Which B2B e-business model to adopt: the case of Taiwan agribusiness firms

The research reported in this paper investigated the reasons which led Taiwanese agribusiness firms to adopt specific e-business models. Initially, the study was based on a prior study conducted in the context of Australian agribusiness firms. Its relevance lies in the importance of agribusiness to the economies of both nations and because whereas Australia has developed a reputation as an efficient exporter of agribusiness products, Taiwan needs to develop export markets for its agribusiness produce as it is facing increasing competitive pressure in such global markets, particularly with its entry into the WTO. Findings enhanced the preliminary model as two additional factors, the influence of buyers and suppliers and the influence of government agencies, were found to also influence the selection of e-business models

An exploratory study on consumer travel agency information sources: an Australian regional analysis

[Abstract]: The research reported in this paper explores why regional consumers choose to book their travel arrangements with travel agencies. Consumers can now access on-line bookings for airlines, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing tours and other related products so why do they still go to travel agencies for reservations? This paper identifies the information sources consumers used when selecting a travel agency. The research design involves two stages. The first stage has been completed and was a series of in-depth interviews with 10 users of regional travel agencies and three experienced travel agency consultants. The second stage will be a mail-out survey to travel agencies in the Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia. Despite its locality, the region is a significant consumer of travel with approximately eight retail travel agencies in the city of Toowoomba alone. The in-depth interviews highlighted the need to de-emphasize three particular information sources considered for inclusion in the survey for stage two. They were, travel guidebooks, travel or automotive clubs and local travel offices which were deleted from the intended survey and replaced with television lifestyle programs as an information source worthy of investigation

Making Good Decisions: The Influence of Culture, Attachment Style, Religiosity, Patriotism and Nationalism

This study explored the conflict model of decision making Janis Mann 1977 in relation to culture attachment style religiosity patriotism and nationalism Two groups of university students from Australia n 135 and Singapore n 159 were invited to participate through the use of a web survey Vigilant decision making was higher and hyper-vigilant decision making was lower for Australian than for Singaporean respondents Vigilant decision making was negatively related to avoidant attachment style and blind patriotism while positively associated with constructive patriotism and civic content nationalism Vigilant decision making was predicted by gender female low avoidant attachment style civic nationalism and constructive patriotism Hyper-vigilant decision making was positively related to anxious and avoidant attachment style external religiosity blind patriotism traditional and civic nationalism while negatively related to constructive patriotism Hyper-vigilance was predicted by gender female anxious and avoidant attachment style and extrinsic religiosity Buck-passing was positively associated with anxious and avoidant attachment style and civic nationalism Buck-passing was predicted by anxious and avoidant attachment style and by civic nationalism Procrastination was positively related to anxious and avoidant attachment style and was predicted by country Singapore and anxious and avoidant attachment style These results are explained in terms of decisions that are made around the world that may have broad ramifications including those relating to positions on refugees and terroris

Squarefree polynomials and Mobius values in short intervals and arithmetic progressions

We calculate the mean and variance of sums of the M\"obius function and the indicator function of the squarefrees, in both short intervals and arithmetic progressions, in the context of the ring of polynomials over a finite field of $q$ elements, in the limit $q\to \infty$. We do this by relating the sums in question to certain matrix integrals over the unitary group, using recent equidistribution results due to N. Katz, and then by evaluating these integrals. In many cases our results mirror what is either known or conjectured for the corresponding problems involving sums over the integers, which have a long history. In some cases there are subtle and surprising differences. The ranges over which our results hold is significantly greater than those established for the corresponding problems in the number field setting.Comment: Added references and corrected misprint

Property (T) for non-unital C*-algebras

Inspired by the recent work of Bekka, we study two reasonable analogues of property (T) for not necessarily unital C*-algebras. The stronger one of the two is called ``property (T)'' and the weaker one is called ``property (T_{e})''. It is shown that all non-unital C*-algebras do not have property (T) (neither do their unitalizations). Moreover, all non-unital $\sigma$-unital C*-algebras do not have property (T_e).Comment: 7 pages; to appear in J. Math. Anal. App

Parallel electric field generation by Alfven wave turbulence

{This work aims to investigate the spectral structure of the parallel electric field generated by strong anisotropic and balanced Alfvenic turbulence in relation with the problem of electron acceleration from the thermal population in solar flare plasma conditions.} {We consider anisotropic Alfvenic fluctuations in the presence of a strong background magnetic field. Exploiting this anisotropy, a set of reduced equations governing non-linear, two-fluid plasma dynamics is derived. The low-$\beta$ limit of this model is used to follow the turbulent cascade of the energy resulting from the non-linear interaction between kinetic Alfven waves, from the large magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scales with $k_{\perp}\rho_{s}\ll 1$ down to the small "kinetic" scales with $k_{\perp}\rho_{s} \gg 1$, $\rho_{s}$ being the ion sound gyroradius.} {Scaling relations are obtained for the magnitude of the turbulent electromagnetic fluctuations, as a function of $k_{\perp}$ and $k_{\parallel}$, showing that the electric field develops a component parallel to the magnetic field at large MHD scales.} {The spectrum we derive for the parallel electric field fluctuations can be effectively used to model stochastic resonant acceleration and heating of electrons by Alfven waves in solar flare plasma conditions

Synthesis and characterization of novel copolymeric resveratrol conjugates

Resveratrol (RSV), naturally found in plants, is known to have health benefits and has been proposed as a potential anticancer and cardioprotective drug. However, due to its molecular structure, it undergoes rapid metabolism in the body resulting in low bioavailability. Novel polymeric methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(e-caprolactone) (mPEG-PCL) RSV conjugates with varying PCL chain lengths have been synthesised and formulated into micelles and/or nanoparticles for preliminary in vitro stability studies. RSV conjugated with mPEG2000-PCL9500 was found to have improved solubility and stability of RSV as compared to RSV alone. The length of the PCL chain was found to affect the micelle formation, hence the stability in physiological buffers and rat plasma

Quantum Vibrational Impurity Embedded in a One-dimensional Chain

We perform a fully quantum mechanical numerical calculation for the problem of a single electron (or excitation) propagating in a N-site one-dimensional chain in the presence of a single Holstein impurity. We compute the long-time averaged probability for finding the electron on the impurity site as a function of the nonlinearity parameter, defined in terms of the electron-phonon coupling strength and the oscillator frequency. The results, in the intermediate nonlinearity parameter range, differ substantially from the ones obtained through the use of the discrete nonlinear Schroedinger equation, even in the high-frequency regime.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Efficacy of a progressive walking program and glucosamine sulphate supplementation on osteoarthritic symptoms of the hip and knee: a feasibility trial

Introduction: Management of osteoarthritis (OA) includes the use of non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies. Although walking is commonly recommended for reducing pain and increasing physical function in people with OA, glucosamine sulphate has also been used to alleviate pain and slow the progression of OA. This study evaluated the effects of a progressive walking program and glucosamine sulphate intake on OA symptoms and physical activity participation in people with mild to moderate hip or knee OA. Methods: Thirty-six low active participants (aged 42 to 73 years) were provided with 1500 mg glucosamine sulphate per day for 6 weeks, after which they began a 12-week progressive walking program, while continuing to take glucosamine. They were randomized to walk 3 or 5 days per week and given a pedometer to monitor step counts. For both groups, step level of walking was gradually increased to 3000 steps/day during the first 6 weeks of walking, and to 6000 steps/day for the next 6 weeks. Primary outcomes included physical activity levels, physical function (self-paced step test), and the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index for pain, stiffness and physical function. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-week follow-ups. The Mann Whitney Test was used to examine differences in outcome measures between groups at each assessment, and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to examine differences in outcome measures between assessments. Results: During the first 6 weeks of the study (glucosamine supplementation only), physical activity levels, physical function, and total WOMAC scores improved (P<0.05). Between the start of the walking program (Week 6) and the final follow-up (Week 24), further improvements were seen in these outcomes (P<0.05) although most improvements were seen between Weeks 6 and 12. No significant differences were found between walking groups. Conclusions: In people with hip or knee OA, walking a minimum of 3000 steps (~30 minutes), at least 3 days/week, in combination with glucosamine sulphate, may reduce OA symptoms. A more robust study with a larger sample is needed to support these preliminary findings. Trial Registration: Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN012607000159459

Classifying C∗C^*-algebras with both finite and infinite subquotients

We give a classification result for a certain class of $C^{*}$-algebras $\mathfrak{A}$ over a finite topological space $X$ in which there exists an open set $U$ of $X$ such that $U$ separates the finite and infinite subquotients of $\mathfrak{A}$. We will apply our results to $C^{*}$-algebras arising from graphs.Comment: Version III: No changes to the text. We only report that Lemma 4.5 is not correct as stated. See arXiv:1505.05951 for the corrected version of Lemma 4.5. As noted in arXiv:1505.05951, the main results of this paper are true verbatim. Version II: Improved some results in Section 3 and loosened the assumptions in Definition 4.