 + and COO - . According to the thermal analysis of aspartame and 1-phenylalanine solutions, the gel-melting temperature increased with increasing heating rate and the gel-crystallization temperature decreased with increasing cooling rate.