Aspects of light: Colour, light and space/form/time

AIC Midterm Meeting 2011, Zurich – Interaction of Colour & Light in the Arts and Sciences – Proceedings ‘Colour-as-light’, activated as a ‘natural light’ phenomenon within architectural space/ form/time, helps us to see, both physically/literally and virtually/conceptually, the sunlight that moves within our buildings, through daily and yearly cycles. It reveals sensory information, both material (reflectivity/absorption) and immaterial (shadows/ephemeral glow). It showcases natural light as a ‘living’, ‘breathing’, moving environmental element with rich potential for linking human urban experience to the natural world/cosmos

Mobile banking applications: Consumer behaviour, acceptance and adoption strategies in Johannesburg, South Africa (RSA)

There has been a complete disparity in the number of cell phone subscribers when compared to fixed line users in South Africa (referred to as Republic of RSA or RSA). In 2011, results revealed that 29 million South Africans use mobile phones compared to only 5 million using fixed lines (Brown, Cajee, Davies, & Stroebel,2003; Lascaris,2012). It is because of this increased and saturated mobile market that we have seen the extreme growth of mobile applications. This increase is coupled with several benefits that mobile applications bring to the consumer, such as increased functionality, productivity improvements and entertainment (Pranata, Athauda, & Skinner, 2013). Although adoption strategies around internet banking and cell phone banking have been explored in various parts of the world, adoption strategies specifically around mobile banking applications or "mbapps" have not been vastly researched (Jaruwachirathanakul & Fink, 2005). As such, this study focused on examining consumer behaviour and acceptance towards adopting mbapps in Johannesburg RSA, where mbapps are in an emerging phase, but offer potential benefits to both consumers and industry at large. A quantitative research methodology was used for this research. Self-administered quantitative questionnaires were distributed at the University of Witwatersrand as well as to individuals within the Johannesburg area aged between 18 and 60 years. A pilot study of 30 respondents was conducted to ensure validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Following this, the research was then conducted to a sample size of 373 respondents. Due to time constraints, this study made use of convenience sampling. Data collected from the questionnaires was analysed using statistical analysis to investigate the relationship between the variables used in the research model, this being a modified version of the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour model – The decomposed TPB model is successful in predicting and explaining human behaviour across various platforms and breaking outcomes down into specific dimensions. In addition, the decomposed TPB model is most suitable for steering decision makers towards the implementation of innovations. The decomposed TPB model will provide insight into understanding consumers’individual attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, which ultimately influences the likelihood of consumers using mbapps. From the findings, it can be concluded that the results of this study support the proposed conceptual model. The findings of this research, which was focused towards, Attitude, Perceived Behavioural Control and Subjective Norms do have a significant relationship on the intention to adopt mbapps. In terms of the hypotheses set and tested, all resulted as postulated. In conclusion to this study the contribution of this research provides the banking industry, marketers and academics with the factors that encourage consumers to adopt mbapps and to utilise the research to exploit the conversion rate of customers towards adopting mbapps. Lastly this study adds value to not only the RSA market but potentially to other developing and developed countries through the recommendations made in chapter 5. Decision makers are advised to take heed of the proposed strategies in maximising the rate of mbapps adoptionKIM201

Exploring Retrieval Difficulties and Self-Confidence in an Assessment of General Chemistry Students

Developing self-assessment skills is an important aspect of learning. Framed by assessment developed for the year-long sequence of general chemistry, students were asked to rate their ability to answer conceptual questions. Using cognitive interviews, this study revealed that people rely on a range of characteristics other than content knowledge to assess their confidence, including doubt, retrieval difficulty, and test-taking methods. These findings imply that more explicit instruction may be required to encourage correct self-assessment. Students can develop their metacognitive skills and calibrate their perceived ability by completing examinations meant to emphasize content knowledge gaps

Exploring Students’ Epistemological Understanding of Atomic Structure Models

Developing a robust understanding of atomic structure and the nature of matter is foundational across chemistry and STEM courses. The development of this concept is challenging because it relies on models to illustrate something not directly observable. Scientific models are important tools used to explain phenomena, particularly phenomena that are not directly observable. In general chemistry, students are typically asked to consider four different models: (1) the particle model, (2) the nuclear model, (3) the Bohr model, and (4) the Quantum model. Each depiction has its own advantages and limitations, where instructors introduce each model to explain specific parts of an atom. However, little evaluation is done by instructors on students’ epistemological understanding of the nature of models which could impact how they interact directly with atomic models. Previous research indicates that students ranging from general chemistry to physical chemistry struggle to explain and apply atomic structure (Papageorgiou et al., 2016; Roche Allred & Bretz, 2019; Zarkadis et al., 2017). Students are most comfortable with the Bohr model as it shows electrons orbiting the nucleus (Roche Allred & Bretz, 2019). Students have found it difficult to connect probability to the depiction of an electron cloud and tend to rely on classical ideas (Papageorgiou et al., 2016; Roche Allred & Bretz, 2019; Zarkadis et al., 2017). By relying on the classical and simplistic Bohr model, students may struggle to explain more complex concepts in future courses, such as resonance. In this study, students’ understanding of the nature of models and how they applied that understanding in the context of atomic models was investigated. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit students’ epistemological understanding of models and their general understanding of atomic structure. For instance, students were asked to explain how scientists generate models and identify the characteristics of a good scientific model. Subsequently, students were asked to explain ideas such as nuclear attraction and probability using the four different models described above (1 - 4) to investigate which features students attend to for specific concepts. Results from this qualitative study include the variety of ways students understand and conceptualize models of an atom as well as how their general notions of the nature of models play a role in their conceptualization. The implications for introducing atomic structure models and promoting an epistemological understanding of models in general chemistry will be discussed

Quantum diffusion controlled chemistry: the H + NO reaction

In this study, we present Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of the 193 nm photochemistry of nitric oxide (NO) isolated in a parahydrogen (pH$_{2}$) matrix over the 1.7 to 4.3 K temperature range. Back in 2003 Fushitani and Momose\footnote{M. Fushitani, T. Momose, \textit{Low Temp. Phys. }\textbf{29}, 985-988 (2003).} showed that hydrogen atoms (H atoms) are produced as by-products of the 193 nm photo-initiated reactions of NO trapped in solid pH$_{2}$. We recently published\footnote{M. Ruzi, D.T. Anderson, \textit{J. Phys. Chem. A }\textbf{119}, 12270-12283 (2015).} a further study on the same NO/pH$_{2}$ system where we showed that H atom reactions with NO produce both HNO and NOH even though the reaction that forms HNO is barrierless and the reaction that forms NOH has a sizeable barrier. Further, we measured the reaction kinetics at 1.8 K and 4.3 K and showed the rate constants follow an Arrhenius-behavior with a small activation energy (\textit{E}$_{a}$=2.39(1) \wn). In the present studies we are continuing this work using a $^{15}$NO enriched sample and are focusing on how we can adjust the experimental conditions to increase the yield of both the HNO/NOH reaction products. We are also performing kinetic experiments at more than just two temperatures to better characterize the temperature dependence of the extracted rate constants. We are conducting these additional experiments to benchmark the reaction kinetics for the H + NO reaction in solid pH$_{2}$ to better understand what factors influence the rates of these low temperature chemical reactions