Use, but pay? Factors affecting the adoption of news websites among young adults

This study explored young people\u27s consumption of and willingness to pay for traditional news websites with both uses and gratifications and diffusion of innovation theory as theoretical frames. Based on a survey sample of U.S. college students, it revealed similarities and differences among certain groups of adopters. Regression analyses found when aiming for new young readers and potential payers, news producers should focus on addressing needs for surveillance, understanding, and entertainment, give as many people the opportunity to try out the website, and target particularly e-book readers, but avoid those playing a lot of online games. Social media features, expressed through the observability characteristic, were found to still underperform and currently work best for those already engaged with the sites

Pretty maps: evaluating GIS adoption of cartographic design standards and best practices in professional publications

The nature of GIS maps, as tools designed for visual communication, puts them in the realm of art that is in many ways unique among scientific tools. As a visual form of communication, maps are responsive to methods of visual design, affecting the map’s appeal and function. Through cartography, a well established body of standards and best-practices exists to help GIS users avoid common design errors and create effective and meaningful maps that support their work. This research examines the adoption rate of those standards amongst professionals using GIS software for creating maps for journal publications. A selection of 80 GIS-produced maps from the AAG’s Professional Geographer were examined and compared to a uniform set of cartographic standards to look for trends in the adoption rates of map design standards amongst GIS map makers. Maps were rated by the author on their use of cartographic standards based on map content and purpose as opposed to their aesthetic quality. The data show trends in GIS cartographic design use that closely follow the inclusion of default values in common GIS software. The implication is that GIS professionals making maps are typically not applying cartographic standards on their own, but mostly following the standards set up in their software of choice. This suggests that there is still significant work to be done in teaching the value of cartographic principles to GIS students and practitioners

Chapter 18 of the General Theory “Further Analysed”: The Theory of Economics as A Method

In 1987, Greenwald and Stiglitz accused Keynes’s summary of the General Theory in chapter 18 of relying upon “neoclassical and Marshallian tools”. A number of contributions have on the contrary emphasized the methodological importance of this chapter, which this paper revisits in the light of A Treatise on Probability. It thereby shows that the notions of cause and dependence used to discuss the relationships between independent and dependent variables of the General Theory are related to the concept of “independence for knowledge”, which concerns logical connections between arguments rather than material connections between events. We demonstrate that such logical connections established in chapter 18 are rediscussed in chapters 19-21, where Keynes allows for probable repercussions between the factors and removes the simplifying assumptions previously introduced. After stressing the methodological continuity this method provides with the analysis of credit cycles in A Treatise on Money, we argue that chapter 18 is an indispensable tool to decode the internal text structure of the General Theory. We thus characterize the latter as a vademecum to the complex economic world, the author providing an analytical method allowing – and requiring – the readers to emulate his efforts to grasp the complexity and interdependence of the economic material.John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory, complexity, economic methodology

Agency beyond subjectivity : the unredeemed project of May Fourth fiction

This paper is part of a larger project in which I make a case for the central importance of the problem of free will to considerations of Chinese modernity. I begin by distinguishing between two key aspects of modernity and the Enlightenment: (1) subjectivity, or the realm of consciousness including the capacity for critical reason, and (2) agency, or acting on the world outside consciousness in a way that makes a difference. I then suggest that neglecting the development of rational agency cripples the force of the commitment to human freedom that drives the project of modernity. In calling attention to agency and proposing to explore its place in modern Chinese fiction, I do not mean to belittle the first line of inquiry into subjectivity and its various aspects. My point is simply that investigations of subjectivity can encompass only one part of modernity, one aspect of modern consciousness and only some of the questions that modern literature can pose. Modernity may mean a rise of individual consciousness, yet equally crucial is the possibility that reason can advance human freedom

“What I Love about Technology”: Older Adults and Mobile Communication Technologies

In a series of in-depth interviews, ten older adults described their use and experience with mobile technologies (e.g., E-readers and tablets). The results reveal that while older adults may not be leaders in new technology adoption, they do utilize mobile technology when they find it useful. The participants expressed both satisfaction and some frustration with their mobile devices. Participants suggested that the devices allowed them to partake in behaviors they might not be able to otherwise enjoy for a variety of physical and social reasons

POLICY OF NATIONALISM GUIDANCE THROUGH IN TRADITIONAL MARKET MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL JAVA

A research on policy nationalism guidance through in traditional markets management in the province of Central Java is implemented in “Pasar Gede Solo” with qualitative methods. The reason for selecting “Pasar Gede Solo” because of Solo City has a lot of cultural heritages that are still held strong until today. The cultural heritage is the local identity. The Local identity can develop into the province identity, then to be the national identity. A strong national identity shows high Nationalism which reflected from loyalty, passion and pride of the nation itself. The number of local identities in “Pasar Gede Solo” is likely to evolve into national identity should be encouraged to preserve the Government's policy to strengthen Indonesia Nationalism

A quantitative investigation of students’ attitudes towards electronic book technology

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that have an impact on technology adoption for e-books utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multiple Regression Analysis methods. Findings indicate that perceived usefulness and ease of use are the most significant determinants in using e-books. Of key significance is that AHP results show that consumers make pairwise comparisons, adding environmental concerns to the selection process. Recognizing the importance of all these factors is valuable to e-book developers and marketers in presenting products that meet all consumer choice criteria. AHP provides researchers with a more thorough decision making analysis

Between writer and reader : the relationship of the concept of audience to the teaching of composition

Traditionally the term rhetoric has been applied to the education of speakers on public occasions. Modem rhetoric has been characterized by a shift from spoken to written discourse and another shift from emphasis on the rhetor to emphasis on the audience. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to synthesize the major contributions to the study of audience, assessing their usefulness in the teaching of composition, and to analyze rhetorical action by presenting a model which will illuminate the relationship between writer and reader. The heritage of the rhetorical concept of audience can be traced back to the Rhetoric of Aristotle. The analysis of audience found in the Rhetoric can be of great value to students and teachers of written discourse. Aristotle treats rhetoric as an art which can be systematized, and is therefore teachable. Although Aristotelian rhetoric can be useful, it also has limitations for twentieth-century studies