Prototyping virtual reality serious games for building earthquake preparedness: The Auckland City Hospital case study

Enhancing evacuee safety is a key factor in reducing the number of injuries and deaths that result from earthquakes. One way this can be achieved is by training occupants. Virtual Reality (VR) and Serious Games (SGs), represent novel techniques that may overcome the limitations of traditional training approaches. VR and SGs have been examined in the fire emergency context; however, their application to earthquake preparedness has not yet been extensively examined.We provide a theoretical discussion of the advantages and limitations of using VR SGs to investigate how building occupants behave during earthquake evacuations and to train building occupants to cope with such emergencies. We explore key design components for developing a VR SG framework: (a) what features constitute an earthquake event; (b) which building types can be selected and represented within the VR environment; (c) how damage to the building can be determined and represented; (d) how non-player characters (NPC) can be designed; and (e) what level of interaction there can be between NPC and the human participants. We illustrate the above by presenting the Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand as a case study, and propose a possible VR SG training tool to enhance earthquake preparedness in public buildings.     

How does justice matter in online retailers’ reputation and purchase intentions: an empirical study of China

In recent years, online shopping has been proliferated around the world. Online retailers’ reputation and purchase intentions are critical for survival and profitability of any online store. Thus, this study proposes a research framework to examine the perceived justice effects on customers purchase intention and online retailers’ reputation. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to demonstrate the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and the structural equation modelling technique was used to test the research model. The hypothesised model was validated empirically using data collected from 383 online shopping customers in China. The results indicated that perceived procedural, distributive and interactional justice components were strong predictors of customers purchase intention and online retailers’ reputation while online retailers’ reputation had significant effects on purchase intentions. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications are also presented in the paper.     

Bridging the digital divide among low income urban communities. Leveraging use of Community Technology Centers

To fully leverage the availability of the internet services in Kenya, all the citizens need to be able to access and use the internet and related services. The availability of 4G networks, cyber cafés and fiber connectivity in most residential areas of Nairobi has allowed many Nairobi residents to be part of its information-based society. But, as with the other existing social inequalities in Nairobi, many people residing in the city’s low-income areas lack access to the internet. This has a negative impact on the residents’ prospects as the governments and businesses are increasingly delivering their services online. Using a pre-tested questionnaire, data were collected from five hundred and fifty respondents on their internet access and digital literacy skills among the residents of the Mathare Slum. From the survey, the study found existence of limited digital literacy skills and lack of internet access among the residents of the Mathare Slum. The study then used the Community Technology Centers (CTCs) intervention approach to narrowing the digital divide by setting up a CTC in the Mathare Slum to offer free community internet access and digital literacy skills training. Eight cohorts, each of eighteen residents, were offered free digital literacy training for five weeks and free unlimited internet access for four months. The study then evaluated the trainees’ internet usage continuance intentions after four months of continued use of the internet at the CTC. The results indicate that perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, internet self-efficacy, and confirmation of expectations all significantly influence the participants’ satisfaction with use of the internet. The results also show that continuance intentions of the participants from low income household to continue using internet beyond the CTC can be predicted by perceived service cost, satisfaction, internet self-efficacy and perceived usefulness. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of CTCs as an intervention approach and a replicable model that can be used to bridge the urban digital divide among low income urban communities for the development of an all-inclusive information-based society. Implications and recommendations for policy, practice and research are provided.     

汽车转向时驾驶员驾驶意图辨识与行为预测

提出了一种基于隐马尔可夫模型(HMM)和人工神经网络(ANN)相结合的模型,用于实现驾驶意图辨识和驾驶行为预测,从而达到辅助驾驶和提高主动安全性的目的。通过驾驶模拟器获得双移线和直线行驶的数据,通过结合HMM和ANN建立了驾驶员意图辨识和行为预测模型,对驾驶员意图和行为在紧急转向、正常转向和直线行驶三种工况下的操作分别进行了辨识和预测。实验结果表明,该模型在给定车速下能够准确辨识当前的驾驶意图和较为精确预测驾驶员的驾驶行为。     

The firm's continuance intentions to use inter-organizational ICTs: The influence of contingency factors and perceptions

We study the influence of contingency factors on the firm's intentions to continue using an inter-organizational ICT. This influence is mediated by perceptions and satisfaction with the ICT. The contingency factors analyzed are the firm's environment and ICT compatibility with the organizational culture. Perceptions are the usefulness, ease of use and security of the ICT. Findings demonstrate that contingency factors directly explain the firm's perceptions and, indirectly, satisfaction and continuance intentions. This study contributes by adapting the predominant behavioral models in the technology arena to the analysis of continuance and explaining why firms perceive inter-organizational ICTs as useful and secure.     

The Role of E-Service Quality and Information Quality in Creating Perceived Value: Antecedents to Web Site Loyalty

This theory-testing study is an examination of the influences of perceived information quality and perceived e-service quality in determining perceived value, and the influence of these three constructs in determining web site loyalty intentions. The results indicate that (1) perceived e-service quality and perceived information quality similarly influence loyalty intentions, (2) perceived e-service quality more strongly influences perceived value than does perceived information quality, and (3) perceived information quality partially mediates the relationship between perceived e-service quality and perceived value. The model was significant in explaining loyalty intentions.     

基于自适应学习的Rootkit检测模型

针对目前基于异常行为的Rootkit检测方法依赖于行为的选取和行为模式库的完备性,提出了一种基于自适应学习的Rootkit检测系统模型。该模型对通过模糊行为识别检测出的Rootkit的行为进行分析,利用学习机制提取新的行为特征,不断完善行为模式库,并动态计算各行为特征对Rootkit的支持度自适应地更新各行为特征的检测权重,实现对未知Rootkit的检测。实验结果表明,该模型能较好地检测Rootkit,且不会明显影响系统性能。     

In search of 'project chemistry'

The paper aims to provide a language and a conceptual toolkit to deepen our understanding of the impact of relational and social issues on the success of construction projects. Building on several streams of literature, as well as on individual and group interviews with construction practitioners, the paper develops the notion of ‘project chemistry’ as a way of capturing some of the relational and behavioural dimensions and factors that may affect project success and effectiveness in construction. The paper introduces a provisional theoretical framework that (a) identifies a number of external and project level determinants of ‘project chemistry’, (b) suggests ways of measuring how and how well people interact, perceive, and work together in a project, and (c) relates these issues to broader economic and technical factors. The paper concludes with some reflections on the implications and challenges for future research and management practices raised by the notion of ‘project chemistry’.     

The relationship between disgust sensitivity and behaviour: A virtual reality study on food disgust

This study was the first to use virtual reality for disgust research and pursued two aims. First, we explored whether it was possible to induce disgust in a virtual environment. Second, we examined the relationship between food disgust sensitivity, presence (a psychological state of “being there”), and participants’ willingness to eat a food item after exposure to a virtual disgust cue. We asked 100 participants to eat chocolate and complete a tasting experiment within a virtual environment while wearing a head-mounted HTC Vive device. The control group (n = 50) saw a piece of chocolate appear in the virtual environment on a table in front of them before being asked to take and eat it. The disgust group (n = 50) saw a dog that walked across the table and stopped halfway to produce dog faeces that looked like a piece of chocolate. Subsequently, participants were asked to eat a real piece of chocolate. In both groups, participants were given the opportunity to refuse consumption. Participants in the experimental condition were more likely to refuse consumption than those in the control condition. Furthermore, in the experimental condition, we found that physical presence mediated the relationship between participants’ food disgust sensitivity and willingness to eat the chocolate. Our data suggested that virtual reality is a valid way to evoke disgust for the purposes of research and that people who are disgust sensitive have more difficulty ignoring virtual disgust cues than people who are less disgust sensitive.     

The age prospective memory paradox: Young adults may not give their best outside of the lab.

Previous research has identified the age prospective memory paradox of age-related declines in laboratory settings in contrast to age benefits in naturalistic settings. Various factors are assumed to account for this paradox, yet empirical evidence on this issue is scarce. In 2 experiments, the present study examined the effect of task setting in a laboratory task and the effect of motivation in a naturalistic task on prospective memory performance in young and older adults. For the laboratory task (Experiment 1, n = 40), we used a board game to simulate a week of daily activities and varied features of the prospective memory task (e.g., task regularity). For the naturalistic task (Experiment 2, n = 80), we instructed participants to try to remember to contact the experimenter repeatedly over the course of 1 week. Results from the laboratory prospective memory tasks indicated significant age-related decline for irregular tasks (p = .006) but not for regular and focal tasks. In addition, in the naturalistic task, the age benefit was eliminated when young adults were motivated by incentives (F