Analyzing M-Service Quality Dimensions Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques

This paper continues previous work of the authors concerning the identification and statistical analysis of the quality dimensions in mobile services (m-services). In this work, the structure of mservice quality into dimensions and criteria, which these dimensions are further analyzed into, is examined and grounded through an empirical analysis. The use of multivariate statistical techniques is decomposed into two stages: in the first stage, Factor Analysis in order to explore the relationship between the examined items (quality criteria) and the constructs (dimensions) proposed through the study of the relevant literature. In the second stage, Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis are employed in order to explore intra-construct relationships. The contribution of this paper lies on the fact that a mix of multivariate statistical techniques is all integrated in a single framework, so that information about the structure of m-service quality criteria and constructs is obtained. The findings of the study confirm the theoretical background and provide valuable managerial insights

Reassignment of Lioestheria codoensis Cardoso (Spinicaudata, Anthronestheriidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil: systematics and paleoecology

 Lioestheria codoensis Cardoso was described from materials originally collected from the Codó Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Parnaíba Basin, Piauí State), northeastern Brazil. Since its discovery L. codoensis has been assigned to different genera by different authors [as Estheriina (Nudusia) and Cyzicus (Lioestheria)]. In this paper, previous systematic assignments are reviewed and discussed in light of new scanning electron microscopy studies of new material. As a result of this research, the species is assigned to a new genus of the Family Antronestheriidae, and the study integrates palaeontological, biological and ecological approaches to provide a robust description for the species. Previous assignments to other genera (Estheriina, Lioestheria and Cyzicus) are also assessed and comparisons with other related genera of the Family Anthronestheriidae(Pseudestherites, Etmosestheria, Anthronestheria and Paleolepthestheria? chinensis) are made. Detailed stratigraphical (Codó, Santana, Itapecuru, Rio da Batateira and Missão Velha formations) and geographical (seven localities) records are compiled. Finally, the autecology and within-species morphological variation are also addressed.Lioestheria codoensis Cardoso foi descrita a partir de materiais originalmente coletados da Formação Codó (Cretáceo Inferior, bacia do Parnaíba, Estado do Piauí), nordeste do Brasil. Desde a sua descoberta L. codoensis tem sido atribuída a diferentes gêneros por diferentes autores, como Estheriina (Nudusia) e Cyzicus (Lioestheria). Neste trabalho, atribuições sistemáticas anteriores são revistas e discutidas à luz de novos estudos de microscopia eletrônica de varredura de novo material. Como resultado desta pesquisa, a espécie é atribuída a um novo gênero da Família Antronestheriidae, sendo que o estudo integrou abordagens paleontológicas, biológicas e ecológicas para fornecer uma descrição robusta para a espécie. Atribuições anteriores para outros gêneros (Estheriina, Lioestheria e Cyzicus) também são analisadas e comparadas com outros gêneros afi ns da Família Anthronestheriidae (Pseudestherites, Etmosestheria, Anthronestheria e Paleolepthestheria? chinensis). Registros estratigráfi cos (formações Codó, Santana, Itapecuru, Rio da Batateira e Missão Velha) e geográfi cos detalhados (sete localidades) são compilados nesta publicação. Finalmente, a autoecologia e a variação morfológica dentro da espécie também são abordadasFil: Gallego, Oscar Florencio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral (i); Argentina;Fil: Monferran, Mateo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral (i); Argentina;Fil: Astrop, Timothy Ian. University of Akron. Department of Biology.Program in Integrated Bioscience.;Fil: Zacarias, Iracema Anahi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral (i); Argentina

Understanding College Student’ Acceptance Of Online Credit Offering Services In China

With the rapid economic growth in China, peoples’ consumption behavior is constantly changing. The online credit offering service is playing a more and more important role in China. In this paper, we aim to understand college students’ acceptance of online credit offering services in China. A research model based on technology acceptance model (TAM) with six research hypotheses is proposed. And an empirical study with 239 subjects was conducted to test this model. According to the results, 4 of 6 hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that both perceived usefulness and subjective norm directly affected college students’ behavior intention to use online credit offering services significantly

Developing a framework for mobile payments integration

This paper derives a theoretical framework for consideration of both the technologically driven dimensions of mobile payment solutions, and the associated value proposition for customers. Banks promote traditional payment instruments whose value proposition is the management of risk for both consumers and merchants. These instruments are centralised, costly and lack decision support functionality. The ubiquity of the mobile phone has provided a decentralised platform for managing payment processes in a new way, but the value proposition for customers has yet to be elaborated clearly. This inertia has stalled the design of sustainable revenue models for a mobile payments ecosystem. Merchants and consumers in the meantime are being seduced by the convenience of on-line and mobile payment solutions. Adopting the purchase and payment process as the unit of analysis, the current mobile payment landscape is reviewed with respect to the creation and consumption of customer value. From this analysis, a framework is derived juxtaposing customer value, related to what is being paid for, with payment integration, related to how payments are being made. The framework provides a theoretical and practical basis for considering the contribution of mobile technologies to the payment industry. The framework is then used to describe the components of a mobile payments pilot project being run on a trial population of 250 students on a campus in Ireland. In this manner, weaknesses in the value proposition for consumers and merchants were highlighted. Limitations of the framework as a research tool are also discussed

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MOBILE NEWS SERVICES: SUPPORTING SOCIAL NETWORKING FEATURES

This paper discusses and implements features both for a mobile Web and for a mobile native application, capable to provide news services enriched with indicative social networking elements. The objective was to facilitate the involvement of mobile users to produce and upload new content on the News Website and to facilitate their participation in the promotion and evaluation of the existing content. A significant addition was the implementation of an application for the automatic storing of articles derived from external sources, such as RSS/Atom feeds and emails. The results of our work are primarily related with the investigation and understanding of serious technical challenges, as well as the eventual development of proper solutions regarding the support of the ‘participative relation’ of mobile users with news-oriented Web content

SMARTPHONE MEASUREMENT: DO PEOPLE USE MOBILE APPLICATIONS AS THEY SAY THEY DO?

Designing viable mobile services requires in-depth understanding of how people deal with their mobile phones on a daily basis. Most studies on the use of mobile phones are based on surveys that ask people how often they think they use mobile applications. While such survey studies have provided numerous insights, they also pose issues of recall, accuracy and common method bias. Fortunately, smartphones enable more direct ways of collecting usage data by installing a background application that logs all user activities. Such smartphone measurement approach has only been applied in a handful of studies, typically limited to Nokia handsets. This paper scrutinizes the reliability of surveybased measures on the perceived use of mobile services by contrasting them with log data obtained in a smartphone measurement study. We analyze the results of a smartphone measurement study carried out in the Netherlands among 129 users of iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones. Users appear moderately accurate in assessing the use of mainstream services like SMS, email and browsing, but not regarding navigation and weather information services. The findings suggest that traditional survey approaches should be complemented with smartphone measurement in order to really understand how users deal with mobile services

A FARM-TO-DOOR DELIVERY MODE FOR ORGANIC VEGETABLES UNDER MOBILE COMMERCE IN METROPOLISES OF CHINA

This paper presents a farm-to-door delivery mode for organic vegetables, which connects farmers and customers directly, under the circumstance of mobile commerce (M-commerce). In recent years, the need of organic vegetables is growing constantly in China. Meanwhile, the farm-to-door delivery mode widely spread in metropolises as people there barely have time to go to food markets on weekdays. However, the terrible traffic condition makes it impossible to conduct the delivery in day time. So vegetables have to be delivered very early in the morning (usually 3:00-7:00 A.M.), which makes the owner unable to attend delivery. And in the traditional delivery mode, the absence of delivery may lead to the package missing in China. Aiming at solving these practical issues in China, an SMS-based interaction system is integrated in the delivery mode for informing, endorsing, confirming, tracing and complaining. Intelligent cupboards are used as a buffer to realize the asynchronously endorsement. This is a new business mode that extends the frontiers of the M-commerce. It can greatly reduce the intermediate links of vegetable distribution and simplify the food purchasing in people’s daily life. This application of mobile technology would have a huge potential in market

Digital Inequality in the Use of Mobile Business Supporting Features

Today, Internet has become an essential part of peoples’ daily lives. As the advancement of Internet technology, the phenomenon of digital inequality has received substantial attention. This study extended research on digital inequality to the field of mobile business. The paper aimed to investigate the impact of digital inequality in the use of mobile business supporting features in China. To address this, an empirical study with 258 subjects was carried out. The results indicated that perceived ease of use had a significant positive effect on the use of mobile business supporting features, while perceived risk had a significant negative effect on the use of mobile business supporting features. Furthermore, this study also revealed that socio-economically disadvantaged individuals were more likely to be influenced by perceived risks, while socio-economically advantaged individuals were more likely to be influenced by the utilitarian motivations

Differential responses of historical cereal lines to water stress: phenotype and gene expression = Respuesta diferencial de líneas históricas de cereales frente al estrés hídrico: fenotipo y expresión genómica

[eng] Future climate changes will lead to higher temperatures and shortages in the availability of water for agriculture, as well as a higher concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, where water status and water flow through the plant may play an important role. This thesis addresses the differential response at phenotype and genomic expression level of two cereals (pearl millet and durum wheat) against water stress, acclimatization at high concentrations of CO2, and its transpiration efficiency. A collection of semi-dwarf durum wheat post-green revolution and a collection of F1 hybrids and parental lines of pearl millet bred in high and low rainfall zones were studied. Performance and biomass parameters, transpiration response, water status, hydraulic conductivity and isotope carbon composition; as well as expression at level of gene transcripts associated with stress response, primary metabolism (C and N), and aquaporins. In all cases there was genotypic variation, and the response to high CO2 concentrations did not compensate for losses caused by water stress. Transpiration response to high VPD revealed two categories of genotypes: ones that restrict water loss (bred in high rainfall areas) and genotypes that do not restrict or are not sensitive to the raise of temperature (bred in low rainfall zones). The growth of these two ideotypes was evaluated at greenhouse, hydroponic, growth platforms and at field level with two water regimes, where nonrestrictive genotypes developed higher aerial biomass and yield than the restrictive ones under optimal agronomic conditions. The restrictive group had a superior performance only under conditions of water scarcity. At the level of transcripts, the DREB genes regulated the expression of the genes of enzymes related to the N and C metabolism, dehydrins and aquaporins. The non-restrictive genotypes expressed the DREB1 gene which positively regulated the expression of Rubisco, GS1, DNH16 and TIP 1.1 involving a better re-mobilization of N by the demand of the Rubisco, the overexpression of active aquaporins and dehydrins was in agreement with its better water status in order to produce higher yield. Restrictive genotypes were regulated by DREB2 and DREB1 gene, which led to the overexpression of GS2 and Rubisco indicating a fixation of N. On the other hand the genotypes bred in zones of low rainfall increased the transpiration together with a low hydraulic conductivity, they presented greater number of xylem tubes, thinner endodermal cells, and increase PIP 2;3 aquaporin transcripts in the root; while the genotypes bred in high rainfall zones showed a completely opposite profile. In conclusion, genetic variability can affect the adaptive response to water stress and to acclimatization at high concentrations of CO2. The strategy of restricting transpiration is successful only when water availability is limited, while keeping stomata open and not restricting water loss led to higher rates of photosynthetic assimilation and better osmotic balance to produce higher yields in wetter environments. The water flow is important for the transit of nutrients, it is regulated by the hydraulic conductivity and it is finely adjusted by the aquaporins which increase the flow of water in the plant.[spa] Los futuros cambios climáticos ocasionarán una subida de las temperaturas y déficit en la disponibilidad de agua para la agricultura así como mayor concentración de CO2 en la atmósfera, donde el estatus hídrico y el flujo de agua a través de la planta juegan un papel importante. Esta tesis aborda la respuesta diferencial a nivel de fenotipo y expresión genómica de dos cereales (mijo y trigo) frente al estrés hídrico, aclimatación a altas concentraciones de CO2 y su eficiencia transpirativa. Estudiamos una colección de trigo duro semi enano post-revolución verde y una colección de híbridos F1 y parentales de mijo adaptados en zonas de alto y bajo nivel de lluvias. Se evaluaron parámetros de rendimiento y biomasa, respuesta transpirativa, estado hídrico, conductividad hidráulica y la composición isotópica del carbono; así como la expresión a nivel de transcritos de genes asociados con la respuesta a estrés, al metabolismo primario (C y N), y las aquaporinas. En todos los casos hubo variación genotípica y la respuesta a las altas concentraciones de CO2 no compensó las pérdidas ocasionadas por el estrés hídrico. Los ensayos de respuesta transpiratoria a la alta VPD revelaron dos categorías de genotipos: genotipos que restringen la perdida de agua (mejorados en zonas de alto nivel de lluvia) y genotipos que no la restringen o no son sensibles al aumento de temperatura (mejorados en zonas de bajo nivel de lluvia). El crecimiento de estos dos ideotipos se evaluó a nivel de invernadero, hidropónico, en plataformas de crecimiento y a nivel de campo con dos regímenes hídricos, donde los genotipos no restrictivos desarrollaron mayor biomasa aérea, raíces y produjeron mayor rendimiento que los restrictivos en óptimas condiciones agronómicas; éstos últimos tuvieron un rendimiento superior solo en condiciones de estrés hídrico. A nivel de transcritos, los genes DREB regularon la expresión de los genes de enzimas relacionadas con el metabolismo de C y N, dehidrinas y acuaporinas; los genotipos no restrictivos sobreexpresaron el gen DREB1 que reguló positivamente la expresión de Rubisco, GS1, DNH16 y TIP 1.1 involucrando una mejor re-movilización del N por la demanda de la Rubisco, la sobrexpresión de acuaporinas activas y dehidrinas concordó con su mejor estado hídrico para producir mayor rendimiento. Los genotipos restrictivos fueron regulados por el gen DREB2 y DREB1 que dirigieron la sobreexpresión de GS2 y Rubisco indicando una fijación de N. Por otro lado los genotipos mejorados en zonas de bajo nivel de lluvias incrementaron la transpiración junto a una baja conductividad hidráulica, presentaron mayor número de tubos de xilema, células endodérmicas más delgadas y abundantes transcritos de la acuaporina PIP 2;3 en la raíz; los genotipos mejorados en zonas de alta incidencia de lluvias mostraron un perfil totalmente opuesto. En conclusión, la variabilidad genética puede afectar la respuesta adaptativa al estrés hídrico y a la aclimatación a altas concentraciones de CO2. La estrategia de restringir la transpiración es exitosa solo cuando se limita la disponibilidad de agua, mientras que al mantener los estomas abiertos y no restringir la pérdida de agua hay una mayor tasa de asimilación fotosintética y mejor balance osmótico para producir mayor rendimiento en ambientes más húmedos. El flujo de agua es importante para el tránsito de nutrientes, es regulado por la conductividad hidráulica y es regulado finamente por las acuaporinas que incrementan el flujo de agua en la planta