In-class Multitasking among College Students

The use of mobile devices in class has become a common scene on the college campus. The negative effects of in-class multitasking behaviors have been identified in many educational settings, including colleges. This study investigates the factors that drive college students to multitask and seeks to understand the relationship between learning engagement and multitasking behaviors in the classroom. This study also explores whether polychronic traits relate to multitasking behavior. A total of 282 survey samples were collected from college students in Taiwan. The results confirmed our hypotheses: (1) Students’ multitasking motivation, including social and emotional needs, positively relates to their in-class multitasking. (2) Polychronic traits positively relate to in-class multitasking. (3) Learning engagement negatively relates to in-class multitasking behavior. (4) Polychronic traits negatively relate to learning engagement. (5) Low course difficulty level relates to more frequent in-class multitasking behaviors. The implications of the study are also discussed

Facebook and Google Usage in Taiwan’s College Students

This study proposes and tests a research model which was developed based on the uses-and-gratifications theory. The aim of this study was to investigate if selected factors have differential predicting power on the use of Facebook and Google service in Taiwan. This study employed seven constructs: purposive value, hedonic value, social identity, social support, interpersonal relationship, personality traits, and intimacy as the factors predicting Facebook and Google usage. An electronic survey technique was used to collect data from Internet. The results showed that hedonic value and social identity constructs can significantly predict Facebook usage and purposive value has significant predicting power on Google usage. The construct intimacy is the most significant factor for both Google and Facebook usages. Our findings make suggestions for social network sites (SNSs) providers that to differentiate their SNSs quality from others’, both functional aspects and emotional factors need to be taken into consideration

The Linehaul-Feeder Vehicle Routing Problem with Virtual Depots and Time Windows

This paper addresses the linehaul-feeder vehicle routing problem with virtual depots and time windows (LFVRPTW). Small and large vehicles deliver services to customers within time constraints; small vehicles en route may reload commodities from either the physical depot or from the larger vehicle at a virtual depot before continuing onward. A two-stage solution heuristic involving Tabu search is proposed to solve this problem. The test results show that the LFVRPTW performs better than the vehicle routing problem with time windows in terms of both objective value and the number of small vehicles dispatched

ERP Post-Implementation Learning, ERP Usage And Individual Performance Impact

In recent years, an increasing number of companies that have implemented ERP systems have expressed disappointment over a failure to reach anticipated goals. A major reason for this failure is the inefficient use of the ERP system by employees. Therefore, the critical issue is how users can most effectively take advantage of an ERP system. Post-implementation learning plays an important role in facilitating ERP usage and thus promotes individual performance. Particularly, the integrated and sophistic natures of ERP systems force users to learn continuously after ERP implementation. This study employed a survey method to examine the perceptions of a dataset of 659 ERP users. We found that ERP usage facilitates individual performance, including individual productivity, customer satisfaction and management control, and post-implementation learning contributes to all three types of ERP usage, including decision support, work integration and customer service. Our findings can provide academics and practitioners with knowledge of how to improve ERP usage and ensure individual performance impacts

Real-Time Vehicle Routing for Repairing Damaged Infrastructures Due to Natural Disasters

We address the task of repairing damaged infrastructures as a series of multidepot vehicle-routing problems with time windows in a time-rolling frame. The network size of the tackled problems changes from time to time, as new disaster nodes will be added to and serviced disaster nodes will be deleted from the current network. In addition, an inaccessible disaster node would become accessible when one of its adjacent disaster nodes has been repaired. By the “take-and-conquer” strategy, the repair sequence of the disaster nodes in the affected area can be suitably scheduled. Thirteen instances were tested with our proposed heuristic, that is, Chen et al.'s approach. For comparison, Hsueh et al.'s approach (2008) with necessary modification was also tested. The results show that Chen et al.'s approach performs slightly better for larger size networks in terms of objective value

Shorter GT repeat polymorphism in the heme oxygenase-1 gene promoter has protective effect on ischemic stroke in dyslipidemia patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The microsatellite polymorphism of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 gene promoter has been shown to be associated with the susceptibility to ischemic event, including coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction, and peripheral vascular disease. We aimed to examine whether the length of (GT)_nrepeats in HO-1 gene promoter is associated with ischemic stroke in people with CAD risk factors, especially low level of HDL.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 183 consecutive firstever ischemic stroke inpatients and 164 non-stroke patients were screened for the length of (GT)_nrepeats in HO-1 promoter. The long (L) and short (S) genotype are defined as the averaged repeat number >26 and ≦26, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Stroke patients tended to have more proportions of hypertension, diabetics and genotype L, than those of genotype S. Patients with genotype L of HO-1 gene promoter have higher stroke risk in comparison with genotype S especially in dyslipidemia individuals. The significant differences on stroke risk in multivariate odds ratios were found especially in people with low HDL-C levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Subjects carrying longer (GT)_nrepeats in HO-1 gene promoter may have greater susceptibility to develop cerebral ischemic only in the presence of low HDL-C, suggesting the protective effects in HO-1 genotype S in the process of ischemic stroke, particularly in subjects with poor HDL-C status.</p

Layers of Metal Nanoparticles on Semiconductors Deposited by Electrophoresis from Solutions with Reverse Micelles

Pd nanoparticles were prepared with reverse micelles of water/AOT/isooctane solution and deposited onto silicon or InP substrates by electrophoresis. A large change of capacitance-voltage characteristics of mercury contacts on a semiconductor was found after Pd deposition. This change could be modified when the Pd deposition is followed by a partial removal of the deposited AOT. The deposited Pd nanoparticles were investigated by optical mictroscopy, SIMS and SEM. Finally, Schottky diodes with barrier height as high as 1.07 eV were prepared by deposition of Pd nanoparticles on n-type InP and by a partial removal of superfluous AOT. These diodes are prospective structures for further testing as hydrogen sensors