Factors Affecting the Adoption of Mobile Payment Systems: An Empirical Analysis

The world witnessed a rapid growth in the e-commerce in the recent years. Widespread use of mobile devices in the e-commerce has a role in this augmentation. Associated with growth of trading volume and the introduction of new devices, new products and solutions emerge and they diversify concerning online payments. Consumer attitudes and behaviors may change according to these developments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors effecting adoption of mobile payment systems by the consumer. 225 individuals were surveyed online through convenience sampling method. A research model was developed and proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. The empirical findings point out that perceived trust, perceived mobility and attitudes positively affect the adoption of MPS; perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have no effect on adoption of MPS. Furthermore perceived reputation positively related to perceived trust and finally environmental risk negatively related to perceived trust

ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF LEADER MEMBER EXCHANGE ON EMPLOYEE VOICE: THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AS A LEADER AND THE TEACHER AS A MEMBER

The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of leader member exchange on employee voice according to the views of the teachers. The sample of the study consisted of 713 teachers randomly selected at 40 public schools from kindergarten to high school from Ayaş, Beypazarı, Güdül and Sincan districts of Ankara province in Turkey. In order to collect the data for this study, Leader-Member Exchange Scale and Employee Voice Scale were administered. All scales were adapted to the school context by translation and back translation method. The construct validity and reliability of the scales were examined through EFA, CFA, Cronbach Alfa, CR, AVE values. In the first step of the data analysis process; arithmetic means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis values were calculated. Relations between the variables were measured by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) and regression analysis. The results of study indicate that there was a positive and significant relationship between leader member exchange and employee voice. On the other hand, leader member exchange is a significant predictor for employee voice. The findings of the study exhibit the level of teachers’ leader member exchange is moderate degree and the level of teachers' employee voice is high degree.  Article visualizations

A comparative analysis of organic farm and conventional farm

Bu araştırma; Samsun ili içme suyunun sağlandığı Çakmak Barajı etrafında organik üretimin yoğun olarak yapıldığı köylerde organik ve konvansiyonel tarım yapan üreticilerin farklı davranıp davranmadıklarının araştırılması amacıyla yapılmıştır. İki üretici grubu bazı özellikler açısından karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilerek, organik tarım yapan üreticilerin bir farklılık yaratıp yaratmadığı anlaşılmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla; 2009 yılında Ağcagüney, Koldere, Eğridere, Gökçeçakmak, Kabaceviz, Şeyhgüven, Esençay, Porsuk ve Yukarı Aksu köylerinde organik tarım yapan 110 ve konvansiyonel tarım yapan 105 işletme ile görüşülmüştür. İşletmeler arazi büyüklüğü dikkate alınarak basit tesadüfi örnekleme yöntemiyle tespit edilmiştir. Üretici analizlerinde Mann Whitney U Testi, t-Testi ve Oran Analizi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma bulgularına göre; organik ve konvansiyonel tarım yapan üretici grupları arasında toplam arazi varlığı ve aile reisinin yaşları açısından bir fark olmadığı, ancak ürün tercihlerinin farklı olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Organik tarım yapan üreticilerin çiftçilik mesleğine daha fazla zaman ayırdıkları tespit edilmiştir. Konvansiyonel tarım yapan üreticilerin %74,3’ünün organik tarıma geçmeyi düşündüğü ve organik tarıma geçmeyi istemede en etkili faktörün; organik tarıma verilen destekler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Konvansiyonel tarım yapan üreticilerin organik tarıma geçmek istememelerindeki en önemli faktörlerin ise; organik tarımda yaşanan verim kaybı, organik tarım hakkında bilgi sahibi olmama ve pazara yönelik üretim yapmama olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Organik tarım yapan üreticilerin; teşviklerin yetersizliği, pazar yeri sıkıntısı ve organik tarımla ilgili teknik bilgiye ulaşma konusunda sorun yaşadıkları belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak; organik tarım desteğinin artırılması, yerel yönetimlerin pazar yeri temini konusunda üreticilere destek olması ve üreticilerin danışmanlık hizmetlerine rahatlıkla ulaşabilmesinin sağlanması gerektiği ortaya çıkmıştır.The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioral differences of organic and conventional producer groups where organic production is concentrated in the villages of Samsun Çakmak Basin. Organic and conventional producers were analyzed in comparison in terms of some features to understand the diffrences of organik producers. So interviews were conducted with 110 organic farm and 105 conventional farm in Ağcagüney, Koldere, Eğridere, Gökçeçakmak, Kabaceviz, Şeyhgüven, Esençay, Porsuk and Yukarı Aksu villages in 2009. The farms were determined by simple random sampling method by taking into consideration of land size. Mann Whitney U Test, t-Test and Proportion analysis was used for producer data and logit regression analysis was used for consumers data. According to the results of the research, it was found that there is no difference between the land properties of organic and conventional producers. On the other hand the produce preference was found different. It was observed that organic farmers spend more time in their job compare to conventional farmers. 74,3% of conventional farmers are considering to change their operation to organic farming especially due to the insentive offered by the government. The most important factors those who do not want to change their operation to organic farming are yield lost by organic farming, lack of knowledge, not to produce desired produce for he market. Some of the problems of organic producers are insufficient insentives, market place and technical knowledge. These results suggest that insentive amount for organic farming should be increased, market place arranged and consulting services should be provided to the organic farmer

On the reliability of k-out-of-n: f systems with exchangeable components in the stress-strength setup

In this paper, we consider the reliability of k-out-of-n: Fsystems and its conditional form with exchangeable components in the stress-strength setup. We assume a random stress common to all the components in the system level. Applications of these results to illustrate the reliability for the system consisting of three components with the multivariate FGM and multivariate Marshall-Olkin distributions are also given.Publisher's Versio

Adjusted Hazard Rate Estimator Based on a Known Censoring Probability

In most reliability studies involving censoring, one assumes that censoring probabilities are unknown. We derive a nonparametric estimator for the survival function when information regarding censoring frequency is available. The estimator is constructed by adjusting the Nelson–Aalen estimator to incorporate censoring information. Our results indicate significant improvements can be achieved if available information regarding censoring is used. We compare this model to the Koziol–Green model, which is also based on a form of proportional hazards for the lifetime and censoring distributions. Two examples of survival data help to illustrate the differences in the estimation techniques

Relationship between fear of COVID-19 and premenstrual syndrome in Turkish university students

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) has been reported to be related to psychological distress. The COVID-19 pandemic has globally caused heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and fear. There is no sufficient evidence regarding the impact of the fear of COVID-19 on PMS and related symptoms. Therefore, this study examined the association of the fear of COVID-19 with PMS among Turkish university students. The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 829 Turkish university students. Data were collected online using the Questionnaire Form, the Premenstrual Syndrome Scale (PMSS), and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCoV-19S). The prevalence of PMS was 73 percent. The most common symptoms were fatigue, irritability, appetite changes, and depression. Participants had a moderate fear of COVID-19 (mean FCoV-19S: 20.48 +/- 5.96). Most participants stated that the pandemic did not affect the menstrual cycle length (72.5 percent) and bleeding (79.6 percent). Participants who noted that the pandemic impacted the length of their menstrual cycles and bleeding had a significantly higher mean FCoV-19S score than those who did not (p = .000). Moreover, FCoV-19S scores were positively correlated with PMS scores, PMS-related discomfort, and dysmenorrhea VAS scores (p < .001). This study revealed that the fear of COVID-19 affected PMS and menstrual cycle-related symptoms in Turkish university students

Bacteremia following dental implant surgery : preliminary results

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence of bacteremia, bacteriology and antibiotic susceptibility against to causative bacteria associated with dental implant installation. Study Design: 30 generally healthy patients were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 30 minutes after dental implant installation and 24 hours after dental implant surgery. Blood samples were cultured in a BACTEC system. The isolated bacteria were identified using conventional methods. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests were performed by disc diffusion. Results: No bacteria were isolated at the baseline and 24 hours after surgery, whereas the prevalence of bacteremia at 30 minutes after dental implant installation was 23%. The isolated bacteria species were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Eubacterium spp., Corynebacterium spp. and Streptococcus viridans. The Staphylococcus epidermidis, which was isolated in three patients, was found to be resistant to penicillin which is first choice of many clinicians. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that installation of dental implants can produce bacteremia. Within the limitations of this study, it can be speculated that the resistance of antibiotics may compromise the routine prophylaxis against infective endocarditis. Therefore use of blood cultures and antibiograms may be suggested in risky patients. The outcome of the present study should be verified using a larger patient group with varying conditions. © Medicina Oral S. L