On the Explanation of Factors Affecting E-Commerce Adoption

The Internet has grown at a remarkable pace since the emergence of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. While electronic commerce (e-Commerce) has become an important issue with the growth of the Internet, there has been insufficient empirical research concerning its adoption by Internet users. In this paper, we propose the e-Commerce Adoption Model (e-CAM), which attempts to examine important factors that predict a consumerís online purchasing behavior. e-CAM integrates the technology acceptance model with the theories of perceived risk to explain the adoption of e-Commerce. Specifically, we examine the impact of the following factors on the consumerís purchasing behavior: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk with products/services, and perceived risk in the context of online transaction. We test the e-CAM model using the structural equation modeling technique. Most of the causal relationships between the constructs postulated by our model are well supported, accounting for 33.4% of the total variance in e-Commerce adoption. In sum, our study finds that all of the antecedent constructs directly and/or indirectly affect the consumerís adoption of e-Commerce. Therefore, the findings suggest that firms providing products/services through e- Commerce should consider these contextual factors in order to facilitate consumersí adoption behavior

Effect of Cooking on Radiation-induced Chemical Markers in Beef and Pork during Storage

Raw and cooked beef and pork loins were irradiated at 0 or 5 25 kGy. The radiation induced marker compounds, such as hydrocarbons, 2-alkylcyclobutanones and sulfur volatiles, were determined after 0 and 6 months of frozen storage. Two hydrocarbons [8-heptadecene (C17:1), 6,9- heptadecadiene (C17:2)] and two 2-alkylcyclobutanones [2- dodecylcyclobutanone (DCB), 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone (TCB)] were detected only in irradiated raw and cooked meats. Although pre-cooked irradiated meats produced more hydrocarbons and 2-alkylcyclobutanones than the irradiated cooked ones, the amounts of individual hydrocarbons and 2- alkylcyclobutanones, such as 8-heptadecene, 6,9- heptadecadiene, DCB, and TCB, were sufficient enough to detect whether the meat was irradiated or not. Dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide were also detected only in irradiated meats, but dimethyl trisulfide disappeared after 6 months of frozen storage under oxygen-permeable packaging conditions. The results indicated that 8- heptadecene, 6,9-heptadecadiene, DCB, TCB and dimethyl disulfide, even though they were decreased with storage, could be used as marker compounds for the detection of irradiated beef and pork regardless of cooking under the frozen conditions for 6 months

Evaluation of Radiation-induced Compounds in Irradiated Raw or Cooked Chicken Meat during Storage

The concentrations of hydrocarbons, 2-alkylcyclobutanones, and sulfur volatiles in irradiated (0, 5 kGy) chicken meats (raw, pre-cooked, and irradiatedcooked) were analyzed after 0 and 6 months of frozen storage (-40°C) under oxygen permeable packaging conditions. Two hydrocarbons [8-heptadecene (C17:1) and 6,9-heptadecadiene (C17:2)], two 2-alkylcyclobutanones [2-dodecylcyclobutanone (DCB) and 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone (TCB)], and dimethyl disulfide were determined as radiation-induced detection markers in the irradiated raw and cooked chicken meats. Although, irradiated-cooked samples produced less hydrocarbons and 2-alkylcyclobutanones than pre-cooked irradiated ones, the amount of individual hydrocarbons or 2-alkylcyclobutanones was still sufficient enough to detectradiation treatment even after 6 months of storage at -40°C. Among sulfur volatiles, only dimethyl disulfide were found in meat after 6 months of storage indicating it has potential to be used an irradiation detection marker for frozen-stored meats under oxygen permeable packaging conditions

Measuring IS Service Quality in the Context of the Service Quality-User Satisfaction Relationship

There is little research regarding the relationship between IS service quality and user satisfaction, the most frequently used surrogate for information systems success. The current study is designed to investigate three ways of measuring service quality (i.e., confirmation/disconfirmation, perception-only, and overall assessment) and shed light on the relationship between service quality and user satisfaction. The results imply that when managers try to measure service quality to improve their service, they have to be cautious in ruling out or selecting one way or another of measuring service quality. The current research also clearly shows that mangers have to take care of the service quality to enhance user satisfaction. The models and results are discussed

The effect of pore structure of zeolite on the adsorption of VOCs and their desorption properties by microwave heating

Mordenite and X- or Y-type faujasite were used to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by adsorption at 25 °C. A microwave heating desorption system was applied for pollutant adsorbent regeneration. Studies were focused on the relationship between the adsorption and/or desorption behavior of selected VOCs (benzene, toluene, o-, m-, p-xylene, methanol, ethanol, iso-propanol, and methylethylketone: MEK) and the physicochemical properties of the zeolites (i.e. acidity, Si/Al ratio, crystal structure, pore structure, surface area, and pore volume) in this work. It was shown that the adsorption behavior of mordenite zeolites with low surface area depended on its crystal structure, while the faujasite zeolites with large surface area depended on the mesopore volume. Faujasite zeolites showed the greatest adsorption capacity for the selected VOCs. It was also shown that the mesopore volume with ink-bottle pores was advantageous for adsorption and, contrarily, the mesopore volume with cylindrical mesopores was advantageous for VOC desorption and zeolite regeneration. High efficiency desorption of VOCs was obtained using microwave heating. The highest microwave heating desorption efficiency was obtained with molecular sieve 13X due to the cylindrical pore structure.Keywords: Adsorption, Desorption, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Microwave heating, Zeolit

Bimetallic Pt–Au Nanocatalysts on ZnO/Al₂O₃/Monolith for Air Pollution Control

The catalytic activity of a monolithic catalyst with nanosized Pt and Au particles on ZnO/Al₂O₃ (Pt-Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃/M) prepared by a wash-coat method was examined, specifically for toluene oxidation. FE-SEM image showed clearly the formation of a ZnO/Al₂O₃ layer on the monolith. Nanosized Pt-Au particles on ZnO/Al₂O₃/M with different sizes could be found in the Pt-Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃/M catalyst. The conversion of toluene decreased with increasing toluene concentration and was also largely affected by the feed flow rate The Pt-Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃/M catalysts prepared in this work have almost the same activity (molecules of toluene per second) compared with a powder Pt-Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst with the same loadings of Pt and Au components; thus this catalyst could be used in controlling air pollution with very low concentrations and high flow rate.Keywords: Wash-coat, ZnO/Al₂O₃, Monolithic Catalyst, Nanosized Pt-Au Particle, Toluene Oxidatio

A study on utilization of stainless steel wire cloth as a catalyst support

In this work, stainless steel wire cloth (SSWC) for metallic support was thermally treated to increase the adhesive strength of Al₂O₃ by improving superficial roughness. After coating Al₂O₃ on SSWC, Pt particles as a catalytic component were deposited on the Al₂O₃/SSWC. These supports and catalysts were characterized by N₂ gas adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in conjunction with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The catalytic performance was tested in the ethylene oxidation. The effect of space velocity (GHSV = 2000–8000 h⁻¹) at different temperatures (190 °C and 210 °C) and reproducibility were investigated. The superficial roughness of SSWC was markedly increased by thermal oxidation at 800 °C for 12 h, and good adherence of Al₂O₃ to the SSWC was observed. The obtained Pt/Al₂O₃/SSWC800 catalyst showed excellent catalytic activity in the ethylene oxidation and showed a good reproducibility and stability even after repeated use.Keywords: Ethylene oxidation, SEM, Metallic support, Thermal treatmen