Leveraging Communication Tools to Reduce Consumers’ Privacy Concern in the On-demand Services: An Extended S-O-R Model of Perceived Control and Structural Assurance

To use the on-demand services, consumers need to disclose themselves to some extent, which inevitably raises their privacy concerns. Different from previous literature exploring privacy assurance mechanisms, we employ the stimulus– organism–response framework to investigate how communication tools (environmental stimuli) influence consumers’ perceived control, structural assurance, as well as their service platform- and provider-related privacy concerns (organisms), which subsequently impact new consumers’ intention and regular consumers’ continuance intention to use the on-demand services (behavior responses). The models will be tested based on survey data collected from on-demand service consumers. The potential theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed

The Information Systems Academic Discipline in Hong Kong

This paper looks to the history of the development of Information Systems in Hong Kong as a contextual base for examining the Information Systems discipline in Hong Kong. The historical analysis highlights the newness of Information Systems as an academic discipline in Hong Kong, dating back little more than 20 years. The study reports on data from eight of the ten universities in Hong Kong. All Information Systems groups in Hong Kong universities are shown to be located in business schools, with almost all groups having no separate Information Systems identity. Few Information Systems academics in Hong Kong are reported to have senior faculty positions. In keeping with the placement of Information Systems groups, and reflective of Hong Kong\u27s status as a world finance centre, Information Systems curricula are shown to have a level of consistency across the state, with a heavy business component. By contrast, the study reports diversity in Information Systems research topics and research methods. Although the data analysed suggests that that the Information Systems discipline is immature in Hong Kong, evidence of a strong turnaround in ICT in Hong Kong and the recent establishment of the Hong Kong Association for Information Systems suggest a basis for boosting the status of Information Systems as a discipline in Hong Kong universities

Understanding Individual Adoption of Instant Messaging: An Empirical Investigation

The wide diffusion of Instant Messaging (IM) in a voluntary social context calls for studies to examine the value of computer-mediated communication technologies in developing interpersonal relationships. By integrating three interpersonal factors into a model of motivation from the technology acceptance literature, we develop and test a research model to explain an individual\u27s continuous use of IM in keeping and sustaining interpersonal relationships. We find that the behavioral intention to continue using IM was predicated by perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and perceived critical mass. Attachment motivation, relationship commitment, and perceived critical mass were all positively associated with perceived enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment and perceived critical mass had significant effects on perceived usefulness. The results imply that IM is a useful and fun tool for fulfilling one\u27s need for attachment and commitment and for gathering online with one\u27s friends, family members, and others. In addition, perceived enjoyment is the dominant factor explaining grassroots adoption of communication technologies. Finally, it is important to integrate utility factors (usefulness and enjoyment) with social factors in studying communication technologies

Guest Editors’ Introduction

The Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS), sponsored by the Association for Information Systems (AIS), is the premier annual information systems conference in the region. It aims to provide a high quality forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange research findings and practices on key issues in information systems and management. PACIS 2010 was held in Taipei, Taiwan in July 2010 and its theme is “Service Science in Information Systems Research.” In response to the transition of the global economy from the manufacturing to service-dominated economy, service science is emerging as a new and exciting paradigm. It represents a melding of information technology with an understanding of business processes and human behaviors for improving service operations, delivery, innovation, and ultimate values to customers. At the emerging stage of service science, it is essential for information systems (IS) researchers and practitioners to help shape what service science is by fusing IS research into inquiries of service science. Meanwhile, the service-centric view of servicescience may open up exciting opportunities and unique challenges to IS research. Hence, PACIS 2010 aims to facilitate the dialogues among IS professionals in academic and industries to exchange insights on issues related to service science in IS research as well as IS research to service science

A Comparative Study of Individual Acceptance of Instant Messaging in the US and China: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The use of computer-mediated communication technology across different countries and cultures is under-investigated in information systems (IS) research. The measurement equivalence issue in cross-cultural IS studies has also not been addressed adequately. This study applies a rigorous structural equation modeling approach (SEM) to compare differences between two groups of college students in the United States and China, by adapting a research model that explains an individual’s use of Instant Messaging (IM). After achieving measurement equivalence across the two groups using SEM, we found that, in their behavioral intention to use IM, Chinese students paid more attention to the effect of perceived enjoyment, while Americans placed more emphasis on perceived usefulness. We found that relationship commitment was more salient in explaining perceived enjoyment for Chinese than for Americans. We also found that the effects of perceived critical mass on perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness were stronger for Americans than for Chinese. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that the effect of relationship commitment on perceived usefulness was stronger for Americans than for Chinese. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Fungal surface measurements: water contact angles

Non-Peer ReviewedFungal surface properties have been implicated as one of the main factors affecting fungal colonization and adhesion to plant surfaces. Characterization of fungal surfaces through hydrophobic measurements is important for understanding its function. Water contact angles are a direct and simple approach for characterization of fungal surface hydrophobicity. The objective of this study was to evaluate if utilization of undisturbed fungal cultures coupled with versatile image analysis allow for more accurate contact angle measurements. Fungal cultures were grown on agar slide media and contact angles were measured utilizing a modified microscope and digital camera setup, with Low Bond Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis Model (LB_ADSA) for contact angle determination. Fungal strains were categorized into hydrophobic, hydrophilic and a newly defined hydroamphiphilic class containing fungi taxa with changing hydrophobicity

Measurements of Cabibbo Suppressed Hadronic Decay Fractions of Charmed D0 and D+ Mesons

Using data collected with the BESII detector at $e^{+}e^{-}$ storage ring Beijing Electron Positron Collider, the measurements of relative branching fractions for seven Cabibbo suppressed hadronic weak decays $D^0 \to K^- K^+$, $\pi^+ \pi^-$, $K^- K^+ \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $\pi^+ \pi^+ \pi^- \pi^-$, $D^+ \to \bar{K^0} K^+$, $K^- K^+ \pi^+$ and $\pi^- \pi^+ \pi^+$ are presented.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

An IL1RL1 genetic variant lowers soluble ST2 levels and the risk effects of APOE-ε4 in female patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Changes in the levels of circulating proteins are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), whereas their pathogenic roles in AD are unclear. Here, we identified soluble ST2 (sST2), a decoy receptor of interleukin-33–ST2 signaling, as a new disease-causing factor in AD. Increased circulating sST2 level is associated with more severe pathological changes in female individuals with AD. Genome-wide association analysis and CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing identified rs1921622, a genetic variant in an enhancer element of IL1RL1, which downregulates gene and protein levels of sST2. Mendelian randomization analysis using genetic variants, including rs1921622, demonstrated that decreased sST2 levels lower AD risk and related endophenotypes in females carrying the Apolipoprotein E (APOE)-ε4 genotype; the association is stronger in Chinese than in European-descent populations. Human and mouse transcriptome and immunohistochemical studies showed that rs1921622/sST2 regulates amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology through the modulation of microglial activation and Aβ clearance. These findings demonstrate how sST2 level is modulated by a genetic variation and plays a disease-causing role in females with AD