Adoption of Mobile Service UpgradeL New and Current Users

The third generation (3G) mobile channels allow individuals to download digital content in anytime, at anywhere. The 3G mobile services include services like peer chatting, mobile games and movie download. While many studies explore why individuals adopt 3G mobile services, most of them consider 3G adoption to be a new technology adoption. Will users’ experience on older version of mobile services (e.g. 2G and 2.5G) influence their adoption decision on their 3G adoption? Hypotheses linking variables based on diffusion innovation technology and user’s mobile services usage background were developed. We conducted a survey and collected 175 responses. Our findings establish that different factors affecting users who have used the older version of mobile services and users’ decision to use or not to use 3G mobile services is a service upgrade decision, rather than an adoption decision

Home Computer User Security Behavioral Intention: A Replication Study from Guam

This replication study is a methodological replication of Study 1 of Anderson and Agarwal (2010) (A&A) using data collected from Guam to investigate information security (InfoSec) behavioral intention. This study also extended the A&A Model by examining the effect of gender on each construct of the model. Our findings are very similar to those reported by A&A, and indicate that the model is generalizable to the population on Guam. We also observed the effect of gender on several constructs of the model. As this study cannot confirm whether the slight differences between the result of A&A and this study are related to cultural differences, we suggest future replication studies be conducted to examine how culture would affect our security behavior intention. We also suggest practitioners consider gender as an important factor when designing mechanisms to encourage people to practice information security behavior

An Exploratory Study on the Impact of Trust on Different E-Payment Gateways: Octopus Card Vs. Credit Card

The study of trust of consumer on Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce is one of the key research interests of Information Systems (IS) researchers. In this research, we investigate the impact of trust on two different E-payment gateways, viz. online credit card payment system and the hypothetical online Octopus card (a stored-value smart card) payment system. Based on the model developed by Gefen et al. (2003) and McKnight et al. (2002a), we synthesize our own research model by incorporating disposition to trust, and trust and its antecedents with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). An online survey was conducted on the Government-to-Citizen (G2C) E-commerce portal of the Hong Kong Government and 2,481 usable responses were collected. The empirical result shows that consumers in Hong Kong are using different trust building processes to consider their adoption for E-payment gateways

The Impacts of Information Privacy, Monetary Reward, and Buyers’ Protection Excess on Consumers’ Utility Using E-payment Gateways: A Conjoint Analysis

This paper reports our findings on the impacts of information privacy, financial reward, and buyers’ protection excess on consumers’ utility using E-payment Gateways. We invited users of the G2C E-government Portal of Hong Kong to participate in an online experiment and collected data from 1,795 subjects. From our conjoint analysis, we find that monetary reward has the most significant impact on consumers’ utility among the six design attributes of E-payment Gateways investigated in this study, i.e. monetary reward, online transfer of information, acceptability, buyers’ protection excess, anonymity, and physical control. We also observe that there is a gender impact on the relative importance of these attributes

An Examination of the Impact of Gender and Culture on Facebook Privacy and Trust in Guam

Facebook, the world’s largest social network, allows users to develop a profile containing personal information. Users may choose privacy settings to control information access, but improper settings risk personal exposure. Several US studies examining gender differences in privacy management found that females have more privacy concerns. This study investigates gender differences in Facebook privacy settings among college students in Guam, a US territory whose ethnicity and culture differ from mainland US. Results show that neither gender trusts Facebook nor feels Facebook protects them. Significant differences in number and type of privacy settings indicate females are more security conscious. Gender differences exist in three of Hofstede’s five cultural factors, but only Masculinity-Femininity significantly influences perceptions of Facebook Privacy and Facebook Trust. There is also evidence of “privacy paradox” phenomenon. Summarizing for the case in Guam, the findings indicate that culture, in particular Masculinity-Femininity, influences the formation of perceptions regarding both trust in social media and the privacy protection provided by social media, while gender can influence the protective measures actually taken by individuals

Unveiling Formations and Outcomes of Digital Consumer Frauds: An Expanded Routine Activity Theory Perspective

The rapid expansion of the Internet has spawned diverse business opportunities, reshaping sectors and fostering innovation. However, the intricate nature of underlying technologies and business models poses challenges, hindering adoption and creating opportunities for digital consumer fraud. This study explores digital consumer fraud using the case of JPEX, a Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange under investigation since September 2023. The research aims to identify characteristics, external conditions, and outcomes, enhancing understanding and awareness of such frauds\u27 implications. Based on the Routine Activity Theory (RAT) perspective, our ongoing research suggested (1) a definition extension on guardianship as crime conditions, (2) the impact of market conditions on fostering crime opportunities, (3) unwitting collaborators as the 4th crime conditions and (4) characteristics and outcomes of digital consumer fraud businesses

From a role-playing game (RPG) to a brand: Strategic implications from an over-two-decade case

By offering a delightful experience, role-playing games (RPGs) have attracted many players. However, their development has been challenged by issues such as the emergence of online/mobile games and the proliferation of pirate copies. Therefore, RPG developers should consider different strategies to sustain the RPG series. We conducted a case study on “Chinese Paladin,” an RPG series that has been successful for over two decades in the Greater China region. We identified four strategies for an RPG to sustain itself and develop into a brand, namely (1) timeline-moving strategy, (2) crossover strategy, (3) sublimation strategy, and (4) cross-media strategy. We also highlighted some theoretical and potential implications related to RPG and information systems (IS) brand development

Consumers’ Online Brand Attacking and Defending Under Ideological Polarisation: A Case of Cantopop Group “Mirror”

This paper reports the preliminary findings of a netnographic case study that investigates how online brand defending and attacking behaviours are influenced by ideological polarisation. Mirror, a Cantopop group from Hong Kong that pro-Beijing Internet users have targeted, has been selected as the subject of this study. Our preliminary findings show that online brand defending and attacking behaviours for or against a brand may be explained by a modified, looped Belief-Action-Outcome (BAO) framework under ideological polarisation, which complements existing research on Internet users’ impact on brand management and sheds light on politically-driven online brand-attacking behaviours. Results also show that brand-attacking behaviours would further polarise, and thus de-stabilise society. We plan to collect and incorporate further data for more in-depth analyses for building a holistic model to explain the relationships of ideological polarisation on brand defending and attacking behaviours, and their impacts on business and organisation strategies

Microfluidic Preparation of Polymer-Nucleic Acid Nanocomplexes Improves Nonviral Gene Transfer

As the designs of polymer systems used to deliver nucleic acids continue to evolve, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the basic bulk manufacturing techniques of the past will be insufficient to produce polymer-nucleic acid nanocomplexes that possess the uniformity, stability, and potency required for their successful clinical translation and widespread commercialization. Traditional bulk-prepared products are often physicochemically heterogeneous and may vary significantly from one batch to the next. Here we show that preparation of bioreducible nanocomplexes with an emulsion-based droplet microfluidic system produces significantly improved nanoparticles that are up to fifty percent smaller, more uniform, and are less prone to aggregation. The intracellular integrity of nanocomplexes prepared with this microfluidic method is significantly prolonged, as detected using a high-throughput flow cytometric quantum dot Förster resonance energy transfer nanosensor system. These physical attributes conspire to consistently enhance the delivery of both plasmid DNA and messenger RNA payloads in stem cells, primary cells, and human cell lines. Innovation in processing is necessary to move the field toward the broader clinical implementation of safe and effective nonviral nucleic acid therapeutics, and preparation with droplet microfluidics represents a step forward in addressing the critical barrier of robust and reproducible nanocomplex productio

Designing and implementing an evaluation of a national work support program

10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2011.07.002Evaluation and Program Planning35178-87EPPL