Toward an understanding of the behavioral intention to use mobile banking

Although millions of dollars have been spent on building mobile banking systems, reports on mobile banking show that potential users may not be using the systems, despite their availability. Thus, research is needed to identify the factors determining users' acceptance of mobile banking. While there has been considerable research on the technology acceptance model (TAM) that predicts whether individuals will accept and voluntarily use information systems, limitations of the TAM include the omission of an important trust-based construct in the context of electronic/mobile commerce, and the assumption that there are no barriers preventing an individual from using an IS if he or she chooses to do so. Based on literature relating to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the TAM, this study extends the applicability of the TAM in a mobile banking context, by adding one trust-based construct (“perceived credibility”) and two resource-based constructs (“perceived self-efficacy” and “perceived financial cost”) to the model, while paying careful attention to the placing of these constructs in the TAM's existing nomological structure. Data collected from 180 users in Taiwan were tested against the extended TAM, using the structural equation modeling approach. The results strongly support the extended TAM in predicting users' intentions to adopt mobile banking. Several implications for IT/IS acceptance research and mobile banking management practices are discussed.     

Smart TV: are they really smart in interacting with people? Understanding the interactivity of Korean Smart TV

Smart TV (STV), a new digital television service, has been rapidly developing, particularly in Korea. With the conceptual model of interactivity, this study empirically investigates the effects of perceived interactivity on the motivations and attitudes towards STV in Korea. The model is created to validate the relationship of perceived interactivity to performance, attitude and intention. Further, the model examines the mediating roles of perceived interactivity in the effect of performance on attitude towards STV. Empirical evidence supports the mediating role of perceived interactivity. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of building a theory of interactivity and providing practical insights into developing a user-centred STV interface.     

Adoption of e-book among college students: The perspective of an integrated TAM

This study explored factors that affect consumer acceptance of e-book use by applying a model that incorporates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical basis of the hypotheses. The model differentiated external factors—compatibility, relative advantage, self-efficacy, and subjective norms—from internal factors—perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, satisfaction with e-book usage, and intention to continue using e-books. The study (n = 1030) found statistically significant support for the hypothesized model, indicating that the tested relationships between the revised TAM and user intention to continue using e-books were positive and statistically significant. The study’s findings provide potentially significant implications that can be used to develop guidelines and a framework for assessing e-book users’ behavior.     

Cross-cultural differences in drivers’ speed choice

The aim of the present study was to examine if there are any cross-cultural differences between Swedish and Turkish drivers’ rating of the variables in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with regard to complying with the speed limit. A sample of 219 Swedish and 252 Turkish drivers completed a questionnaire including questions based on the theory of planned behaviour (i.e. regarding attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, intention and behaviour). The results show that country differences in drivers’ intention to comply with the speed limit as well as their self-reported compliance could be explained by differences found in their attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Furthermore, drivers who live in a country with fewer road traffic fatalities (i.e. Sweden), compared with drivers who live in a country with more road traffic fatalities (i.e. Turkey), reported a more positive attitude towards complying with the speed limit, a more positive subjective norm, a higher perceived behavioural control, a higher intention and a larger proportion of the time spent complying.     

Effect of particle size on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of X70 pipeline steel

In this study, by using a standard quartz replace of sandy soil particles, the effect of soil particle size (0.1–0.25 mm, 0.6–1.0 mm) on the electrochemical corrosion behavior of X70 pipeline steel in sandy soil corrosive environment simulated by 3.5 wt% sodium chloride (NaCl) was investigated through polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technology. The results indicated that the polarization resistance of X70 steel decreased with decreasing particle size. For all polarization curves, the right shift of cathodic branch with decreasing particle size, suggesting that the cathode oxygen reduction process is accelerated. The corrosion of X70 steel is controlled by the process of cathode diffusion and oxygen reduction. This can be attributed to the effect of gas/liquid/solid three‐phase boundary (TPB) zone on cathodic process of X70 steel, and the corrosion rate is mainly determined by the cathodic reaction. EIS of X70 steel consisted of two capacitive loops with 7, 60 and 90 days buried corrosion, and the charge transfer resistance of X70 steel increased with increasing particle size.     

Effect of length of gas/liquid/solid three-phase boundary zone on cathodic and corrosion behavior of metals

Liquid dispersion, depending on the length of gas/liquid/solid three-phase boundary (TPB) zone of dispersed liquid on a metal surface, is an important property of liquid state influencing corrosion behavior of metals in gas/liquid/solid multiphase corrosion systems. The effect of TPB length on the cathode and corrosion process was studied using steady state polarization technique, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) technique. It was found that both the cathodic limiting current density and corrosion current density linearly increased with increasing the TPB length, indicating that the cathodic and corrosion process in gas/liquid/solid multiphase corrosion systems not only depended on the thickness of liquid layer but also strongly depended on the dispersed liquid state on a metal surface. In addition, a model is developed to establish the relationship between the cathodic limiting current density and the TPB length. The simulation result is in good agreement with the experimental findings. The model is also useful for evaluating the effect of liquid dispersion on atmospheric corrosion rates.     

The effect of conformity tendency on pedestrians’ road-crossing intentions in China: An application of the theory of planned behavior

This paper presents a survey investigating the effects of age, gender and conformity tendency on Chinese pedestrians’ intention to cross the road in potentially dangerous situations. A sample of 426 respondents completed a demographic questionnaire, a scale measuring their tendency towards social conformity, and a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This questionnaire measured people's intentions to cross the road in two different road crossing situations, their attitude towards the behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, anticipated affect, moral norms, and perceived risk. The two scenarios depicted (i) a situation where the crossing was consistent with other pedestrians’ behavior (Conformity scenario) and (ii) a situation where the road crossing was inconsistent with other pedestrians (Non-Conformity scenario). Pedestrians reported greater likelihood in crossing the road when other pedestrians were crossing the road. People who showed greater tendencies towards social conformity also had stronger road crossing intentions than low conformity people for both scenarios. The predictive model explained 36% and 48% of the variance in the Non-Conformity and Conformity scenarios, respectively. Attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and perceived risk emerged as the common predictors for both situations. The results have a number of theoretical and practical implications. In particular, interventions should focus on perceptions of risk that inform road users that crossing with other pedestrians against the signal is also unsafe and prohibited, and may lead to negative outcomes.     

Using a cognition-motivation-control view to assess the adoption intention for Web-based learning

People expect Web technology to facilitate learning, particularly in higher education. A key issue involves the factors motivating the adoption of the Web for learning. Drawing upon social cognitive theory (SCT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study adopts a cognition-motivation-control view to assess learner adoption intentions for Web-based learning. The proposed model is validated by surveying 319 undergraduate students who had enrolled in Web-based courses and attended a 12-hour training program on using a Web-based system for academic learning. The empirical findings identified that efficacy control and efficacy expectations can be used to guide learner adaptation learning behaviors on the Web. The limitations of this study are discussed and future research directions suggested.     

Critical crack tip opening displacement of different strength concrete

Critical crack tip opening displacement (CTODc) of concrete using experimental and analytical evaluation with seven different compressive strengths ranging from 30 up to 150 MPa was studied based on two types of fracture tests: three-point bending (TPB) and wedge splitting (WS). In the tests, the values of CTODc were experimentally recorded using a novel technique, in which fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were used, and two traditional techniques, in which strain gauges and clip gauges were deployed. The values of CTODc of tested concrete were also predicted using two existing analytical formulae proposed by JENQ & SHAH and XU, respectively. It is found that the values of CTODc obtained by both experimental measurements and analytical formulae exhibit a negligible variation as the compressive strength of concrete increases, and the test geometry adopted has little impact on the value of CTODc. Regarding the experimental measurement of CTODc, the clip gauge method generally leads to a larger value of CTODc and shows a more significant scatter as compared with the other two methods, while the strain gauge method leads to a slightly lower CTODc as compared with the FBG sensor method. The analytical formula proposed by JENQ and SHAH is found to generally lead to an overestimation, while the analytical formula proposed by XU shows a good accuracy.