129 research outputs found
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FEE -BASED ONLINE SERVICES : EXPLORING CONSUMERS’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY
Many online service businesses are beginning to charge fees for services that they used to provide for free. It is unclear whether consumers are ready to embrace this practice. This study explores consumer attitudes toward fee-based online services. The results of the study indicate that consumers’ willingness to pay for online services is likely to be influenced by their perceived value of convenience these services provide, and by the extent to which they utilize these services. While consumers appear more willing to pay for services that are qualitatively better than free services, there is also indication that the belief remains strong among many that online services that were free in the past should remain free
Recommended from our members
FEE-BASED ONLINE SERVICES: EXPLORING CONSUMERS\u27 WILLINGNESS TO PAY
Many online service businesses are beginning to charge fees for services that they used to provide for free. It is unclear whether consumers are ready to embrace this practice. This study explores consumer attitudes toward fee-based online services. The results of the study indicate that consumers\u27 willingness to pay for online services is likely to be influenced by their perceived value of convenience these services provide, and by the extent to which they utilize these services. While consumers appear more willing to pay for services that are qualitatively better than free services, there is also indication that the belief remains strong among many that online services that were free in the past should remain free
Iron and Magnesium Impregnation of Avocado Seed Biochar for Aqueous Phosphate Removal
There has been increasing interest in using biochar for nutrient removal from water, and its application for anionic nutrient removal such as in phosphate (PO43−) necessitates surface modifications of raw biochar. This study produced avocado seed biochar (AB), impregnated Fe- or Mg-(hydr)oxide onto biochar (post-pyrolysis), and tested their performance for aqueous phosphate removal. The Fe- or Mg-loaded biochar was prepared in either high (1:8 of biochar to metal salt in terms of mass ratio) or low (1:2) loading rates via the co-precipitation method. A total of 5 biochar materials (unmodified AB, AB + High Fe, AB + Low Fe, AB + High Mg, and AB + Low Mg) were characterized according to their selected physicochemical properties, and their phosphate adsorption performance was tested through pH effect and adsorption isotherm experiments. Fe-loaded AB contained Fe3O4, while Mg-loaded AB contained Mg(OH)2. The metal (hydr)oxide inclusion was higher in Fe-loaded AB. Mg-loaded AB showed a unique free O–H functional group, while Fe-loaded AB showed an increase in its specific surface area more than 10-times compared to unmodified AB (1.8 m2 g−1). The effect of the initial pH on phosphate adsorption was not consistent between Fe-(anion adsorption envelope) vs. Mg-loaded AB. The phosphate adsorption capacity was higher with Fe-loaded AB in low concentration ranges (≤50 mg L−1), while Mg-loaded AB outperformed Fe-loaded AB in high concentration ranges (75–500 mg L−1). The phosphate adsorption isotherm by Fe-loaded AB fit well with the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.91–0.96), indicating the adsorptive surfaces were relatively homogeneous. Mg-loaded biochar, however, fit much better with Freundlich model (R2 = 0.94–0.96), indicating the presence of heterogenous adsorptive surfaces. No substantial benefit of high loading rates in metal impregnation was found for phosphate adsorption. The enhanced phosphate removal by Mg-loaded biochar in high concentration ranges highlights the important role of the chemical precipitation of phosphate associated with dissolved Mg2+
On the elliptic nonabelian Fourier transform for unipotent representations of p-adic groups
In this paper, we consider the relation between two nonabelian Fourier
transforms. The first one is defined in terms of the Langlands-Kazhdan-Lusztig
parameters for unipotent elliptic representations of a split p-adic group and
the second is defined in terms of the pseudocoefficients of these
representations and Lusztig's nonabelian Fourier transform for characters of
finite groups of Lie type. We exemplify this relation in the case of the p-adic
group of type G_2.Comment: 17 pages; v2: several minor corrections, references added; v3:
corrections in the table with unipotent discrete series of G
Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory - Preliminary Design Report
The DUSEL Project has produced the Preliminary Design of the Deep Underground
Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at the rehabilitated former
Homestake mine in South Dakota. The Facility design calls for, on the surface,
two new buildings - one a visitor and education center, the other an experiment
assembly hall - and multiple repurposed existing buildings. To support
underground research activities, the design includes two laboratory modules and
additional spaces at a level 4,850 feet underground for physics, biology,
engineering, and Earth science experiments. On the same level, the design
includes a Department of Energy-shepherded Large Cavity supporting the Long
Baseline Neutrino Experiment. At the 7,400-feet level, the design incorporates
one laboratory module and additional spaces for physics and Earth science
efforts. With input from some 25 science and engineering collaborations, the
Project has designed critical experimental space and infrastructure needs,
including space for a suite of multidisciplinary experiments in a laboratory
whose projected life span is at least 30 years. From these experiments, a
critical suite of experiments is outlined, whose construction will be funded
along with the facility. The Facility design permits expansion and evolution,
as may be driven by future science requirements, and enables participation by
other agencies. The design leverages South Dakota's substantial investment in
facility infrastructure, risk retirement, and operation of its Sanford
Laboratory at Homestake. The Project is planning education and outreach
programs, and has initiated efforts to establish regional partnerships with
underserved populations - regional American Indian and rural populations
Neonatal infections: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunisation safety data.
Maternal vaccination is an important area of research and requires appropriate and internationally comparable definitions and safety standards. The GAIA group, part of the Brighton Collaboration was created with the mandate of proposing standardised definitions applicable to maternal vaccine research. This study proposes international definitions for neonatal infections. The neonatal infections GAIA working group performed a literature review using Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane collaboration and collected definitions in use in neonatal and public health networks. The common criteria derived from the extensive search formed the basis for a consensus process that resulted in three separate definitions for neonatal blood stream infections (BSI), meningitis and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). For each definition three levels of evidence are proposed to ensure the applicability of the definitions to different settings. Recommendations about data collection, analysis and presentation are presented and harmonized with the Brighton Collaboration and GAIA format and other existing international standards for study reporting
Tracking Under-Reported Financial Flows: China's Development Finance and the Aid-Conflict Nexus Revisited
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