Internet messaging: An examination of the impact of attitudinal,normative, and control belief systems

While instant messaging (IM) has been very popular among teenagers and college students for social and recreation communication, its use in corporate settings has been limited. We examined the factors that influence the intention to use and actual use of IM. A research model was developed based on diffusion of innovation and Socio-psychological theories. The model examined the influence of seven variables in three belief structures (the attitudinal, normative, and control). The model was empirically validated using a field survey of 349 respondents. The results indicated that five of the seven variables explained about 41% of the variance in the intention to use IM. The five significant variables were: utilitarian beliefs, hedonic beliefs, subjective norms, critical mass, and ease of use. Affiliation motivation was not significant and social belief had a negative impact on intention. As expected, intention to use had a significant influence on actual usage.     

The adoption of mobile healthcare by hospital's professionals: An integrative perspective

The adoption rate of mobile healthcare is relatively low in the hospital. In practice, a study of how healthcare professionals adopt mobile services to support their work is imperative. An integration of TAM and TPB, concerning both technological and organizational aspects, is important for understanding the adoption of mobile healthcare. However, mobile healthcare is a wireless device which is often used in a voluntary motive. Service provisions for pervasive and timely usage and individual psychological states are critical in determining its use. Accordingly, perceived service availability (PSA) and personal innovativeness in IT (PIIT) may be the important drivers to be included in TAM and TPB. This study thus proposed such a research framework from a broader and integrative perspective. The empirical examination showed high predictive power for adoption intention and the influential role of these important variables.     

Perceived derived attributes of online customer reviews

The influence of online customer reviews (OCRs) on customers' purchase intention has recently gained considerable attention, in both academic and business communities. Technology allows customers to freely and easily post their comments and opinions online about any product or service; this type of customer review can have a significant effect on customers' purchase decisions. Previous studies, however, have mainly focused on the influence of the virtual attributes of OCRs such as volume and valence on consumers' intentions, while limited attention has been paid to understanding the effects of the derived attributes. This study, thus, aims to understand the impact of the perceived derived attributes of OCRs on customer trust and intention. This study develops a – Perceived Derived Attributes (PDA) - model, based on the inclusion of perceived control from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), in order to investigate the effects of OCRs on customers’ purchasing intention. A total of 489 responses to a survey were collected from users of amazon.com. The findings from this study suggest that customer trust in an e-vendor and their intention to shop online are significantly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment of OCRs. Furthermore, the sense of control derived from OCRs significantly affects customer intention and significantly affects customer trust in e-vendors, particularly for customers who frequently check OCRs before making a purchase. Clearly, those attributes of OCRs are linked to the development of the shopping environment, which consequently can affect sales.     

Effect of microstructure on the electrochemical performance of Ni-ScSZ anodes

The effects of NiO powder morphology and sintering temperature on the microstructure and the electrochemical performance of Nickel-scandia-stabilized zirconia (Ni-ScSZ) cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were investigated. The particle size and agglomeration of the starting powders were found to affect both the microstructure and electrochemical performance of the Ni-ScSZ cermet anodes. The lowest polarization resistance, 0.690 Ω cm² at 700 °C, was measured for the Ni-ScSZ anode prepared with fine NiO powder (~0.5 µm grain size). This was attributed to the increase in the number of reaction sites afforded by the small grains and well-dispersed Ni and ScSZ phases. The effect of the anode sintering temperature was also found to affect the anode microstructure, adhesion with the electrolyte, and consequently anode polarization resistance. The lowest polarization resistance was observed for the anode sintered at 1400 °C and this was 3–5 times lower than the corresponding values for anodes sintered at lower temperatures.     

Property models and theoretical analysis of novel solid oxide fuel cell with triplet nano-composite electrode

Triplet nano-composite electrodes are actively examined experimentally, but there is a shortage of theoretical study. Theoretical models are helpful for understanding the experiments and provide guidance for design optimization of the novel electrode. Here new models for computing the electrode electronic and ionic conductivities, TPB length and hydraulic radius are presented. The novel properties determined by the models are used in a multi-physics numerical model that couples the intricate interdependency among electric conductions, electrochemical reaction and gas transport in SOFC. The theoretical I–V relations and hydraulic radius are in good agreement with the experiments, validatingtheproposed property models. The property models are then used to examine the influence of microstructure and material composition. The results show that: (i) Larger core-particle size and smaller nano-particle size are helpful for improving electrode properties; (ii) The required nano-particle loading is determined by the desired electronic conductivity instead of the desired TPB length.     

Digital piracy intention: a comparison of theoretical models

Digital piracy intention research has yielded different sets of piracy intention determinants based on various theoretical models. In this study, we reviewed the digital piracy literature and empirically compared two theoretical models, which are the models most often used: the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the Hunt–Vitell ethical decision model. Data were obtained from university students in South Korea, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to examine and compare the two competing theoretical models in terms of explanatory power, overall model fit and paths' significance. The findings of this study revealed that the TPB is a more appropriate model for predicting digital piracy than the Hunt–Vitell ethical decision model.     

Recovery of 137Cs from Laboratory Waste using Solvent Extraction with Sodium Tetraphenylboron (TPB)

The paper describes a method for the recovery of ¹³⁷Cs from an aqueous radioactive laboratory waste solution containing ¹³⁷Cs (2 µg/mL) in the presence of high concentration of Na⁺ using solvent extraction technique. The method comprises of adjustment of pH to the acidic range (pH = 2), contacting the aqueous radioactive solution with sodium tetraphenylboron (TPB) in nitrobenzene, whereby ¹³⁷Cs binds with tetraphenylboron anions and gets separated. Results of this investigation indicate that ¹³⁷Cs could be efficiently and selectively extracted from an aqueous solution media containing high concentration of Na⁺ under mildly acidic pH into an organic phase and back extracted with small volume of 3 M HNO₃, thus enabling concentration. The proposed method was successfully applied in real samples.     

Investigation of aluminosilicate as a solid oxide fuel cell refractory

Aluminosilicate represents a potential low cost alternative to alumina for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) refractory applications. The objectives of this investigation are to study: (1) changes of aluminosilicate chemistry and morphology under SOFC conditions, (2) deposition of aluminosilicate vapors on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and nickel, and (3) effects of aluminosilicate vapors on SOFC electrochemical performance. Thermal treatment of aluminosilicate under high temperature SOFC conditions is shown to result in increased mullite concentrations at the surface due to diffusion of silicon from the bulk. Water vapor accelerates the rate of surface diffusion resulting in a more uniform distribution of silicon. The high temperature condensation of volatile gases released from aluminosilicate preferentially deposit on YSZ rather than nickel. Silicon vapor deposited on YSZ consists primarily of aluminum rich clusters enclosed in an amorphous siliceous layer. Increased concentrations of silicon are observed in enlarged grain boundaries indicating separation of YSZ grains by insulating glassy phase. The presence of aluminosilicate powder in the hot zone of a fuel line supplying humidified hydrogen to an SOFC anode impeded peak performance and accelerated degradation. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy detected concentrations of silicon at the interface between the electrolyte and anode interlayer above impurity levels.     

Discrete fracture in high performance fibre reinforced concrete materials

In this paper a simple, but effective methodology to simulate opening mode fracture in high performance fibre reinforced concrete is presented. The main contribution of the paper is a technique to extrapolate the load displacement curves of three point bending experiments on fibre reinforced concrete. The extrapolation allows the full work of fracture to be determined, from which the fracture energy may be obtained. The fracture energy is used in the definition of a cohesive softening function with crack tip singularity. The softening relation is implemented in an embedded discontinuity method, which is employed for the numerical simulation of three point bending experiments. The experimental work includes a size effect study on three point bending specimens. The numerical simulation provides a satisfactory prediction of the flexural behaviour and the size effect observed in the experiments.